Posts tagged racing

This past weekend was the Twin Cities Marathon. I did not run in the marathon but I did run the 10k the day before. 

It was a beautiful fall morning. I believe it was about 30 degrees. This is pretty close to perfect for me running wise. I hoping for similiar weather for my upcoming marathon. 10 Days!!!

I barely made it to the race on time. Between road closures and my GPS giving me grief it was a bit stressful. I got the race site 30 minutes early. I had to grab my packet, put my bib on and what not, run back to the car to drop my things off, go to the bathroom and get to the starting line. I was literally going to the bathroom when they were calling 3 minutes to start. I somehow got it all done. Definitely not my favorite way to start a race.

I finished in 1:03:54. So I finished 4 minutes slower than last year. But I was not actually “racing” this race. I just did it for fun and I really enjoyed it. :)

Some pictures from the weekend:

Sometimes I look like death when I run. 

But I always love to race especially with friends :)

Then I went over the Expo and pretended I finished the marathon. If I only looked liked that when I raced instead of death.

Yesterday I ran the Run for the Blood Quarter Marathon benefiting the Red Cross. The Red Cross is a foundation that is close to my heart. I plan to make this race a yearly tradition. I ran this race last year. It was super hard and I was not prepared well enough. I was hoping for better results this year.

The weather was still super warm and humid. They were forecasting cooler temperatures that what we had but such is life. I started with running 3 to 1 ratios but around the half way point I had to switch it to 2 to 1. 

At this race they have the 5k and the Quarter Marathon. The 5k is one time around the lake at the Quarter goes two times around. It is always so so frustrating at races like that because you just want to finish too. But I just kept on going. 

I really like running my ratios because I feel like I have extra juice at the end of the race. I can really sprint to the finish line :]

I finished 6.77 miles in 1.11.17 unofficially with an average pace of 10.35. My official results have me finishing in 1.11.33. Which is a 9 minute PR from last year! :] I was actually hoping for better. But I must remember I am not going to be able to run the same pace in July that I can run in October. It just is not going to happen. Overall I am happy with my race.

After the race I was able to spend some time with some fellow runners from the area. I really love running this lake. The view is pretty awesome :]

My week of training was not very exciting but I kept on task. I feel pretty good about what I was able to accomplish.

Monday. I decided to take it as a rest day. I had ran 10 miles the day before and my legs needed that rest.

Tuesday. I went out for three miles. It was a good run. My average pace was 9:54 which is pretty good for me.

Wednesday. It was national running day. So I celebrated my running of course! I set out for another three mile run. My legs were pretty tired but I pushed myself and I was able to keep an average pace of 9:45.

Thursday. I went to BodyPump. It is a really good class but it is soooo early. 5 am. It is definitely taking my body time to get used to walking up that early.

Friday. My family came up that night to get ready for the big race the next day. So I took it as a rest day. There is something that I really like to about having Friday be my rest day. It starts the weekend on the right foot. :]

Saturday. Go Commando 5k. We ran an adventure 5k which I talked all about in my previous post. We ran/walked 3.1 with 15 obstacles in 50-45 minutes.

Sunday. I went for a run at the treadmill. It was super hot out and I did not feel like suffering outside. I really like going to the gym on Sunday. It is dead there and I have the whole gym to myself. Once I got there I realized I had forgotten my Garmin :( But I decided to go with it. So I do not really know how far I went but I am guessing three miles because I went for thirty minutes and that is my normal pace.

All in all a week of training I can be proud of :]

I have decided to run a 5k in the morning. The Autism 5k. I am looking forward to the run. It is at Lake Calhoun one of my favorite places to run. It is supposed to be 72 degrees at the start. I am not looking forward to that but I really cannot complain. I have a couple of friends that are running Half Marathons in this heat.

Side note, I am not looking forward to training for a marathon in the dead of summer, I digress.

I have run this race before. It was two years ago now. I believe it was my third 5k. A boy actually ran with me the whole time that had autism. It was really powerful to be out there with the families that deal with Autism on a daily basis. Working in a daycare for so many years put a special spot in my heart for the children and families that do this. So I happy to help them out the little bit that I am in running this race. 

I am going into this not really having a goal or anything. I just want to go out there and enjoy the run and the beautiful weather. The first time I did this race I ran it in 40:27. I must say if I do not beat that I will not be happy with myself but I do not foresee that happening. I am kinda of hoping to better that time by 10 minutes but if it does not happen I completely alright with that as well.

Last year my goal was to run a Half Marathon. I just wanted to see if I could do it. So I ran it and it went pretty well for me. After that I decided that I want to run another half to make sure then first one was not a fluke. If that went well I thought I would attempt to run a full. So last weekend I completed the second one. And it went pretty well for the circumstances.

So for the past 6 months I have been trying to figure out what full I want to complete. I am lucky enough to live within 3 hours of 3 marathons in October. But it has been hard for me to make a decision.

There is the Twin Cities Marathon, Whistlestop Marathon and the Mankato Marathon. Originally I thought I would go with the Twin Cities. But I am thinking I want to run a smaller marathon. I was not a fan of how many people I was caught in the middle of at Get in Gear last weekend. I just want something that is small and less congested. I just want to be able to run my own race and not get too caught up in everything. 

So after that it was left up to Whistlestop or Mankato. As I was doing my research about them. I came across people that said Whistlestop’s surface was hard to run on last year. It was kind of crumbly with people getting dirt and rocks in their shoes. I know this race is going to be hard enough, I do not want any unnecessary issues. Also all the Hotels in Ashland are already booked for that weekend and I want to stay in a hotel just to take away any unneeded stress.

So I decided to go with Mankato on October 21st, 2012! Super excited about this decision. It is a relatively new marathon but everything I read about points to a good marathon. People say it is a small marathon but you never feel like you are alone on the course. :] It just seems like the right fit for me and my race style!                                                                                                                     

This also allows me to be involved in the Twin Cities Marathon weekend. Like I did last year, I want to run the 10k and then go to the Expo. 

Let the training continue! :]

Like I said before this race kinda snuck up on me. But the race came and I felt like I was ready for race day. The weather was all around terrible. I tried to prepare the best I could but I was not expecting that kind of weather at the end of April. It was 35 degrees windy, rainy and we even experienced some ice pellets. So this is went I went with.

I think this worked really well for the conditions until I stopped moving. Before the race I met up with my friend Courtenay from www.autopilotlegs.com (who is going to rock the Fargo Half in three weeks :) She ran the 10k.

After trying to stay warm for an hour it was time to get moving. Thank Goodness! For the first three miles the Halfers and 10kers ran together. This is the 15th largest race in America and I could tell. It was so packed! I did the best I could with the circumstances and ran for three minutes and walked for one. 

During the race never really bothered me until we hit mile 7 when we hit this open area in course. It was at this time I became aware of the fact I was running against the wind and rain. Once we hit the turnaround it got better. I am very proud to say that I managed to keep my ratios. I was not able to keep this up for my first half. I did learn that I cannot drink Gatorade from a cup while running. I took a bath in it. Good thing it was raining. 

After much hard work I finished it. With an official time of 2.17.08. No PR for me :[ I was hoping for more but it was not in the cards. Maybe another day. According to my Garmin it was 13.25 miles in 2.17.10. So according to my Garmin it was a better pace than my first Half. I will take that and run with it :] My splits, 10.12, 10.24, 10.06, 10.28, 9.58, 10.08, 10.28, 9.56, 10.35, 10.18, 10.47, 10.48, 10.48 and 9.02. 

I was actually pretty stable during the race. Then when I crossed the finish line I saw someone crying. Then it hit me I have accomplished so much and have lots to be proud of. Then I started to cry. Sometimes I running gets to be so routine for me that I do not realize how much I have really accomplished. 

Then I realized I was cold and wet. I started shivering and I do not think I stopped for three hours. Either way I learned so much about myself through this race. So proud of myself for chugging along and never giving up through terrible conditions!

Sorry for the lack of posting. This week are just crazy. I was at my parents this past weekend and tomorrow at noon I leave to go for training over night in a town five hours away. Then on Saturday is my Half Marathon. So I do not know if I will have much time to blog later this week. So I thought I would try to get this done tonight. Onto my goals..

This is my second marathon. My first Half Marathon I finished in 2.16.11 in October. It was an absolutely magical time. 

So my number one goal is the same for every race I run.

1. To finish and to enjoy the experience.

My other goals.

2. To finish under 2:20

3. To PR.

I would be lying if I said I did not want to finish right around or under 2:10. But I am not going to put too much pressure on myself. I really just want appreciate the experience and how far I have come. 

The weather forecast for the day.

Lets hope it says this way. This would be pretty much perfect in my book!

Last week went much better than the previous week. So I was super happy with that. :]  I managed to get to the gym before work every day. 

Monday. It started with a 3 mile run. I had a pace of 9:50.

Tuesday: I started the New Rules of Lifting from Women. I was nervous as all get out before heading to the weight room. But I just went with it and pretended that there was no one else in the work room. It worked really well and I am pretty much in love with Heavy Lifting.

Wednesday: I went another 3 miles with a pace of 9:50 again.

Thursday: I went with Stage 1 Day 2 of NROLFW. Love.

Friday: Rest Day.

Saturday: I was going to do my long run. But it was my dearest friends birthday and she asked me to meet her for a pedicure. So I went with that and pushed my long run to Sunday. My sister was coming down for a visit so we went for a three mile walk.

Sunday. Long Run Day. 12 miles was on tap. I had to do it on the treadmill because between church and what not I did not have time to drive to the running trail. So I had a date with the ‘mill and Biggest Loser via Netflix.

I was able to get a pretty good pace of 10.15 throughout the 12 miles. It was hard. I had to stop at mile 6 for some more water. At mile ten my left hip was hurting so bad that I had to stop and stretch it out. I actually did not know if I would be able to continue. But I took it minute my minute. And I finished it. I am so happy with that. If I could keep that up for my Half in two weeks it would be a PR :]

After the run I stepped of the treadmill. I could barely walk. I decided that it would be a great night to do my first ice bath.

So I spent some quality time freezing my tush off. It actually was not as bad as I thought it would be. I had my iPad and hot chocolate handy :] I also tried out my compression sleeves after the shower. 

All in all it was a good training week. Now it is time to taper and get ready for race day. I am looking forward to racing and seeing all my running buddies :]

Saturday was a beautiful morning. They were forecasting a high of 80 in Minnesota in March. Umm that is weather we expect in June we were expecting somewhere in the 40’s. But I guess you can never plan on the weather.

I met up with someone my running friends that I have met in the last year. We have been planning this race for 4 months or so. We were very excited that the day was finally here! We met and gabbed about running stuff. :]

Before we knew it the time had come to get in line for the race. They were  over 8,000 people running this race and we wanted to make sure we had a spot. So me and Courtenay headed over there. We lined about with the nine mile pace group. We both wanted to be somewhere around there. 

This was a picture one of the professionals took for the race. They sang the National Anthem and we were off. We decided we would split up and then get back together at the end of the race. 

As you may remember I was running this race without my “Garmin.” It was interesting. It was a very hard fought race for me. I was not used to running in this heat yet much less without my Garmin. They weekend before I ran nine miles but it was 45 degrees not 70. But racing was never supposed to be easy. So I kept plugging away at it.

Around the last mile or 2 my pace really slowed down. I was just fighting a battle between my mind and body. In that kind of battle my body always wins. I am really working on that because I can do so much more than my mind thinks. 

Either way I finished and it felt great. We crossed the finish line and we had to go up a hill to get our medal and water. What?? According to my Garmin I ran 4.4 miles in 43.04 with a pace of 9:48 and Chip time was 4.3 miles in 43.05. So right around a ten minute mile. I was hoping to finish around 43 minutes so I was pretty happy with that time.

We were able to meet with everyone after the race. We rehashed everything that we went through during the race. I believe it was a good race for everyone!

So the 2012 racing season has officially started. I am so excited for what this year has in store for me. The big things are one half marathon and one full. It is going to be a big year!