Race Recap: Monumental Half Marathon

Ok - first things first: 1:53:31!! A new PR (by A LOT) and an awesome race overall.

The first cold snap of the season hit on Friday night; snow flurries were sighted, sleet came down and the winds gusted. Mostly I just tried to ignore the complaints over the weather; I had trained 15 weeks for this race and I'd be damned if 'bad weather' was going to detract from it. Cold temperatures are advantageous for so many runners anyways. This did force me to re-plan my race outfit though and I settled on a tank, arm warmers, long sleeve over that and mid-calf capris. I also opted for gloves and a headband which were essential for the moments waiting before hand. Overheating was not a problem at all during this race - I was actually really comfortable the whole way through but the second I stopped I though I'd get frostbite.

Scott and I arrived about 1 hour ahead of the 8 am start; it was still dark and we had a ~1 mile walk from the car to downtown. I was NOT enjoying the weather at this point. It was blustery and freezing. We mostly huddled in a corner and tried to maintain some heat while waiting. I eventually made my way to the start corrals; they were loosely seeded and not too many people really adhered to their seeding anyways. I tried to make it to the back where us non-seeded folks were relegated but I eventually gave up and just discreetly squeezed into corral 4.

After little fanfare we were off! There was much congestion in the first mile and I was really concerned about my pace but it eventually evened out.

Miles 1-3
These went by really fast; they had so many twists and turns through down town and the crowd was still considerably large at this point. Scott had given me pacing of 9:05 for the first 3 miles, 8:55 for the next 5 and 8:40 for the last 5. I noticed I was above pace for these miles and I tried to slow it down some, but I wasn't too successful.

Miles 4-6
I was still feeling really comfortable in the 8:45 range here at these miles so I decided to just stick with it. The course had taken us out of the thick of downtown by now and we were running through the neighborhoods which were full of nice support.

Miles 7-9
By this point we'd split from the full marathon and were going through some more turns that I couldn't really place in my head. I was still feeling strong and confident with my consistent 8:42-8:45 miles.

Miles 10-13.1
I had it in my head to try to pick up the pace at mile 10 but I wasn't able to do it. Part of it was a small incline over a bridge but mostly I think I was still concerned about blowing up. By the time I'd reached mile 12 I really stepped up my pace (I guess I knew I wasn't going to blow up then) and realized I could've probably done this a few miles back. Oh well. Before the start of this year I'd never had a race tactic at all so what can you say?

I can't believe I ran such even splits. I never achieve this in training. You can see the first 3 miles I was still dealing with crowds and my last mile is WAY faster than the others. So I didn't really follow Scott's pace suggestions but either way I am super proud of my finish! I kept thinking during the race how hard my first half was (2:17, average pace 10:30) that I had to walk a bunch and how far I've come. I felt strong the whole way and never had any really tough parts.

My knees and hips were sore for the rest of the day but I feel fine after a good night's sleep. Again compare this to last year where I could barely walk up and down stairs for days after. We celebrated with Ethiopian food, vegan cupcakes and my first beer post-training.

Now I have to set my sights on more races because I can't get enough. Most likely next spring I will run the Mini Marathon and again try to take down my half PR. But for now... I'm going to enjoy a few days off from running.

Race Recap: Pleasant Run Run

I've gotten so caught up in life and training that this recap is coming a little late - so I hope I can still remember some details.

Saturday Scott and I ran the Pleasant Run Run in Irvington, a really cute neighborhood a mile southeast of where we live. The weather was perfectly autumnal; high 40's, lots of leaves on the ground, clear skies. We got there early, picked up our race bibs and did a mile or so warm up around down town before heading over to the start line. My expectations for this race were to set a new PR (I knew I'd made speed gains since the 8K in the spring) but I didn't have anything specific in mind. I figured I'd run something below 8:30 pace.

Mile 1 - 7:56

In typical start-of-the-race fashion I went out the first mile pretty fast. They did a very poor job of setting mile markers so when we ran through the mark and heard "5:29!" everyone around me just laughed..... like, "uh... we definitely don't run ANYWHERE near those splits".

Mile 2 - 8:11

The course was a bit undulating so I felt that I lost a little speed going up some hills but overall nothing unbearable.

Mile 3 - 8:00

I did start to feel fatigued around this point. Keeping this pace was good for my 5K, but I still had 2 more miles to go. I went back and forth with a few people around me.

Mile 4 - 8:11

By this point my quads were getting tired of the gradual up-and-down of the course. I was mostly just trying to hold on.

Mile 5 - 8:05 

This mile felt LONG. Never ending. But of course it did. I really felt at my limit crossing the finish but I very quickly recovered my breath after walking for a minute or two. (Scott had finished about 10 minutes prior and ran back to give me some encouraging words in the last stretch - thanks!) 

Official Time - 40:14 (8:03 pace) 

So - another PR! Well ok, this is my first 5 mile race ever. But it beats my 8K from earlier this year by a few minutes so I can't complain! I did a slow run Sunday to loosen up my quads which were SORE and then Scott and I spent a few hours hiking around Brown County State Park. Naturally I was still sore Monday for another slow 4 miler and as much as I tried to take it easy Tuesday I ran 6 miles at 8:45 pace (on the treadmill). My legs still felt sore and dead yesterday so I decided that is IT until Saturday. 

Speaking of, the forecast for Saturday is clear, dry and COLD. Perfect running weather right? The jury is still out on what I will wear, I'm not sure if I'm tough enough to wear shorts in 30 degree weather. But until then it is rest, food, and (mind) relaxation. 

Race Recap: Indianapolis Women's 5K

I signed up for this event maybe 3 weeks in advance after not finding any road 10Ks I wanted to try. I wanted to race SOMETHING this summer. So if it is 5Ks, so be it! I knew I could probably churn out a new PR from February and possibly break my 2011 standing PR of 26:01.

Scott and I headed downtown around 6:30. He ran, I drove and parked about half a mile away. When we met up again, we jogged to the start which provided a nice warm up. The half-marathon (a larger event) started 15 minutes before the 5K, so I had some time to kill and did some people watching. I've not ever done a women's only race before and some of the aspects were nice; the camaraderie, the diversity of types of participants. But other aspects were frustrating; the prevalence of tutus on grown women, butterflies on the shirt and medal, the choice of pop songs played before hand. But of course, not everyone is into running for the same reasons that I am, and an environment like this is comfortable for them to run in. Scott wrote an excellent summary of some of the issues with this event here if you want to consider the subject further. Honestly, I was there to race, to challenge myself and if there was cheesy music playing - so be it.

I jogged around a little bit right before the 5K start, but I was feeling super nervous waiting for the countdown. We'd discussed a general race strategy before (mostly - don't think you're going too fast and hold back) but I was still nervous I'd go out too fast and blow up. The countdown started and we were off.

Mile 1: 7:47 - I started maybe two or so rows back, this race wasn't huge (maybe about 500 participants) and I felt more middle-of-the-packer than other times. We looped around the downtown circle then immediately met up with the slower starters of the half-marathon, some of whom were already run/walking. I might have started out at 6:30 pace just to pass this crowd, but eventually settled to just under a 8:00 pace. Scott showed up in two spots here to give encouragement and snap some pictures. The first mile went by quick, and almost all of it ran with the half. When my Garmin chimed I was happy and a little surprised to see 7:47. The fastest timed mile I've ever done before was 8:00 flat. I still felt a little nervous about going to hard, but my breathing felt comfortable so I maintained the pressure.

Mile 2:  8:03 - The second mile started to wear on me. The crowd thinned to only a few people, I was passing less people and had settled behind a group of three, then four when I was passed. I kept this woman that passed me in sight and very close and glanced to see that my watch was reading above 8:00 pace. I wasn't feeling too fatigued, so I made sure I kept it as close to 8:00 as I could and kept my breathing in check. I eventually re-passed the woman, but we stayed close until about the end.

Mile 3: 7:49 - There was a portion where we were running east, into direct rising sunlight and up a small hill. This really wore on me. But gratefully, the course turned south right after the hill and I followed Scott's instructions to no longer look at my watch. I was getting close to the group of 3 in front of me, had left that other woman far behind and could see the finish way down the road. I pulled out as much as I could and really kicked it after the 3 mile marker.

Mile 0.1: 0:43 - I saw Scott again near the last mile marker and I threw everything out I had. I managed to pass two of the three women a head of me and came in at 24:22.

I felt seriously trashed after finishing. I let a man in Army fatigues put a butterfly medal around my neck and give me a rose (WTF) then met up with Scott and some PBT teammates. I learned that the leaders of the race were drawn off course towards the end by the course biker who didn't fully know the course. They didn't seem too upset by it.... I think their finishes were honored accordingly with prize money. So there is definitely some reward to NOT coming in first. Ha. Get those kinks smoothed out.

I ended up 17th overall, and 3rd in my age group. I am really happy! I met my goal of sub 25, I really felt like I raced smart and the t-shirt fits. I have no complaints. Well, ok I do have some complaints on the treatment of women in sports and women-only events.

We hung around to watch a PBT teammate come in 4th in the half-marathon. (Winner ran a 1:17:11, 4th was 1:19:59). And of course I got all excited and started the whole "I'm totally gonna sign up with PBT!" "I want to race half-marathons" blah blah blah that I do after every race. But still, watching those women finish with serious pain and tenacity on their face is SO MOTIVATING.

Note to self: they run more than 20-25 miles a week.

Today, something slow and easy to keep everything loose. And now a picture for your viewing pleasure.... I realized profile running pictures is where it's at.

24:22, 7:51 pace. New 5K PR!

Race Recap: Carmel 8K and Week 4/7-4/13

My first race in Indy felt pretty good! My thoughts are almost the same as finishing the 5K in February, like 'hmm I kind of am underestimating my abilities'. But this strategy definitely leaves me less chances for disappointment - so ha! Anyways, the race had an 8 am start, 30 minutes after the half and full marathon had taken off. We ended up running into a lot of Scott's teammates, or partners of teammates that were already on the course and positioned ourselves near the front of the crowd. I was definitely having the 'oh whoops shouldn't be this close' thought when I saw the very competitive runners toe the line. Maybe I need to just look a little more competitive then I'll try to blend in. I mean - I was wearing a cotton t-shirt, I wasn't fooling anyone. Anyways, I made sure I was close enough to the edge so that there was ample passing room for people.

As per usual the beginning of a race is very exciting and I definitely was going at like, a 7:30 pace for a hot second before my senses (and legs) settled to an 8:40 ish pace. I was worried to hold it here, thinking I would wear myself out and barely finish the race, but after passing the first and second mile markers with ~8:45 times and feeling great I put more pressure on myself to keep it at or below that pace. The course was gentle with only a few hills; I actually felt pretty good powering up them and steadily descending them that they barely registered. After the third mile I felt really solid at my pace, and started passing a few people here and there until I was mostly alone. By the time I'd passed the fourth mile marker I was really determined to push it as much as I could (which wasn't a ton) and maybe got closer to a 8:30 pace. With the finish line in sight it was easy to really kick it, and I crossed it in 43:00, with Scott yelling from the sidelines.

My watch read the course a tad longer than marked, but my overall pace was 8:40. I am really happy to continue this trend of sub-9:00 miles. There is something about 9:00 miles that makes me feel like more of an average jogger strolling around so it is nice to see a bit of improvement. I am pretty sure I want to sign up for a half-marathon in the fall and properly train for it, and probably do more 8K's and 10K's leading up to it. I have to say - I really liked the 8K distance. It had kind of a nice act 1, act 2, act 3 feel to it that made me really asses my physical effort during a race and the best way to balance it.

After I finished I got to hear about Scott's race which he ran in an impressive 31:34. We then hung around to cheer the winner of the marathon (again, another PBT teammate, they definitely had a good showing at this race) to his victory for the third year straight.

Today my leg's feel totally fine if only a tad fatigued, but no soreness or blisters. First race in my new shoes as well, and they feel just like last year's model which is exactly what I wanted. So for the week it was:

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 4.03 miles, 8:50 pace

Wednesday: 4.01 miles, 9:13 pace

Thursday: 4.06 miles, 9:27 pace

Friday: Off

Saturday: 5.02 miles, 8:40 pace

Sunday: Off

Total miles run: 17.1

A new beginning

Hello internet! I spend so much of my time perusing other running blogs, science blogs, and personal style blogs that I thought "Hey, why not try to slap that all together?" so here we are. I plan to use this as a way to catalogue my progress with running, my attempts at developing a sense of style and my love of all things nerdy. I'm not completely sure of the exact direction I want this to go, but I'm sure that will become more clear as this continues.

A bit of history on my running first: I never considered myself athletic whatsoever until college. As a mandatory requirement we had to take a gym course. I immediately looked for the easiest one I could get into which was fitness walking (yes, that is a course at my college, and it fills up fast). I don't remember much about the course other than walking really quickly around the intramural fields and feeling very embarrassed when the students in the run conditioning course blazed past us. Every time the class was over I had built up so much energy from not running, that I would go to the track and run until I actually felt like I got a work out in. That was maybe a mile. But after doing that for a semester I had built up a bit of stamina.

I then joined the club rowing team that many of my friends were on because it seemed so fun and social. Many of our land practices were various running exercises. The 'dorm run' where we had to run to 9 dorms on campus and back, reporting the building number to our coach in between. Pyramid track work outs we did with a partner that became so competitive we were 'uninvited' by the gym as our cheering scared other gym members. Long runs around campus when the streets were still dark and quiet. It was during these long rungs that I realized I wasn't half bad and regularly finished second or third out of the girls team.

After college I kept up with running in graduate school as a way to exercise and entered various 5Ks, a 10K, and three Krispy Kreme Challenges (not really a race, but more of a disgusting college experience). Last year I ran my first half marathon, and it was a disaster - but I'm planning on redeeming myself this year. After a bit of a break from running, I've gotten back into it and am training for a 5K.

My PRs are certainly nothing impressive, but I have won two 5K awards (honestly due to very little competition, but hey, winning is winning).

Road

• 5K - 26:01 (2011 Cary Road Race. First in my age group. Out of 4)
• 10K - 1:00:42 (2011 Old Reliable 10K)
• 13.1 - 2:17:34 (2013 Kansas Half Marathon)

Trail

• 5K - 33:37 (2013 Pi Day 5K. First female, third overall. Again, very little competition)
• 10K - 1:22:55 (2013 North Shore Trail Run, a very very technical course)

Yeah, so there is LOTS of room for improvement. We'll see where this year takes me.

I also am pretty confident my writing skills are only of the "the reaction was neutralized with 1M HCl, then extracted with EtOAc" variety - so I apologize in advance.