Hot Chocolate 15k

Hot Chocolate 15K
Chip time: 1:31:35
367 of 1154 in age group

TL - Me, Faith & Andrea post-race with adorable mug blow up
BR: Ladies from the Where's The Finish FB group pre-race

Andrea, Faith and I took a girls' trip to the big city to run the Hot Chocolate 15K. This was the first time for this event in Atlanta, although it is a huge race in other cities with as many as 20,000 people combined for both the 5K and 15K. The Atlanta event appeared to have about 7500 people in total. It was the biggest race I had ever attended. I cannot imagine the 20,000 or more I'll be running with at the Princess Half in February.

The Expo
The expo was small and well organized. Navigating downtown Atlanta and paying a fortune to park for 30 minutes sucked. The good people at Publix had a booth promoting, "Europe's Alternative to Peanut Butter" - Biscoff Spread. If you've ever flown Delta or Air Tran, Biscoff cookies are certainly the best part of the flight. I wasn't sure what to expect from Biscoff spread, but seriously I have eaten a quarter of a jar with just a spoon. The chunky spread has cookie crumbles in it. If you like Biscoff cookies, you'll love this spread.

We got great tech sweatshirts (although a bit small) as a part of our race SWAG and for some unknown reason they gave me a tech hat, which I really love. I'm guessing it was because I used a code when I registered, or maybe they thought I'd look super cute in it.

The Race
January in the South is pretty unpredictable. But I don't think anyone thought that we'd be running in tank tops and skirts on January 13. It was at least 65 degrees at 6a and 70 by race time with 80% humidity. Thank goodness it wasn't sunny. I don't mind weather like this in April or May. I'm just not ready for it in January.

We had to be parked in the parking lot by 6:30a. This was almost as difficult as the race itself. After navigating the road closures we got the space we had to pre-pay $10 for. We planned the best we could for this craziness and it all worked out in the end.

Pre-race festivities included a very loud, obnoxious DJ who was trying to get people to Zumba. I don't want to Zumba - not at 6:30a, not ever. We met up with a few girls from our Facebook group pre-run. It is always great to meet in person. Our pre-run pic made us look like zombies. I kinda felt like one at that point.

I learned an important lesson about bringing toilet paper with you. I was able to jump the line and pee before the run because I brought my own.

The course was tough. Very hilly. I was a bit intimidated by it just looking at the elevation map. Running it was another story. It certainly felt like it was all up hill with the exception of the last .3 miles. I was keeping a 9 minute pace through mile six. I was feeling great. I got some Gatorade at the four mile mark, which wasn't planned. I had thought I could wait until mile six and take a gel prior to the the station and be golden. The humidity made stops at every station from mile four on necessary.

At mile seven everything fell apart. My IT band became incredibly painful. I had a choice to make - either push through the pain, knowing it would all be over in 30 minutes or pull back, walk some on the last three miles and hopefully still be able to run in my half on Saturday. I chose to pull back and watched my pace crap out for the last three miles.

I really wanted to run a sub-1:30. It didn't happen, but I feel like my knee was saved for the real goal of my half this weekend.

Reindeer Run Recap

Reindeer Run 5k
December 1, 2012, Macon, GA
25:07, 8th out of 71 in age group

Can we say PR? If anyone was taking pictures at the finish line on Saturday, my smile was a mile wide as I came around the corner and saw the clock, which read 25:20. That would have been 11 seconds faster than my previous best 5k time, but this was a pretty big, chip-timed race and I certainly didn't start near the front of the pack. A quick check of  my watch and it said 25:07 - and my chip agreed with my watch!

The course was anything but flat. In fact, reading Facebook posts of other runners and hearing folks lamenting at the finish about the hills has made me even more psyched about my finish time. I actually really enjoyed the course. Sure, there were plenty of uphill spots, but there were just as many downhill sections. I certainly hate when a course is all one slow incline without any breather. These hills you could see the top of so I like the sense of accomplishment I feel when I know I'm at the top.

This was my last race of 2012 and I'm so excited that it was my best of the year and I head into 2013 feeling like I could run a sub-25 race at some point!

Labor Day 10K Race Review

This is what 9th Place looks like!
Andrea and I each place 9th in our age groups.

Labor Day 10K 
September 3, 2012 • Macon, GA
6.26 miles/ 55:58 chip time
9 out of 45 in age group;  213 of 560 overall

I've taken a break from my blog for the last week. Not really intentionally, but work does get in the way sometimes. My office responsibilities did not get in the way of completing my first chip-timed, official 10K on Labor Day in Macon.

Race day morning I got up early, ate some overnight oats with chia, had a cup of coffee and got dressed. My right knee felt funny. I call it fat knee, because that's the best way I can describe the feeling. On top of feeling "fat" it burned when I knelt on it, so I was a bit cautious of it for certain, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from racing. I debated wearing my knee brace the whole half-hour drive to the race, but I chose not to wear it and it all worked out okay.

There were 2500 people registered between both the 10K and 5K races through downtown Macon, Ga. I was pretty anxious the night before and that morning as well. Despite laying everything out for the race 12 hours in advance, I kept feeling like I forgot something. Finally I just told myself - if you have your shoes, bib and some shorts on your butt, you can run. So just get in the damn car.

I was so thankful to have my neighbors with me and it helped to have four teenagers chatting about stupid stuff while we waited for the race to start. Andrea's whole family runs and her husband and youngest son won second in the parent/child team division. Not to mention her youngest son got second in his age group and 14 year old daughter got third in hers. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

Is that a banana in your fuel belt or
are you just happy to see me?

The Runner's World plan I was using (Smart Coach) had me training for a 53:45 finish time. If it had been overcast or at least 10 degrees cooler than what it was, I think that time would have been totally do-able. But that plan doesn't take into account no shade, blazing sun and 80 degrees with 100% humidity. Oh, yeah - and I think I've mentioned before how much I hate the heat.

I was pretty psyched about the race, so I just put the heat out of my head. Put the tunes in my ears and tried to stay focused. I slowed down enough at every water station, not to drink, but to pour water down my back or on my head. I fell in with four other women about my age and speed who were marathon runners (well, they were wearing marathon race shirts, so I am making assumptions) and seemed to keep a pretty solid 9 minute pace. I fell a little behind during my water stops, but ended up finishing 10 seconds behind that group.

My watch said 56:00. My chip time said 55:58. My only goal was to finish under 60 minutes, so I'm pleased with the time I put up. I'm actually anxious to run another 10K without the extreme heat and humidity. I know I have a 53:45 in me. I just know it.


Latest Workouts:
Thursday: 3.5 miles/38 min treadmill
Friday: 4.02 miles/37 min

I've been on the road for work, so my running days got all mixed up this week. Running on a hotel treadmill is the equivalent to the second level of hell in my book and without a travel partner to know when and where I am going, I just don't think it is smart to run alone in places you don't know well. I've been babying my knee all week with ice, compression and Advil, so an extra day of rest on Wednesday was probably good for it anyway.

Running with Altitude

Today's Run:
Beech Mountain Club 5k
31:45 unofficial, First in Age Group

I searched high and low for a race to run close to me while I was on vacation in the mountains of NC. I secretly hoped the race would be on the low side. I wasn't that lucky. The only race within an hour of me today was at 5400 ft. Crap! Sign me up!

The drive up to Beech Mountain is intimidating. The switchback turns make your GPS think you are actually making left and right hand turns, not going around curves. I was a tad nervous this morning, mostly about dying. There was no course map and I had no idea how tough it might be, so of course I thought the worst.

The course was actually on the Beech Mountain Club's golf course, which was pretty cool. Starting at the recreation area of the club, we ran up the road and on to the course, around the back nine and a water obstacle, then back up to the club house. The terrain was a bit like an obstacle course - asphalt to gravel to concrete to grass (we ran on the fairways!) to concrete to gravel to asphalt. The hills were steep and plentiful. The downhill parts were kind of scary - especially on the gravel.

I felt good the first 2 miles. I could feel I was running a slower pace than I normally would, but there were at least 4 large hills in the first 2 miles of the race and I didn't stop on any of them. Personal victory. But I struggled through mile 3. My legs felt strong - not tired at all. It was my breathing that became a problem. I seriously thought that somewhere on the back 9 of that golf course someone removed a lung from my body. I walked probably a quarter of the last mile just trying to slow my breathing down and get back into a rhythm. I finished strong once my body figured out how to use oxygen again.

Because I had no cell signal and my GPS was screwy, the app I use to track my splits wasn't really accurate, so I only have the time I saw on the clock at the end. They haven't posted the chip time yet, but I think I was 31.45 - fast enough to be first in my age group. Okay, so there were only three in my age group, but I wasn't last.

I'm not shy. I'll talk to just about anyone. And I found myself chatting with a family waiting for the race to start. Lori and her husband (Mike I think) and their 10 year old son, Jack were vacationing in the mountains from Columbia, SC. On the out and back I spotted Jack and his dad on the other side of the course and they both gave me a high five (too cute). Lori has been a personal trainer for years and she is seriously in amazing shape. She came up behind me as I was struggling on mile three and helped me get through my lung suddenly turning black.

Lori's friend Judy (who looks closer to 50 than her real age) was a total inspiration to me. She had just run in an ultra relay in Florida on a team called 100 Shades of Gray. They wore handcuffs and t-shirts that said Laters, Baby. Awesome, right? Judy has done it all - triathlons, cycling, marathons, ultras - and she didn't start running until she was 39. There's hope for me yet! Both Lori and Judy were running The Bear at Grandfather Mountain on Thursday and invited me to tag along with them - even after they realized they are way out of my league. Unfortunately, I'll be back to my real life by then, but we've all exchanged information and will absolutely keep in touch. The Bear is on my bucket list for sure.

This was the slowest time I've ever put up in a race. But in retrospect, between the heat (yes, it was 78 degrees even in the sky), the altitude and the hills, I feel like it was a great test for me and I had so much fun meeting Lori and her family. Really, it was a win/win kind of day - blue ribbons and new friends!

Vaca Running

Today's Run:
Jim Gibbon's Traffic Jam 5K
25:51 - 7th out of 73 in age group

Until six months ago, I would never have thought about how to get a workout in while on vacation. Vacation = Lazy. The last two trips we've been on, I've kept to my every other day running schedule. This one has been a bit more difficult, but I managed to find a race to do in Chicago the evening we arrived. I thought it was the perfect, "welcome to the city,"experience.

This was the 18th year for the Jim Gibbon's 5K and all race proceeds went to Leukemia research. I thought Jim was a local news man at the ABC affiliate in Chicago and KC and kept looking for and wondering why we couldn't find the reporter anywhere in the crowd.  Unfortunately, Jim fought a long, hard battle with Leukemia that ended in the mid-1990s. His son runs this event in his memory. I'm glad we didn't ask someone where Jim was.

I had an unexpected running partner for this race - KC. He runs on the treadmill regularly, but doesn't run outside or have any interest in running races. But, since we were on vacation, he decided to strap on a bib and enjoy a run along Lake Michigan.

It was 85 degrees at race time, but I'm not kidding when I say it felt cooler at race time in Chicago than it does when I get up to run at 6a in Georgia. The race kicked off on the local news and you can see me (in white hat and pink shirt) and KC run by around the 1:07 mark of the video.

He paced off of me the whole race and out-sprinted me at the end to post a 25:40. I was very pissed that he beat me proud of him.

I was proud of my time and I ran better than I have in my last two timed events. The girl who won my age group actually came in third overall female with a time of 19:02. Holy f-ing cow.

They had a few food trucks at the post-race festivities. My favorite - the Chubby Wiener.

After the race we decided to walk along side the lake through Lincoln Park and enjoy the fabulous weather. We ended up walking three of the six miles back to the hotel before it got too dark for us. Along the way we watched beach volleyball tournaments and a dodgeball game that was pretty intense.

After seeing what competitive dodgeball is about first-hand, there's no way I will ever willingly participate in a dodgeball game. Insert balls flying in my face joke here.

Between the mile and a half walk to the race (after getting off on the wrong L stop), running three miles for the race and walking another three home, our legs were a little on the sleepy side to say the least. Our big plans for taking in the comedy festival that is in town this week were quickly nixed. Old people need their rest.

Will Run for Biscuits

Race Day
CFA Connect 5K Race Series: Warner Robins
26.49 - 3rd in age group

If you've never eaten at a Chick-Fil-A (CFA), you are missing a whole mess of chicken sandwich goodness. Grilled or fried, their product is flawless and their service is perfection. All you northerners are missing out. CFA used to be a southern secret found only in malls. Now it's more mainstream thanks to their BCS Bowl Game sponsorship. The cool thing about this company is that even if it is a giant corporation with stores all over and billions of dollars in revenue, their local operators do a great job supporting their communities.

This year, CFA started a race series across the country to help promote family fitness. And like everything else they do, CFA does racing right too. Today was the second race in the Middle Georgia circuit. The first race, which was on Memorial Day, was a horrible run for me. I felt slow. I had a bad attitude. I had a guy puke right in front of me not even a half-mile into the race. I was disappointed in my time, but the race itself was well-run and had lots of really nice touches - including chicken biscuits for the runners at the end of the race. And you haven't lived if you haven't had a CFA chicken biscuit.

Here's a recap of my morning...

Race prep: 5:45a - PB&J on toasted English muffin and coffee. Must. Have. Coffee.

Put the Pink On: 6:45a - race day is a pink day.

Post-Race Pics: 9:30a - these ladies are a part of our local women's running group called Where's the Finish (WTF). This is also the time for giving shout outs on Facebook. I just realized that I'm wearing my number way too far up on my chest. Super dork.

Medal Swag: 10a - not to brag, but I smoked the 4th place finisher in my age division at the finish line. We had the same chip time, but I crossed first. Thank you sprint training. I felt good today. The course was really tough. The whole first 1.5 was all downhill, so you know what that means - the whole 1.5 was uphill. It was also one of my better times in the heat (75 at race time). Thank goodness for a shady neighborhood.

Pedicure: 10:30a - sure I'm sweaty and stinky, but I do like a post-race pedi. Don't knock it til' you try it.

What's missing? Oh, right - the post-race chicken biscuit. This CFA didn't put out a spread like the Macon location. Just water and bananas - blah. Where's the biscuit? The next local race isn't until October and there better be biscuits.