First Day 5k 2013

I talked my hubby and BF to run a 5k with me on New Year's Day. Lucky for them, it didn't start until 11:00 am. So we should have enough time to recover from the previous night's festivities.

I had no idea of a plan for this race. The 3 mile distance for the week was supposed to be sprints, so faster would be ideal. But how fast should I try. Now that I have been hit with a few PRs, I want to be careful to not aim for a new one every time I race. My last 5k was a PR at 25:40. Since I haven't run that fast in the last month, a new PR would be a challenge and I don't want to get hurt.

On the way there, hubby predicted 24 minutes to which I responded absolutely no way that would happen. It was in the mid 30s and the rain was holding, and the longer we waited, the more I bounced around.

I made my decision to run fast, but to try to stay comfortable. This course was relatively flat, where my last 5k was mostly downhill for the first half and almost all uphill for the second. So comfortable was the plan ... until the starter said go. My hubby said he saw me take off and start weaving through the crowd.

It ended up fast (for me) and not quite comfortable, but doable.

I stayed consistent with my speed and my cadence. Double win! And a new PR. My official race time (no chip) was 25:10. Good enough for 6th place in my age group.

Woohoo! Now to slow down and build up some miles.

And an added bonus #5bythe5th done and miles for #TeamGiraffe in the #chillychallenge.

 

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Turkey Trot 5k 2012

Since we were headed to my hometown for Thanksgiving, I wanted to find a race for the weekend. The Turkey Strut was the perfect option. It was managed by Setup Events, and was well run.

The packet pickup was a breeze Wednesday night. A shirt, a bib, some pins, and a disposable timing chip. Simple and to the point.

Hubby brought me over to the race for the 9 am turkey day start. Parking was easy and we walked across a parking lot to the start. There were two negatives to the overall experience. I lost hubby when I went to the bathroom, and couldn't find him when I wanted to hand him my pullover. Since parking was close, I jogged over to drop my pullover at the car. I didn't see him until the end of the race. He kept looking for teal and I was now in yellow.

Since I didn't know anyone racing, my plan was to run it fast, have a little fun, and get back home to start cooking. I started closer to the front of the pack than I normally do, but was mindful of those around me. There ended up being almost 1200 people running, so a nice size crowd.

The first mile went fast and downhill, 7:56, and I started wondering how long I could keep that pace up. And my heart was also slamming. I must have beginning race jitters. I finally got my HR under control about the time we started uphill. My Garmin says it was only a 211 foot climb, but it felt a whole lot worse than that. Hence the slow down for miles 2 and 3. I even walked a few steps during the third mile because I knew the finish was up hill and my hands were tingling from poor breathing.

I was able to kick it a little at the end and finish strong ... uphill. Who thought that was a good idea? Definite negative for me.

Hubby was waiting for me at the finish (looking for teal) but did manage to snap a photo. My race photo stunk because there was someone in front of me.

Yes, I think that is a heel strike I see. Ughhh!

Overall, I was happy with anew 5k PR by 3 minutes. 25:41 official time. Good for 12th in my age group and 75th woman. Why does the 35-39 age group have to be so competitive? I would have been in the top ten in the AG either direction. I guess us 35-39ers realize we need to get our act together.

After some water and a banana, we roamed around Fleet Feet so I could ogle expensive running clothes. I did buy a tube of Citrus Fruit Nuun to try (okay, but wouldn't buy again). I'm a grape, strawberry lemonade and fruit punch fan.

I did see this awesome sign in the store.

Mission accomplished on a tough course. Now wish I didn't spend the next 5 hours standing in the kitchen cooking and washing. Oh well. Another successful Turkey Day completed.

 

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Jelly Bean Virtual Run

Today, hubby and I ran the virtual run sponsored by Run with Jess. Since we just completed the Monument 10K last Saturday, we opted for the 5k. I ran as Jilly Bean, hubby was Mac Bean, and little guy was C. Mac.

Someone wanted to run with us, and had a mini-meltdown when we left. But Grammy came in to save the day. We did have a quick race down to the next mailbox and back, and that helped some.

This is the first run hubby and I have done together in probably 10 years. We clipped along at my slow pace (still working on my cadence), which was easy for both of us.

We finished around 32:30, (two different times depending on whose Garmin you go by). We are huge techie nerds when it comes to stuff like this. Average pace, 10:34, and my average cadence was 87. Somehow, my watch is telling me I only burned 142 calories (14 the first mile, 34 the second). Anyone else have this problem with calories being off?

We are going to try a bike road tomorrow, nice and easy to see if I can get the hang of road riding. Wish me luck. My goal is to keep upright .... simple enough, I hope.

5K Recap

I ran my first 5K since 2004 on Saturday.  It fit in perfectly with the mileage for our 10K training and it was for a great cause.  The sponsor was a local group who helps child abuse vicitms.  Since it was a flat course, I thought it would be great if little dude ran the 1 mile kid's run.

So we bundled up.  I swear that it felt like the winds were 40 mph, but maybe they were closer to 30 mph.

Little dude did great running his mile at 14:01 with some help from Dad.  He stopped to walk 3 times which I thought was terrific for a 4 year old.

My time was 32:30 which wasn't bad since I was working harder to keep at the right cadence than anything else.  My first mile was too fast and I started feeling some discomfort at my hip, so I slowed it down and focused on my turnover.

1 mile: 10:02
2 mile: 10:37
3 mile: 10:32
0.14 mile: 9:41
Average: 10:22

If only I wasn't freezing or at some points running tilted to one side.  It was an adventure. 

We took some shots when we got home and had thawed slightly.

The family that foam rolls together, stays together.  All in all, we had fun and hope to do it again when it is warmer and less windy.