(Race) Week in Review

66 Miles
14M workout with 3 miles via 544/545/541, 800m jog in 322, 2 miles via 533/534, 800m jog in 328
1 mile in 522, 800m jog in 324, 800m in 240

10K Race in 34:48 at SF Pride 10K, for 1st place overall (male and female), Splits:  520, 552, 531, 524, 557, 533, 1:09

10M MLR

The highlight of this week was breaking (for the third time!) my 10K track PR from college in the SF Pride Run 10K race.  I feel so confident with this training cycle and I know that time off due to injuries back in Q4 2015 and into Q1 2016 really is helping me feel so fresh now.  There are so many metaphors with my running journey that I can continue to tie back into my life: that the lowest moments - like getting injured before the Trials - only bring some of the best moments - like running close to my 10K PR in my first race back.  This ties back to my life:  getting separated (low moment) has allowed me to do things I never considered doing and for me to learn how to wholly love again (best moments).  Happy sigh. I couldn't be in a better place right now.  Sure, there's more healing to be had, but I am trusting that I make good decisions and am surrounded by a slew of loving, wonderful people who love me for who I am.  But I digress.  

Quick race recap:  I decided a couple weeks ago to do the SF Pride 10K and then when the Orlando shootings happened, I knew that I needed to do this race so I signed up.  Looking at the results from years past, I knew that it would be very likely that I'd be solo for the majority of the 10K, so leading up to the race, I focused on the mental tenacity I wanted to leverage throughout the race.  I was really psyched to a run a race that supports the LGBT community, and the SF Pride Run race committee definitely lived up to my expectations.  My favorite part was that the race started late (around 9:20AM) and around 9:15, the race director said:  "It's 9AM...GAY TIME!" and everyone just laughed knowingly.  It was a great atmosphere and I definitely stood out doing my strides and typical pre-race exercises and drills.  

When the gun did finally go off, a couple of guys shot out and I eventually tucked in behind a couple for a mile, before ultimately passing them (including the 5K leaders) until I was alone around mile 2.  Fortunately, I had the support of the lead cyclist who was my main motivation.  We ran two 5K loops, and I passed through the 5K in first place, which confused the hell out of people.  On the next loop, I had to weave in and out of the 5K or 10K runners that I began to pass.  It wasn't too difficult and I was grateful for the practice because the SF half will have the same situation.  The course was uphill on one side of the loop and downhill on the other side of the loop.  This proved to be very difficult to keep myself motivated for during the 5th mile, when I was working hard to stay under 6:00 pace.  I barely saw Peter, who had sprinted all the way across the Polo fields to try to catch me on the other side.  (Side note - that was my fault because I'm pretty sure I said it wasn't far to the other side and I'm pretty sure it was almost a mile LOL).  

Representing Skechers in SF

Eventually, I made my way to the finish line, having no real clear indication of what I would run until I saw the overall time on the clock and I pushed hard to break 35:00.  After breaking the tape, I was (positively) overwhelmed with support from several people since they loved that I won the men's race too.  It was a really special moment because it was my first race in SF as a California resident and it supported something that matters to me.  

Ultimately, I'm very pleased with this race effort because it's only 12 seconds off my 10K road PR from 2015 Cooper River 10k and it's my first race that I've finished in over a year.  Also, it's my first race back and I ran sub-35!  I can't wait for the SF half because now I've practiced the same hills I'll be conquering again in just two months. 

After the race, Peter and I went to Judahlicious and then we went hiking at Point Reyes before heading back to South Bay.  It was a perfect, perfect day.

Week in Review

55 Miles
10k race in 34:56, 4th place, $300
6 Runs
1 Day Off
1 Bum Knee

A lot happened this week.  Garrett decided that out of the three schools he got into that Duke Physical Therapy was the right fit for him.  This means that on July 1, we will be relocating to Durham to be close to the Duke campus as Garrett pursues his DPT for three years there.  I will keep my job at Bank of America, but work remotely from my house and come into the office every couple of days.  In my spare time, I’ve been doing my Duke MBA pre-homework and also looking up houses to rent in Durham.

Between all of that, after a great workout on Tuesday and an easy run on Wednesday night with Jordan, my knee randomly started hurting.  I went out to eat at Bad Daddy’s with Jordan and the Wilmore crew, and when I got up from the booth, the top of my knee was throbbing with pain when I stood up, went down stairs, or sat down.  The next day, Thursday, I felt it with every step I took at work, so I iced the heck out of it and hoped that I had just hit it on a chair and was not an overuse injury.  Fortunately, Friday came along and I was able to run without any feeling of the knee whatsoever, so I knew that the 10k race plan in Greenville, SC with my crew was still on.

On Saturday, Laurie, Eric and I all drove to Greenville for the Reedy River 10k, where we eventually met Aaron, Dalena and Michelle who were also racing with us.  Long story short, Laurie, Eric and I ran together through 4.75 miles (along with a Clemson girl who had two male escorts).  By 4.75 miles, Laurie fell off a bit, and by 5 miles, I fell off the Clemson girl while Eric charged ahead of all of us to destroy the entirely uphill 6th mile.  I finished in 34:56, which is the exact same time I ran in October at the HFFA 10k race with John.  Charlotte swept 5 of the top 7 prize money spots.  Pezz was 1st, I was 4th, Laurie 5th, Dalena 6th, and Michelle 7th.  We all left with money in our pocket and most of us had PRs or were really close to them.

Sunday was highlighted with the runners’ sunday brunch at Eric’s house.  Since I’ve got four more months left in this city that I’ve come to call home, I’ve vowed to spend as much time with my close friends as possible...hence why I started the runners’s brunch.  Plus, I do love anything that has to do with food.

HFFA 10k Redemption

Goal:
10k @ Half Marathon Pace Tempo effort

Actual:
~3 mile warmup with strides and drills
10k race in 34:56, 1st female, 3rd overall to John and an Army guy
3 mile cool down for 12 miles total

In 2010, after Twin Cities Marathon, I ran this race in 38:13.  I remember feeling like total crap and hating all of the hills that crop up in the second half of the course.  I also remember coming with the expectation of prize money and getting a blanket instead.  This year, I knew that there would actually be prize money because of the big stink that Allen started last year.  Opting to not race the Runway 5k, which features a $500 voucher for two US Airways tickets, I wanted a good 10k effort and headed to the race with my roomie John (see, I don't ALWAYS run the races with the best prize money).

John and I headed up to the race all bundled up in an assortment of running clothes since the temperatures were the coldest we've seen this year--32 degrees.  After registering for the race, we grabbed our packet and embarked on our cold warmup, for which I wore: Lululemon mittens and headband, Lululemon rulu long sleeve, GORE running jacket, and my new Duke sweatshirt that Garrett's mom gave me.  I wanted to be as toasty as possible before I had to strip off all of my layers at the start.

With 5 minutes to go, I pulled off the multiple layers of clothing, changed into my Nike Flyknit Racers and headed to the start line with John, where we hung out with Allen.  Quickly, John and I scoped out our competition and right before the gun went off, I half-joked:  "Shoot, John, maybe you should just run with me." I figured he was thinking, "yeah, right" but when the gun went off and one guy took off in front of us, John hung with me.  After the steep downhill, the guy in front, who I'll call Army dude, settled back behind us a couple of meters.  John and I exchanged some words through the first two miles and then we stopped talking.  I had no idea what our splits were like because I had missed the 1st mile marker and didn't care to look at what our two mile split was.  Around 2.75 miles, John made a small move on an uphill because Army dude was still drafting behind us.  I watched them pull very slowly away from me and continued to just push myself.  In the entire race, I only saw my third mile split, so I guessed I was running a little fast in the first half to make up for the uphills in the second half. Turns out the first 2 downhill miles were run in 5:25/5:26 and then I came back with a 5:34 for the third mile uphill and when I got dropped.

For the second half of the race, I watched the battle for first take place from behind and tried to maintain my composure on the hills from mile 4 to mile 6.  Most of these markers were completely off, so I'm not sure what the splits actually were. After I passed the fourth mile marker, I started to pass the 5k racers who started after us. It was actually quite helpful to have them there to pass and provide some extra motivation since the boys up front were beginning to get a little further out of my range.  Soon, I realized that I was about to pass the 5k leader, so I sped up just to demoralize them and to boost my own confidence.  The 6th mile marker was completely off because apparently I ran .2 miles in 1:40, which is entirely not true since the last 600m of the race are all on a gradual downhill leading to the finish. I did, however, glance down at my watch when I thought I had about .1 to go, and saw that I was around low 34:00.  I realized that I had a pretty realistic shot of breaking 35:00 if I really busted my butt in the final 400m.  I'm really glad I checked my watch time because otherwise I probably would have not tried as hard since I knew there was no one close to me whatsoever.

As soon as I crossed the line, I met John, who was also happy with his race, given where his fitness lies right now.  I was pretty happy too, but it took me until half way through our cool down to realize that I ran within 4 seconds of my college track 10k PR.  I also cut off ~50 seconds from my road PR from back in 2011 at the Ukrop's 10k.  For a race where I came in with no expectations and no time goal, I am very pleased that I ran so tough on a hilly course.  I continue to be amazed at how well this year has been going.  For the first time ever, I feel strong in both the short and the long distances.  Now, I just want to prove that strength is real at CIM!

NC 10k Championships Fail

Goal #1:  Win
Goal #2:  Win $500
Goal #3:  10k Race in Low 35

Actual:
3 mile warmup
10k race in 36:49 (552, 543, 559, 538, 621, 713), 3rd place, $150
2.5 mile cool down for 11+ miles total

I hadn't run a bad race in 2013 up until today.  I made up for that euphoric high I'd been on with a slew of positive race experiences over the past couple of months.  I think that the heavy racing schedule from April finally caught up with me and affected my performance today.  On the warmup I knew that today was going to be rough based on how my legs felt.  Unfortunately, my legs didn't lie and I struggled to maintain my goal Half Marathon pace in half the distance.

I even positioned myself perfectly by tucking in on the first mile and staying relaxed.  I stuck with the second place girl through mile 2, where we struggled with directions on the course as volunteers were lacking at the turns.  After the 2nd mile, the eventual winner pulled away from me (ironically in the very same spot that last year's winner ALSO pulled away from me at).  At that very point, I questioned why I even do this race because it seems that every year I always feel absolutely terrible and that the heat and the hills just rip me apart.

All you need to know is my legs felt heavy and tired, I got beat by the same girl that I beat just one month ago at the USATF 8k Champs (a very tough competitor) and I fell out of contention for the win after the second mile.  It wasn't my day, so I'm moving on as I know it's not a true indicator of where my fitness lies and is merely a small bump in the road on the way.  And, hey, at least I got to meet an awesome new runner on the scene (Stevie) and was able to spend some quality time with Thomas and Michelle!  On that note, I need to go celebrate the birth of Thomas at the pool, and I know such celebrations will not disappoint!

Charlotte Racefest 10k

Goal:
10k in 5:50 pace

Actual:
3 mile warmup
10k in 36:14 (541, 557, 607, 545, 543, 543, 1:15) for 1st place female, and 4th overall
2.2 miles cool down for 11.4 total miles
$200 check

In 2009 at the Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon, I ran a 1:23:50 for third place overall.  That was not a fun race for me.  This year, even though I opted for the shorter, more forgiving distance of a 10k, my goal was to race better than I had in 2009.  Fortunately, Greg Shore and John Fillette decided to also toe the line today, providing me with some people to run against.  After a nice warmup with John, Anna, and Aaron, we all meandered over the to start line, where I did my classic warmup "hip thrusts" while Aaron squatted in a position eerily similar to one you would do behind a tree in the woods.

we freaked Kati Robertson out enough that she took a pic

After a couple of hoots and hollers from Aaron, the race director set us on our way.  As expected, John, Aaron and Paul shot to the front of the pack and I settled in comfortably far behind them.  John Fillette dashed ahead, and I made a mental note of catching him later on.  Greg Shore tucked himself right behind my left shoulder and drafted off of me. I  was fine with that because it gave me that extra motivation to keep the pace on my targeted speed:  5:50 pace.  Greg and I came through the downhill mile in 5:41.  John Fillette was maybe 20 meters ahead. I struggled through the second and third mile...especially the third mile...and then woke up again when I saw that the fourth mile was downhill again.  John Fillette wasn't too far ahead anymore, so I picked up the pace to at least catch up to him.  By the fourth mile mark, I was leading the small pack of John, Greg, and myself.  At 4.5 miles, we passed Chris Cummins and company, who yelled at me to "break those guys."  Like true gentlemen, they didn't even acknowledge John or Greg, and provided me with the fuel I needed to conquer the remaining hills on this unforgiving course.  John Fillette dropped back almost as quickly as the words came out of Chris' mouth.  Afterwards, John admitted that those words may or may not have lead to his slower pace.

Unfortunately, I hadn't dropped Greg quite yet. I realized that he was typically stronger than me on the uphill, but that I was stronger on the downhill.  So, at the last downhill before the long Barclay Downs hill, I surged ahead, and used that momentum to keep my speed going up the hill.  Somewhere along that dreadful hill, I managed to put a couple of meters between the two of us...a sizable enough gap that he wasn't able to close.  Somehow I managed to come through the finish line just under 36:15, which was right on my target pace. Greg was just a few seconds behind, and we high-fived.  He also apologized for drafting off of me the entire race, which I didn't really mind.  There wasn't any wind, after all.  Everyone had a good race.  Paul won, Aaron got second with a huge PR, and Greg's friend came away with some prize money.

All in all, I accomplished my goals for this race.  Most importantly, I walked away with $200, which will immediately go towards my moving expenses that will be incurred in just one month's time.

Fall Harvest Run 10k Race Recap

Goal: Run a 10k at Marathon Pace (6:10)
Actual: Pretty much that (6:08 pace) for 38:13

Well this was a mediocre race for me. For all intents and purposes, John and I made the trek up to Huntersville in the hopes of winning a cash prize. To our defense, the website leading up to the night before the race had publicized "cash prizes" for top three overall finishers, and Ben Hovis recollected how he took home some cash in 2009. After a 3 mile warmup, John and I showed up in all-out racing gear at the start line and discovered rather quickly that we were in the minority. We spotted Allen Strickland at the starting line, and he even referred to losing out on the opportunity "to win money." We smiled and continued our strides.

Other than the cash, the other motivation for me running this race was to get in a solid workout. I had a 60 minute progression tempo on the calendar, but opted for a race of that effort at the 10k distance. I figured that by running the race, I'd still be achieving the goal of a hard effort.

At the starting line, John and I scoped out his competition. It turned out to be a triathlete wearing a plaid shirt and a mullet wig. My competition turned out to be a man in a taco costume that seemed particularly uncomfortable to run in. Once the gun went off, we had a solid downhill for the first 400m, and about 10 people sprinted in front of Allen and I.

I felt like the pace was a bit fast, but figured the downhill was the reason. I came through the first mile in 558. I figured the ten people in front of me would fall back. Sure enough, after the second mile (603), I had already passed six of them and would pass the other two after the third mile (601). We ran around the Huntersville Business park and then rounded back out toward the highway. I was familiar with these streets since I had run a tempo here back in September.

Once we got back onto the highway, I only had the taco man to look towards and I passed him at mile 4 (613). After that, it was a race where I was running against myself and I blasted my decision to run this race. I would have had much more fun if I had run with one of my buddies over at McAlpine. Oh well. I kept on trucking, looking at the rear end of the guy 100m in front of me. The fifth (610) and sixth (611) miles were uneventful as I crested the top of a gradual hill and then turned onto the road towards the finish. The entire time down the home stretch, I was amazed at how much easier the last 10k of my marathon felt.

I cruised into the finish in 38:13, where John was waiting for me, and freezing his tush off! He got the win, with a new road PR, just edging out the mullet man. The two of us enjoyed a nice warm down together, and both felt really sore and tired. We saw Allen later, and he ran 42:01, and was upset that he lost to a taco.

In the end, we got a blanket for our endeavors. We waited around while the race directors figured out why these crazy runners thought there was cash prizes. Turns out they had used the "old" website from 2009 up until the night before the race. While it was an honest mistake, it was definitely a letdown. The blanket is very nice, but the $20 gift certificate that the age group winners received would have been an added bonus.

In the end, I realized that about a month after the marathon, it's still hard to recover from workouts and races. It just takes a couple of more days than it typically does, when you don't have a marathon under your belt. I'm ready for this recovery period to get back to normal!

OrthoCarolina 10k Race Recap

My mom got in a bike accident and fractured her shoulder, so she's got lots of time to read my blog. She asked that I update my blog since she is bedridden and this is the one thing I can do to make her feel better while her shoulder aches.

Today I laced up my (fairly) new Nike Pegasus to toe the line at the inaugural OrthoCarolina Classic 10k Race. In the early morning hour of 645, I met up with Aaron and Jay to pick up our packets and to warm up through the first 1.5 miles of the course. We picked up Allen Strickland and it was nice to have him join us for the easy jog throughout the streets of Elizabeth.

Once we got back, we found an entourage of CRC running fans. If you want a testament of the camaraderie that the Charlotte Running Club exhibits, then check out this list of people who came out to support the members racing: Billy Shue, Jason Martin, Mark Hadley +2, Alice Rogers, Adrian Stewart, Justin Breland, Lauren Robbins, and Jay’s Dad. If you count correctly, you’ll see that ten people woke up to cheer us all on. Pretty impressive stuff.

After we said our thanks, we all parted to our vehicles to pin our race bibs, to attach our D-tags, and to take that last swig of water. With the expectations that the race was starting at 745am, we meandered over to the poorly marked start line and waited….and waited…and waited until almost 8am when a strong police man got out of his undercover car, walked up to the starter and said “You are starting this race now.” Apparently they were waiting to get the timing equipment from the finish of the 5k race, but with the cop’s orders we took off without that equipment.

I went out in a casual clip, situated behind Alejandro, with Jay and Aaron pulling away as they took off with some Queens kids. Chris Lamperski passed me in the first 400m and I asked him what pace his Garmin said we were going. He said “5:20.” Crap. Too fast. I slowed down (and you’ll see just how much when you get to the mile split). I passed Alice’s cheering squad (Justin, AJ, Jason) and maintained my pace through Elizabeth Ave. At some point, a woman pulled up alongside me and she told me she was visiting Charlotte and asked if I was from here. I asked her what pace she was looking for, and she said she wasn’t sure and then I told her I was looking for 550 pace. Well 50 meters later we came through the mile in 609 so I immediately said “Crap, I’m too slow, I gotta go!” In hindsight, that was probably very rude, so I do hope that Emily Potter understands why I took off in a mad dash: I had goals to meet! I never got to talk to Emily more, so if she sees this, I hope she emails me (I couldn't find her on facebook).

The rest of the race could be categorized as a race against my own mind, in no man’s land, with the exception of two miles in which Justin was kind enough to keep me company.
Continuing on with the race, for Mile 2, I took off and ran a 548 through Plaza Midwood. At mile 3 (550), I was still solo, with Alejandro as the next person in sight - a distant 200m ahead of me. Fortunately, at mile 4 I got picked up by Justin, Alice, and Jason who ran with me through the downhill mile. We cruised to a 544 split for the 4th mile. We saw Aaron walking up one of the hills because he was done pacing Jay. Out of the goodness of his own heart, Justin decided it would be a good idea to stick with me through mile 5, which features a couple of nasty uphills. Boy, was I grateful. We went through in 550 and Justin was telling me really encouraging things. Aaron was behind me for the 6th mile but this did not stop him from cheering me on. It was really great! I finished up with the clock stuck on 36:33 - a full minute than what I ran last year at the Hit the Brixx 10k, which is a comparable course. I was pleased. (Editor's note: pictures to come!)

I regrouped with my boys and we cooled down for a good three miles. The awards ceremony occurred immediately after we got back from our cool down, which is something that I'm not used to. I'm very appreciative of the gift certificate and the check they gave out to the top three male and female finishers. Once I grabbed my award, I got lots of free goodies that were out for the post-race expo. I was impressed with the variety of vendors and the variety of free items available. Look forward to running this again next year!

Later during the day, I ran a nice 5.4 miles with Jordan and my legs felt great!