Peak2Peak 10 mile RACE REPORT

PEAK TO PEAK 10 mile race

 

1:34:25 (9:27 avg) 113/208 overall....45/114 Females...23/52 F30-39

^Awesome swag for this race! Technical shirt, technical hat and a finishers medal for everyone!

This was my first time running this unique 10 mile race. It starts down in Bellevue, near the Peak Performance store and runs along a beautiful trail up to the Peak Performance store in Omaha.
Race started at 8:30 with near 55* temps. Perfect. They were shuttling people from the Omaha store down to the start line on buses but being that I get terribly motion sick if you even MENTION the phrase 'you wanna ride with me?' I thought it wouldnt be a wise idea to make use of this service.
So, my awesome hubby drove me down to the start line and then picked me up after the race was done. What a guy.

So I got there around 8 and met up with some of my Thursday morning running buddies.

^Anna can NOT take a normal picture facing the sun. Proven fact.

Met a couple new friends from Daily Mile so that was fun (*Hi Michael! Hi Lindsy!*).

Race started pretty much on time. We started about mid-pack and at around a 9:40 pace. I ran with Megan and Jennifer (^the two on the left) for the first couple miles to see how I would feel (I wasnt sure what kind of effort I could give today).

^Around mile 2. According to Jennifer. I was too busy people/bird watching and looking for cameras to smile at, to notice any mile markers.
=)
A bit after this I pulled away as I was feeling pretty good.

^Around mile 7ish. Speaking of motion sickness, I actually got slightly queasy running across the wooden bridges in this race! All the people running on the bridge with me, and shaking it up were not doing my tummy any favors. How rude.

I was pretty pooped the last couple miles and didnt have much left for a final kick. The effort on this run felt like a solid tempo run, which is about the effort I wanted to give today. Didnt feel QUITE up to race pace, but I'm cool wi 'dat.  Still a solid effort.

^Coolest chicks around (minus the dork in the pink).

^Sweet finishers medal

Hubs and kiddos came to pick me up and I totally forgot to get a picture of them and I post-race AT the race, so we did it in the driveway. Please excuse their hair as they were running around like crazy people before the picture. Looking NOTHING like their momma when she runs. Nope. No way.

Recovery has been great. Took Sunday as a total cardio rest day-no post race soreness (probably due to my less-than-race-pace effort). Then did some 'llipty warm up, light weights and planks Monday morning.

Got back into the grove this morning with a 5.1 mi run. Kept it easy the first couple miles (10:31, 10:23 pace) and then upped the effort the last few (9:48, 9:03, 8:46, 8:19). 
Topped it all off with with some push ups when I got home (15 x 5 sets).

Today is my oldest daughters 12th birthday. TWELVE!  She was adopted, I'm sure. NO WAY am I old enough to have a 12 year old....

Ted E Bear Hollow 5K! Lots of pics followed by race report

TED E BEAR Hollow 5K August 25, 2012

Time-24:31, 4/18 in my age group, 40/194 overall

^Above picture before the race started. Love to see people milling about pre-race, gets me all sorts of excited to fly past at least 3% of them once the gun goes off.

^Above picture is my buddy Kathleen and I pre-race. We've been friends for over 10 years but anymore, the only time we get to see each other is at the occasional race!

^Above picture is the start line. I am at this time, mentally picking out the 2-5 people that I am sure I can pass in the next 20 minutes...that girl in the green shorts is goin' DOWN, people.

^Finishline pictures courtesy of the awesome Joseph Drugmand! He is at most of the races I do snapping awesome pictures and capturing memories for all of us. 

^Receiving my medal! Placed 3rd in my age group (I was actually 4th but one of the girls who placed in the top 3 overall females was in my age group so I got lucky)  =)

^Photo courtesy of Joseph Drugmand.  The gal on the left got 2nd in our age group. Her and I actually went to highschool together-AND she's pregnant with baby #5!  Kickin' job, Becky!

^ Bunch of awesome ladies. The middle 2 also live in the town I grew up in, which is pretty small, which automatically makes them my best friends now.  We ALL medaled. Representin' P-town like the bosses we are!

^Random dog at our race but SERIOUSLY. How CUTE is that face?  I would have tried to sneak him home in my back pocket if he was bout 80#'s smaller....

Proud of my time at this race!  My watch said 24:31 at the finishline BUT it also said 2.98 miles. They SAID it was a certified course, so maybe my watch was just being a clown, who knows. But my avg pace was 8:14 which is pretty rockin' for this slow poke!

Incase you havent been a follower of this blog from the get-go (and if you haven't, what's wrong with you?! Actually I dont even know if I've HAD this blog that long, so you're forgiven), Ted E Bear Hollow was the first 5K I ever ran back in August 2010 after I had been running for an ENTIRE 7 weeks. Yep. I was ready to kill it.  Ran that one in 32:19, then ran it again the following year in 27:xx (coming off an injured knee) and then this year at 24:31 (OFFICIAL results were 24:54 which baffles me as my watch said 24:31 and I started and stopped RIGHT on the mat-but whatev).  It is a favorite 5K of mine and I'll continue to run it as long at they let me! =)

It was supposed to be slightly chilly and drizzly this morning. We got the EVER so slightly chilly but the drizzly came in at about 20 minutes into the race for about 24.8 seconds and that was it-but it was a welcome relief!  The last 10 minutes of the race, I felt like my face was ON FIRE and would melt off my head at any moment! I have never experienced that in a race. I remember trying to fan it off with my hand. Yeah. Not too successful.

The last 4 minutes were TERRIBLY tough. But I got thru them. Finishline was about 20 feet after a SHARP turn which was kind of awkward as you couldnt put your boosters on the last .10 of the race (or for me, the last .03 of the race)  =)

Next race for me is a unique point-to-point race here in Omaha this Saturday called 'Peak to Peak'. It is a 10 miler along a really flat paved trail here that runs from a store in Belleuve to a store in Omaha.  This is the first year I've done it so I'm excited about it AND it looks like the weather will be PERFECT for racing Saturday morning (around 55* at start time)!  I MUCH prefer cold weather for races, than blazin' temps, dont you?  =)

The past week...

10 mi run with the buds!

It has been a good week. Temps have been cooler here in the good ol Cornhusker state, going as far as to feel a bit fall like. After several record breaking HOT days this summer, we actually broke a record on the 17th that hasnt been matched in over a hundred years-the low was 48*. FORTY EIGHTY degrees! In August!! In Nebraska!!!  Pinch me now.

Aug 10, Friday: 11mi bike ride. Triple B today. Bike-bible-banana.  Odd combo? Maybe. But it was awesome. Rode out about 5.5 miles, stopped for a Banana Break (Ha! Another 'b'!) and to read my Bible. Had that on my check list of things to do-read my bible on a ride. (Well, not ON a ride, I'm definitely no where NEAR that realm of coordinated). 

Aug 12, Sunday: 7 mi run (10:48 avg pace). 'Twas weird. I had cramps, twinges and tightness in all sorts of strange places the first 4-5 miles of this run. It was like an alien was trying to take over my body.  Had to walk a few times. BUT I am proud that I stuck with it and got it done. I felt fine later (nothing a little chocolate wouldnt fix-just not after midnight)  =)

Aug 14, Tuesday: 2  mi warm up (9:48 avg pace), 2.1mi tempo (8:28 avg pace), 75 push ups (25 x 3 sets)  It was 56* at 6am this morning. I really thought I might have heard a chorus of angels as I stepped outside that morning. Or maybe that was just crazy people who live in my head. Potato Potawto.

Aug 15, Wednesday: 10 min warm up on the elliptical (2.2mi), upper and lower body weights, 3 sets planks (100-90-80 seconds each), 3 sets wall squats (1 min each)  I can get thru a whole lot of punishment in the pain cave with Jon and Kate plus 8 yelling in my ear.  Is that weird?

Aug 16, Thursday: 4mi run with friends (10:44 avg pace, 153 avg HR)  I think this was our 2nd time to run on this new trail (its the same trail I use to bike). It was a great run as it was a nice morning and its always fun to run with friends. Its also nice that they put up with my mindless chatter. God love 'em.

Aug 17, Saturday: 10 mi run (10:44 avg pace 163 avg HR)  It was 50* this morning when I met up with my running friends (see pic above). Chilly!  It was sort of dark and creepy when we first started out around the lake. I was totally prepared for all manner of ghost, goblin or grizzly bear to jump out of the shrubbery at us with me using my scrunchie like a sling shot as my only line of defense.  Ok Ok, maybe not the grizzly bear, that's a little far fetched....But we came thru unscathed. My friend Deb also came along on her bike and kept us company (that's her hubby in the picture with us).  It was a glorious morning after we warmed up.  I had planned to do around 8 (or 7.4 since that is what one time around the Lake will get 'cha), but opted to do the full 10 with my friends (the 2 people flanking me have never done 10 miles before so it was kind of a big deal for them and I felt honored to be sharing the occasion with them!) 

I have my next race coming up this weekend. It's the Ted E Bear Hollow Race and it was the first 5K I ever participated in WAAAAY back in Aug 2010. My time that year was 32:19, last year it was 27:xx (I dont really remember) so I am hoping I can keep it in the 27s again this year or drop it down a bit.

Food has been hit or miss this week. I have had a couple 'hey that wasnt so bad!' kind of days and then I had other days where I feel like my face never left the refrigerator (or the chip bag. or the cookie box)....why cant apples taste like reese's peanut butter cups?!

Here I am!

Well, I thought it would be fitting to post here now since its ALMOST my one year anniversary from posting. That has to be SOME kind of record, right? I'm really surprised my blog hasn't rusted over and become inusable. But alas, I can pick it up, dust it off and get it working for me again. Thank you Jesus for technology.

Well, what's happened this year?

I ran The Papillion 1/2 marathon for the 2nd time (and my 2nd 1/2 marathon EVER). Last year my time was 2:08 and change, this year, 1:59 and change!!! I really didnt think I had it in me. This course is pretty hilly and is pretty much all up the hill the last 1.5 miles.  TOUGH stuff. Felt like I was going to 'de-food' so I knew I gave it my all.  Yay me.

Then 8 days later I ran the BoysTown Memorial Day 5 mile which is pretty hilly and WOW was it tough. Hilly, a later race (start time was 8:30) LOTS of spots with full sun AND just coming 8 days off my 1/2.  BUT I did it in under 50 minutes (9:05 avg) so I was cool wid' it.

                                             BOYSTOWN 5 mi run May 2012

And just for added cuteness, here's my little boy running around the track in the fieldhouse after the race. I believe this was lap 3 or 4-he's a MANIAC and I think he's going to be lightening fast like his Papa (cuz the good Lord KNOWS that doesnt come from me!) =)

Since then I have only run one other race. The Siena Francis House 5K/10K (I do the 10K cuz I'm a rockstar like that).  Last year I placed in my age group and my overall pace was around 8:50 I believe. This year I placed again but my overall pace was around 9:50!! Crazy what 80* temps and FULL sun will do to your pace...*irked*  BUT I gave it all I had for that day and that's all I can ask. And hey, I DID get my picture taken with a TROPHY so at least people will THINK I was fast.  =)

Overall though, this has been a hard 4-5 months. I've gotten off the good eatin' bandwagon and have resorted back to my 'anti-portion control' self.  Workouts have been good though. I'm running 3-4 days a week, doing weights 1-2x a week (depending on how often I bike), biking 1-2x a week) and TRYING to get 1 rest day in there. Earlier this year I was up to doing 100 push ups! Ok ok, so its 20 reps x 5 sets, but still. Last year around this time I could BARELY do one push up, so this is quite an improvement! The most I did this year at one time was 40, but then my shoulder felt wonky the next day so I decided I JUST might not be ready for THAT kind of punishment.  Now I am doing around 80 push ups 2x a week.

Anyway, I am hoping to be more consistent in my random jottings here and thereby HOPEFULLY encouraging myself to get back on the right track and leave this 'whole-pack-of-cookies' nonsense in the dust!

Any tips or words of encouragement welcome!!!