Turkey Trot Half Marathon Race Report

On Saturday I ran in in the Schaumburg Half Marathon which is about 45 minutes from my parents' house. I had this on my calendar since the summer and it was going to test my speed training to see how much I've improved.

Apparently I was in the eager bunch because my number ended up being 212 out of the approximately 2000 runners. I was hopeful about my number since 12 is my favorite number and I had a sub-2 in my mind. I knew I would be able to easily go under 2:05, but wasn't quite sure if under 2 was feasible.

I had a great night's sleep and made it with plenty of time to meet Allison at the start. The race went through Busse Forest Preserve, which turned out to be quite scenic and even housed some live Elk (we saw two large ones). They had a shuttle service available to take you to the start, so Allison and I stayed warm in the car until about 8:30 and took a shuttle over. I visited the port-o-potties along with the great majority of the racers and we made it to the start with only 2 minutes to go. There were pacers for this race, so we positioned ourselves between the 2:00 and 2:10 pacers and planned to start slower and hopefully put out negative splits.

We stayed dry the first few miles, but then it started drizzling which continued for the remainder of the race. Thankfully I had my dad's "Life is Good" hat to keep the raindrops out of my face and maybe even an hint of luck as well. Allison's and my Garmins seemed to be quite off from each other as well as the mile markers, so I was having a difficult time knowing what our actual pace was. This proved to be problematic for me since I was trying to be mindful of my pace. Allison held me strong and steady and coached me along the way. It was so fun running with such an experienced racer and she kept me in line--figuratively and literally as she gave the pointer of running the tangents instead of the curvy trail that meandered much of the race.

My best miles seemed to be between miles 8 and 10 and I really was feeling good and confident about a sub-2. Not surprisingly, I started to fade the last 3 miles despite Allison's strong words of encouragement. I don't believe I could have made myself run any faster the last part of the race, but I did push myself as much as I feasibly could to get as close to 2 hours as possible. It was just a little too late as we came in at 2:00.29. This was still quite the accomplishment for me and I really appreciate the support I got from Allison on Saturday.

I was excited when I spotted the Muscle Milk station and snatched up a chocolate. Much to my dismay, though, it was not tasty at all. I think I'll stick to my usual chocolate milk treat after long runs instead.

I am a little sore today and my left hamstring continues to be a bother, so it will make my decisions for future races a bit interesting.

Veteran's Day 12 miler

Distance: 12 miles

Total time: 1:57

Average pace: 9:43

I had been looking forward to taking my long run on my day off and not having to fret about getting back to Tony and the kids. Macy and Tyler were at the babysitter's this morning, so I took my sweet time and really enjoyed the morning.

It started a little briskly as you can see. This was actually at 8:12 because we have yet to change this clock from Daylight Saving Time.

It didn't feel that cool and my first couple of miles were around 9:30s...I didn't want to push it since I am still testing out where exactly my hamstring is in all of this. I headed into Heritage Park...

and followed the path around Kaufman Lake...

and around near my school. I jumped on part of the marathon route and enjoyed the view of one of the golf courses and some of the nicer homes in Champaign...

I was still feeling pretty good at this point as I continued on to Hessel Park...

I took a quick break right around this garbage can. I ate my fruit snacks (something I think I am going to try in place of my Gus) and walked about 100 yards before continuing with my run.

I did start to feel a bit tired on my way back. Mile 7-9 seemed a bit slower and then I tried to pick up my pace slightly to make sure I stayed under a 10 minute average. I greatly noticed my hamstring the last three miles and in the last mile wondered to myself why I would even consider running a full marathon again. Of course, now that I am writing this, that thought has vanished, but I'm afraid that if my hamstring isn't 100%, I really should avoid the full.

I got pretty hot despite the cool temps and worked up quite a sweat by the time I arrived back home. It was great to get this long run out of the way and know that I can enjoy both Saturday and Sunday without needing to put in too many miles.

Hot Chocolate 15k Race Report

Listed Distance: 15k (9.3 miles) Garmin Distance: 9.63 miles

Official Time: 1:26.56

Overall Official Pace: 9:20 Overall Garmin Pace: 9:02

I first found out about this race in October of last year when the registration for 2010 was already full and I was just getting back into running. The idea of running for chocolate is a perfect match for me considering my typical chocolate eating method is shoving an entire handful into my mouth at a time. So, I verbally committed to this race over a year ago and was ecstatic when some of my friends agreed to do it as well.





There was a medical emergency at the expo Friday night when we were picking up our packets, so it took a bit longer than expected. Needless to say, we still found ways to entertain ourselves.

Once we were finally able to go in, I found a hat and shirt that I had to buy since they have the "Will Run for Chocolate" logo.

Our hotel was right across the street from the start, so we didn't have to get up too early for the 8:20 start. I debated on what to wear because I knew I would be cold waiting and warm once I started running. I decided to check my coat and pants and went with shorts. It turned out to be a perfect choice.

The gear check was a bit crowded, but the line moved fast and we were able to get a fake running shot with some of the city background.

Although I have been around large races as a spectator many times, this was the largest race I have actually run. I believe there were over 20,000 runners and this made me a little anxious. I had not submitted a time to be placed in a corral, so Jen and I both were to start in the open corral. I knew this would make my "trying to run as fast as I can--nothing slower than 9:30s" strategy a little tricky, but there really wasn't much I could do about it.

They had to re-route part of the 5k course at the last minute, so this delayed our start and we didn't make it through the actual start until close to 8:45. Jen and I spent the first two miles weaving through runners and this made me a little nervous after becoming exhausted at Allerton last week when I had to do the same thing. My Garmin went a bit crazy due to the building interference so I was again a bit anxious to know how we were actually doing. Turns out I didn't have much to worry about it because mile 1 was a 8:13 and mile 2 was at a 9:19 pace.

I went ahead without Jen (something we anticipated would happen) and continued to push myself through runners. I felt great the whole time, barely noticed my hamstring, and got a few laughs. My favorite conversation I overheard was near mile 5 when a girl asked the guy she was running with, "So, how long is a 15k?" The guy replied, "I don't really know, I think it is like 10 miles or something." To which the girl said, "No, I think it is like 7...we're almost done."

I continued passing people and felt like I was picking up my pace even in the last few miles. The last mile and half did seem to go on for awhile, but I actually clocked in faster times...8:32 and 8:41 for the last half mile. This made me happy considering I'm trying to use this as a time indicator for an upcoming half marathon.

We were in a bit of a time crunch after the race since we had to check out of the hotel at 12, but the event was well organized and the lines for chocolate went quickly. The fondue and hot chocolate hit the spot.

There was a stage with live entertainment and plenty of space for the post race party.

Overall, the race was good. It is a great distance and runners receive a jacket (that runs small), which is a nice alternative to a race shirt. If I were to do this again, I would try and get in a corral. I would also see about a late check out that doesn't cost $50 so that I could get as much out of the post race party as possible.

Happy 1 Year Runniversary!

Today, well tomorrow, marks my 1 Year Runniversary of more serious running. Last year I ran Allerton with Jen and Marissa and had a blast in our pink tutus. This year I tried it solo and for the first time ever, raced.

I met up with Mike (pace leader from the marathon) before the race and asked him about his goal time. He was hoping to keep at least a 9:30 pace and I was excited to hear that.

After the race got started, I tagged along and kept close to him as he aggressively passed MANY runners. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have been stuck behind people and would have been no where near a finish pace of 9:30. I am not too familiar with trail racing so the single track parts were interesting. We exerted a lot of energy in the first two miles running between 8 min and 8:30 min. miles and I was worried I would be pooped before the race was over.

Fortunately people started settling into their paces and we were able to get to our comfortable pace as well. Mile 2-4 were still hard though because I was much more tired than I thought because of the speedy first 2 miles.

There were quite a few more ups and downs than I remember from last year. I really gave it my all and have never done that before. The finish could not come soon enough and I really thought I was going to pass out with only .5 miles left. I had no kick in the final stretch and was passed in the last 30 seconds by about 5 people. Nonetheless, I came in around 52:40, which is about 10 minutes faster than last years time. My Garmin also registered a course of 5.69 miles instead of the 5.5 miles it is listed as. I think it is partly because of my weaving in and out to pass people in the early miles.

Mike and I visited afterwards and enjoyed a donut from the wonderful food station provided by racers. They encourage racers to bring an item to share, needless to say, I mooched and didn't bring anything this year.

*Note to self, bring something next year.

Some upcoming races

Looks like my hamstring (fingers crossed) is on the mend. It is definitely not 100%, but it is coming around. I participated in a 5k muddy obstacle course race and had a lot of fun. That got me the running bug again and I'm now signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15k in Chicago on November 5th and I'm eyeballing a Turkey Trot Half Marathon in Schaumburg on November 26th. Conveniently, the half marathon training program I found has my running a 15k race the exact weekend of the chocolate race, I think this must be a sign!

I did my first speed training yesterday and it went quite well. I even saw a few 6s in my mile/hour at various points in the workout. It was just a short one..5x400, each week gets progressively longer. I'm keeping an optimistic mind as I enter those runs!

I'm still running...even in the rain!

I know it has been awhile since I've posted. I've consistently been running about 5 miles a few times a week and try to do a little longer run on some weekends. It has worked out for the most part.

This morning I was scheduled to run with Donna and it was sprinkling when I left the house. Needless to say, within five minutes it was pouring and after about 5 more minutes it was thundering and lightning.

I really have only run the rain one or two other times, but it was not this heavy and it was colder out so I had a rain jacket on. Here I am SOAKED after cutting our run quite a bit short.

Tuesday Track Workout

I managed to convince Mary and Cass to try out the track for a workout this morning. I was glad they were game because I knew I wouldn't do it by myself.

We met for our regular Tuesday 5:30am run near my house and ran the 1 mile to Parkland's track. I did not fully disclose what we would be doing because I wanted to leave some suspense. I actually dumbed down a workout that I did with Second Wind just because I didn't want us to kill ourselves the first time trying it.

So, we attempted a 400 at a quick clip, with Mary and I coming in around 1:31. We were exhausted...that was a bit too fast for us.

We slowed down the second attempt after a quick breather and pulled off 1:51, I believe. This beat the range I thought we were capable of doing 1:55-2:05, so I was pleased.

On our third lap, we came in at 1:47. I informed the girls that for our last 400 we had to beat our best time by 2 seconds. We were all able to do that.

We are hoping to try and do this once a week to see if the speedwork helps are regular pace. Each week we will switch it up a little bit or at least add on an extra 400. Today we just ran back to our respective houses, although Mary did crank out an extra 2 miles.

We did all meet up again later today at the gym for our Cycling Interval class. This was our second go at this one, and I think I'm hooked. It consists of 30 minutes on the bike followed by a 30 minute Cross-Fit typed workout. Today we spent 10 minutes getting through 20 squats on Bosu balls, 20 push-ups, and 20 core cross overs with medicine balls as many times as we could. I think I made it through each activity 3 times and did the squats a 4th time. I felt much better doing it tonight than I did last Thursday, so we shall see how it goes this Thursday.

The last part of class was devoted to balance work combined with stretching. If you want to see something funny, just come and watch me try this. I have known that I don't have very good balance, but it became quite evident last week when I tried this. I showed some subtle improvements, but I still have a lot of work to do.

This class seems to be the perfect fit for me and I'm glad that I tried it out last week.