China Grove 5k HUGE PR!

Goal:
Win and run fast (sub 17:10)

Actual:
3.3 miles warmup
5k in 16:36(!!!!!!!!) in 5:18, 5:23, 5:23, :33, 1st place Female, 5th Overall, $250, Results
Course Record
Road PR by 25 seconds (formerly 17:01)
Just 7 Seconds off my college track PR (16:29)
3.5 miles total for ~10 miles

If you've never been to the China Grove 5k, it is an event you must do.  Unlike most Charlotte "night" races, which aren't truly in the dark, China Grove hosts a race that is quite literally in the dark of the night at 9PM.  The post-race food is definitely something to boast about as they never run out of Pizza Hut pizza, watermelon, bananas and unlimited bottles of water.  I'm pretty sure that the allure of this race also comes from the fact that the course is flat and fast, featuring a nice out and back course that has a few small inclines that won't really affect your time.  It also helps that Vac and Dash puts this race on because I'm pretty sure all of their races are just badass.

At this race, every year it is typical for summer storms dwell in the distance, with lightning cascading harmlessly across the sky, far away in the distance.  This year was no different, except the storms were even closer and more of an imminent threat.  To give you an idea of just how close that lightning was, as David and I were warming up, we seemed to be running straight into a lightning storm.  One bolt of lightning appeared above us, which resulted in the natural response from me to simultaneously jump, scream, and grab onto David's arm in a panic.  I knew at that moment that if there was lightning during the race, that I would not be able to prevent this panicked response from occurring even while I raced!

Fortunately, the lightning and rain only kept on for about thirty minutes, forcing only a fifteen minute delay on the 9PM start of the race.  We hung out in a very expansive and fancy Fire Station during the wait.  I sat around and did some dynamic stretching until they announced that the race was indeed still on.  Thank god for that message because I really felt ready for the race at that point and knew it was going to be a special night.  By the time we made it to the start line, there was only a light drizzle, which actually felt quite refreshing on the skin.  The race director didn't make us wait too long and after one false start, the bull horn finally went off to signal the (real) start of the race.

I got off the line without any incidents and settled into a nice, relaxed rhythm.  I wasn't wearing a Garmin and really just wanted to run a smart race using my own pacing powers and competitive spirit.  After the first 800m, the competition had already thinned out considerably, but I was able to keep picking off several guys.  By the time I came through the mile in 5:18, there were really only 4 other guys for me to pass before making it to David Willis, so I focused on them to catch.  After the mile, I passed two of my four targets, and continued rolling on what felt like a great pace.  By the turnaround point, I had caught the last two guys and we ran together until just past the 2 mile point (10:40), in which there was a slight downhill that I really tried to push hard on to break my goal.  I really knew that I had enough time to break 17, but I wanted to make the most of every single change in terrain that could help me be even faster.  With just under a half mile to go, I was able to make a move on both of the guys and hold them off through the finish line.  They really helped push me to break 16:40, so I was really grateful for their company!  As I crossed the finish line, I did something that I rarely do, by lifting up my arms in celebration.  I was celebrating the time even more so than the victory because this is something that I have been chasing for over two years.  It was nice to finally see all my hard work pay off with a huge PR.

I'm definitely thrilled with this race and it shows that I'm doing something right with my training right now as I don't really have a coach. I hope it translates to a good half in just two weeks!!!!!  I feel like I need to run another 5k to validate that I'm truly a sub-17:00 5k girl now.

The race start.  I'm in the middle with a purple top

The race start - I'm in the middle, to the left of the line

Finished - 16:36

Two Records were Broken - Fam in 14:19 and mine in 16:36
David was close to a PR in 16:06!

Winter Flight

(L-R: Molly Nunn, Caitlin Chrisman, Jay Holder, Boriana B, Bert Rodriguez cool down)

Might want to grab a drink. This is going to be a long one.

Doing the first race of your new training cycle is like going on a date with a beautiful someone.

Think about it.

You get nervous for the date because you have absolutely NO IDEA if the beautiful someone likes you. You contemplate all the 1943734986 different scenarios of how the date could potentially play out. If the date goes bad, you want to get over with it sooner. If the date goes great, you never want it to end. After the date, everyone calls you to see how you liked it, how it went, and if you think you'll do it again. Afterwards, you think of what you could have done different to make the beautiful person like you more or what you did wrong or what went great. You could also say that you feel successful at the end of the date if you get a kiss - the trophy of the date! :o)

Now apply this to your first race in over three months. You get really nervous for the race because you have NO IDEA what kind of racing shape you are in. You contemplate the 21433934 different races strategies that could happen. If the race goes bad, you want it to end ASAP but you know that it won't since you are probably running slower and want to keel over onto the side of the road. If the race goes great, you still do want it to end, but not so much the post-race festivities (especially if there is free beer). After the race, all of your friends call you, facebook you, text you to see how it went and if you would run that race course again. Using your running sense, you analyze every single aspect of the race: your mind, the course, the organization, the food, the awards...and the list goes on...At the end, you anxiously await to discover whether or not you will be receiving an overall or an age group trophy.

In so many ways, I had my first blind date with a road race in over three months yesterday in Salisbury at the Winter Flight 8k. There is something truly unique about racing that allows you to truly put your fitness to a test and to prove that the training has paid off. As far as I could tell, yesterday proved successful for most everyone in the Charlotte Running community who raced.

To start from the beginning, my team of Boriana and Jay met in the parking lot to pick up our race packets. Immediately we saw a slew of Charlotte running people who were out there to cheer us all on, which was extremely exciting. Like a true teammate, since the day boasted temperatures in the upper 60s, Jay was kind enough to bring his sport sunscreen so that this semi-albino's skin would not burn during the race. Teammate #2, Boriana, was also kind enough to let us store our stinky shoes in her car and be our driver for the day's activities.

After lathering up, we were off for the warmup. Knowing that we all had the support from our fellow countrymen, I began feeling excited to put everything on the line. Although my legs did not feel fantastic on the warmup, that is typically the way I like to start a race (never have raced well when my legs feel fan-freaking-tastic in the warmup). I will admit that I had several different doubts going through my head during this time. I was wondering if my breathing would be okay because my throat seemed really tight, as though I was coming down with a bad head cold. I pushed these thoughts aside because I really knew that the most important task at hand was to race to best of my potential on that day given the circumstances.

We made it to the start line to check out our competition. It looked like there were at least four girls who looked capable to run sub-30:00. Alana and I situated ourselves behind Bill Shires and, although it was hard to hear, the National Anthem was played. Immediately before the gun, we all gave each other a fist slap (is that what it's called??) as good luck. The race director blew the horn and we were off!

I could feel two people on my shoulder and instead of worrying about that, I focused on staying relaxed through the first mile. I settled into a groove with Molly, some guy in a red shirt, and Alana. It was nice to settle in behind red shirt guy so that I could get a slight break from the wind. First mile: 5:44. Perfect - ish. After a while I could feel the pace slowing and knew I needed to make a move to maintain the pace I wanted - 5:50s. Luckily, after the first mile, there was a decent downhill, which is where I pushed down and left the red shirt guy and the two girls. I said good job in my mind to them!

After the move, there were two other guys about 20 meters ahead that I could focus on for the next two miles over the rolling hills. I got a boost of energy when I saw Chris Jones and Todd Mayes at the top of the second big hill, especially because they told me that it flattened out from there. Thanks Chris and Todd!

However, I rounded one other turn and then there was a hill, or two, or three...again. I chuckled to myself, but instead of worrying about the hills, I focused on the guy that I was reeling in. I ran my fastest miles during four (5:40) and five (would have been 5:44), mainly due to the fact that I caught the guy that had been in sixth place and was trying to catch the guy in fifth place (never did). After running up the 400m hill in the last mile, we turned back into the Catawba campus, where a beautiful downhill awaited the runners before they entered the track for the finish. Running onto the track was fun and I felt fantastic considering it was fairly hot and the course a bit hillier than I had expected. As I rounded the last turn on the track, I saw my time ticking away the seconds - 28:37, 28:38, 28:39 - and I pushed harded so that I would get my reach goal of 28:50-ish.

As I stumbled through the chute, I was directed to a table where a woman wrote down my name and time with a pen on a piece of paper. Very old school, but very cool at the same time. I felt like I was in high school again. I met up with Jay and Bert and we waited for the next Charlotte crew. We cheered in Alana, Molly, Chad, Allen, Boriana, Larry, and Scott.

My favorite part of the race was cooling down with Molly, Alana (for a bit), Jay, Boriana, and Bert. It was refreshing to know that everyone else didn't feel like going faster than 8 minute pace on our cool down and also that none of else wanted to run up another hill. It was great to share stories of how everyone felt at different parts of the race, especially for Jay since he literally had NO ONE to race with the entire time.

The awards ceremony took place in the college gym and the trophies were probably the biggest I've ever seen. I did come away with $100 so I'm only $1400 away from my goal race earnings for the year. :o)

Really Big Trophies

While the majority of the success stemmed from the individual efforts each person has exerted over the past months in their own training, I also believe that a part of that success may also be attributed to the amazing support that was out there on Sunday (and Saturday too at Cupid's Cup!). The list of people who came just to watch was extensive: Théoden Janes, Chris Jones, Todd Mayes, Garrett Bullock, Lauren Robbins, the Hadley family, Terri Nunn, Kathy Seavers, and there were probably even more people that I didn't know their names! Clearly, what we've got going on in the Charlotte Running community is just amazing. Every person is so supportive, encouraging, and enthusiastic about everyone else's success that it feels like we all make up a very large family.

Beautifully Painful

The Outer Banks Half Marathon came and went in less than 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 24 seconds. Of course, if you account for the warmup, cooldown, and awards, the time would actually span from 5am to 1030am, for a total of five and a half hours of anxiety, excitement, exhaustion, pain, fulfillment, excitement, and every other emotion few and far between.

In the end, I came away with over a two minute PR and $650 richer in my third half marathon of life. I was also lucky enough to be considered as an "elite" athlete, even though I did not make the qualifying time coming into the half. Forunately, the race director was kind to let several of the Charlotte runners into this category because Megan and Ben submitted all of us as a very large group (thanks, guys!). I know that Bill and I will definitely be back next year to enjoy in the fun again!

The best part of OBX is the beautiful scenery coupled with the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. There are some great places to check out - Garrett and I went to the Wright Brothers Memorial, which was absolutely astounding and inspiring all in one. Except for the moment when Megan's car got hit in the driveway, the weekend was relaxing, enjoyable, and exhilirating.

In a brief race recap, I was alone for the entire race with the exception of the first two miles, when a Russian was running alongside me. This proved to make things a little bit tougher on me mentally, but I still managed to run right on my target pace for the first 8 miles. Once I got to the bridge around mile 9, my pace began to drop, the lowest point reaching a 6:33 mile on the atrocious hill. By the time I got my pace back under control, I only had one more mile and, at that time, I really just wanted the finish line to be migrated to the 12 mile mark because I was spent. The finish was pretty ugly as I could feel my form falling apart in the last 800m.

As I now relfect on my race splits, there are definitely race items to improve upon and focus on for the upcoming training cycle. For 2010 training, I need to run some more tempos as well as hill repeats. It would be ideal to have the Bueana Vista hill from when I was in college moved to Charlotte. If anyone knows of a good 800m hill in Charlotte near Dilworth or Myers Park, please let me know!

Now that OBX is over, it is back to running base miles for the next two months with minimal workouts and continuously easing back up to higher mileage to peak at 75 miles in late January. I'm not sure what's on the plate for next year's spring races, but the main goals are:

1) Foster the growth of the Charlotte Running Club.
2) Have fun.
3) Enjoy the company.
4) Achieve one new PR
5) Win at least $2000 in race earnings for the year.

Should be some good times ahead!

PS So proud of my sister who is getting back into running and training for her first half marathon!

PPS Proud of Molly N for making a tough, but smart decision during the race this past weekend. You can get your goals in the next one!