Tag: race day

Pre-race Musings

Otherwise known as City to the Sea goals. 😃

It seems like this is the ultimate race weekend. Chicago, Long Beach, Brooklyn, Hartford, Steamtown, Tyler Rose- and those are just the ones I know of from reading your blogs. I am sure there are numerous more. Congratulations to everyone who ran today and good luck to everyone racing tomorrow!

Then there’s City to the Sea. I’ve run this race twice before, both times were a PR. A pretty big PR each time- around 10 minutes each time. My current half marathon PR was set at City to the Sea in 2013- 2:05:53. No pressure, right?

PR smiles..and trying to hide my shaking legs-2013

Being real though, I am not in PR shape. And then there’s the course. I aim to positive split this course. Intentionally.

That was my plan 2 years ago and it worked. However this year also brings a change in course. The race starts in SLO and ends in Pismo- 2 towns over. The former course had you running down the main drag, under the freeway, up a frontage road then over the freeway, up a frontage road then under the freeway again before heading up another main drag. And roads weren’t closed. This year the course deviates after mile 5. The previous hill towards the end grew in size.

I didn’t run this race last year due some health issues so I am looking forward to this year. That said, I am going in with minimal goals. They are as follows-

Goal A– No pressure, have fun running what was one of my favorites races. Enjoy the new scenery. Part of the course covers the Bob Jones trail. I’m told it’s a lovely paved trail with great scenery in a nearby beach town but I’ve never run it. Now I get to with a couple thousand runner friends. 😃

Goal B- Sub 2:10 This should be doable. Maybe not comfortable but doable. That said, you never know how race day will go. I think my biggest obstacle with this is new medication I started a week ago that turns me into a walking zombie. If that happens, then I will just be the fastest walking zombie ever. Why is there not a zombie emoji?!!?!

Goal C- Sub 2:05- New PR Highly unlikely but stranger things have happened. I think every starting line brings visions of a PR. Which is fine. I set myself a goal breaking 2:00 someday and every run and every race will bring me closer to that. Even if it takes a little longer. 😏

Did I mention that SLO hit 105* on Friday? Go home weather, you’re drunk. I am suddenly looking forward to the 7AM start time. Well sort of. I am a slacker after all.

Who raced/ races this weekend?

Ever meet a social media friend in real life?

Do you have fall weather? Seriously jealous right now.

2015 HOB Fun Run 10K/ 5K

This was my 9th year participating in the HOB Fun Run. It was my 8th time volunteering and my 6th time running. Breaking it down even further- this would be my 6th time running the 5K and 3rd time running the 10K. Also the 3rd time running both races. As much fun as I have at this race, it’s also one of the most stressful. So many people I know! It kind of freaks me out. Throw in team shirts and you can’t even blend in anymore. 🙂

The Scene-

The race starts and ends downtown. I could walk to the start if I wanted to. I have yet to do that though. The course is a loop around the city park and down the main drag. The 10K is 2 loops and the 5K is one. It’s one of the few races I’ve ever run that is a completely closed course. A kids 1/2 mile race, a 75 yard dash and a diaper dash are also offered. It’s a race known for being flat, fast and still offers prize money. The baby who wins the diaper dash wins a washer and dryer.

The 10K started at 8, so I arrived a little before 7:45. I knew we were attempting a group photo with whoever was there before the 10k. C and C-hub were there- race buddies!!! I haven’t run a race with them since last year’s fun run. I miss my buddies. 😞 There were 6 of us for the first shots. After the standard shot, the race photographer decided he wanted one of the back of our shirts. It was the most awkward picture ever. It’s a total butt shot and I was thankful I was wearing a skirt. 😏 The plan was to race the 10K and just have fun running the 5k. I was still feeling my running funk so I had very basic goals for the 10K-

A- Sub 55- PR- I knew it wasn’t happening but I could dream right?
B- Sub 60
C- Better than last year’s blow up

10K- The one where I was beat by a 30lb dog.

30 seconds to the start I realized I left my water in my bag with my bib change for the 5k. Crap! C rocks, I texted her and she grabbed it and tossed it my way when I ran past. I felt like I started out too fast but I really didn’t. However it was my fastest mile of the race. My stupid headphones refused to play and then wouldn’t stay in my ears so I ran the first loop with them wrapped in my hand. I stayed steady and tried to increase my turn over but it wasn’t happening. I rounded the corner to finish lap 1 and was able to toss my headphones to C-hub. I also saw my time at the 5K mark- 28:something- ouch. Miles 1-3: 9:08, 9:23, 9:23

I tried to pick it up on the second loop but I just couldn’t find another gear. I never felt like I was running hard but I didn’t feel like I could run any faster either. It was odd but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a banner day so I was ok with how I was running. Seeing a less than 30lb dog with little legs outrun me was a little disheartening though. 😃 Seriously, the dog ran the entire 10K with his owner and didn’t even seem phased. Miles 3-6: 9:13, 9:40, 9:31

Finish- 58:54

Goal B successfully accomplished. Time for a quick bib change and the main group shot before the 5K.

5K-

C, C-hub and their daughter E were planning on run/ walking the 5K and I was going to join them. C and E bolted from the starting line leaving C-hub and I in the dust. We eventually caught up around .5 mile in when E need a walk break. I could tell C just wanted to bolt so I suggested she and C-hub dash off and E and I would follow along behind. I didn’t have to twist her arm. 😄

It was E’s first race so I let her set the pace. We ran when she wanted to and walked when she needed. There are 3 water stations along the course and you pass 2 of them twice so that means there are 5 water points for a 5K. This was needed as it was very warm morning. I made sure that E got water at each stop. At the second stop, I hung on to my water cup for some reason. That station didn’t have a trash can and I didn’t want to toss onto the clean street so I hung onto it. I’ve never done that before but it turned out to be a good thing. As we were coming up on the third water station I saw that no on was manning it anymore. Where did they go? There were about 100 runners behind us! Once at the table, I realized there were no cups but there was still water in the 5 gallon jugs. Good thing I held onto my cup! I had E hold the cup while I hefted the water. We were able to get water this way here and on the way back. We continued run/ walking until 1 block before the finish and then it was a sprint to the end. E hauled ass and finished strong! Woo hoo!

Finish- E-37:37/ Me- 37:39

We got our medals and headed for water. We also met back up with C and C-hub. They finished just over 30 minutes. Awesome! We chatted a bit while waiting for the kids races. Seriously the kids are so stinking cute when they run. Some of them were so enthusiastic they were literally kicking themselves in the butt. The 75 yard dash was broken into 3 heats since there were so many kids. Unfortunately I had to leave before I could see the diaper dash. 😦

Overall, it was a fun morning and a great way to see a bunch of people I don’t see on a regular basis. I miss my running buddies, hopefully it’s not another year until we race together again. 😃 Water station 3 snafu aside, it was a great race, and always runs smoothly. I’m looking forward to next year.

Week 16?- Blah

I really have to go back over these posts, I think I am a week off somewhere. I shouldn’t be on week 16 until next Sunday. Hmmm, maybe I can’t count?

If you read Thursday’s post, you know I got a little emotional last week. I’m still feeling a out of sorts but I’m going to just keep smiling and fake it til I make it. Thank you to everyone who commented. 🙂

Monday- Rest

Harvest Marathon meeting. Where did the time go? Race day is only a month away? Well, crap that’s soon. Unfortunately numbers are down. I’ve noticed that at a lot of races this year. I run a lot of the same races and they all seem smaller this year. Has anyone else noticed that?

Tuesday- 3.8 miles

I really wasn’t feeling a run. I couldn’t really pinpoint why so I made myself change into my running gear. I headed to the river path for an easy run. My mother texted me as I parked and I was hopeful she wanted to meet for dinner and I could ignore the run. I was half right. She did want to meet for dinner but was still at a tennis match. So I went running. Despite my weird funk it was a pretty solid run. It started out slow with a nice progression to a faster finish. I fit in 3.8 miles before I went to meet her.

Wednesday- 11.5 miles bike

Today was rough. I think the bad news about the potential job was the final push and I got a little emotional. At least I made the right choice that night and turned to exercise instead of food. My legs felt a little rubbery when I was done with those miles. 😄

Thursday- 4.77 miles

Once again, I just wasn’t feeling my run. The plan called for speed work but I was having troubles talking myself into even running 2 miles. I headed back to the river path and just figured I would run whatever my head wanted to. I kept it easy and tried to just shut my brain up. I don’t know how well it worked but I feel like it was a solid set of miles. While our temps have been very un-fall like- we have had some amazing sunsets. It’s hard to be mad when you see this-

Friday- Rest

More like chaos. Due to some scheduling issues and a late summer illness, there was only myself and 2 other people at work. Being down 50% of your crew is painful. I knew we could do it, but there were some logistical issues that had me concerned. We did get a some help from other locations for portions of the day and thankfully it was a slightly slower than normal Friday. We got through the day and I have never been so glad to close the doors. 😖 But hey a customer told me I had an amazing attitude so score!

Saturday- Rest

I planned to ride the bike but I was so damn tired I chose a nap instead. Wish it could have been longer. I also worked the registration table for my favorite race of the year. HOB Fun Run! This was the first race I’d ever run. And it turns out it was 5 years ago Saturday and this showed up on my Timehop-
Sunday- 10K and 5K

I love this event but it does stress me out. It’s a race where I am guaranteed to know a ton of people. Performance anxiety!!!! Plus the last two years we’ve had a running team with matching shirts. You can’t hide when you’re wearing matching clothes. 😉 Race recap will be up Wednesday.

Oddly enough, for a week when running was the last thing I felt like doing, I turned in one of my highest mileage weeks in months. Which is partially cool and partially sad because I would love to see a higher number. But it is what it is. Despite my funk, I feel like they were all solid miles and solid miles help build a stronger runner. Right? Can’t complain about solid miles.

Paleo– Oh hell, I don’t even want to grade myself. Lunch and breakfast were still good but other choices were not. Let’s just say donuts and pizza happened. Way more often than they should have. Oddly enough it was my nice healthy salads that made me feel sick. I’ve been experimenting with various types of lettuce and some are not winners. But now I know I can add kale to the list of things I can’t eat. I’d never eaten it before so luckily it’s not something I’ll miss.

So yes, last week was rough but I am going to try to look on the bright side. I got all my miles in plus a solid cross training workout. I had a fun (busy) weekend and got to see a bunch of people. Oh and I dyed my hair again. 😏 My boss is back this week- woo hoo!- and I am looking forward to a weekend of nothing. And then taper! Or am I in taper now? How did I mess up my damn race plan so much?

How was your weekend?

What’s your favorite race?

Is taper the week before race week of the week of the race for a half? My brain has turned off.

Central Coast Cancer Challenge 5K- Recap

My first time running the Central Coast Cancer Challenge was 3 or 4 years ago. It was an entirely different beast then. It was smaller and 2/3 on trails with no warning about that on the website. Actually, I am not even sure it had a website. I ended up running into a friend on race morning and we ran it together. At the time it was the closest I had ever come to running a sub 30 5K. Well, until we realized the course was short. By a lot- we all registered around 2.6 miles. Turns out some course signage had fallen over and was not corrected prior to the race start. Oops. The past few years it has been part of the RaceSLO group so I had been wanting to check it out. Schedule conflicts prevented that until this year.

The race raises money for cancer research and a local charity. Cancer survivors can race for free and get a special race shirt with “Survivor” on the back. In memory/ In honor of bibs are free and participants can write names on them and wear them while running. I love the shirts for survivors but I think there needs to be another category. There needs to be a “Fighter” category for those who are still fighting their way to be a survivor.

As the race got closer I wondered what the hell I had been thinking. I haven’t raced a 5K in over a year, and my speed work has been more hit than miss and speed held for any length of time is problematic for my stupid stomach. So yeah. I had originally planned on trying to PR (current PR -27:48) this race but the closer race day got, the more I was leaning towards just holding on. If I could even break 30, I was going to throw a party. Then I saw the course and just laughed. The race has moved to the center of SLO over the past years and they shut down multiple busy streets for it. Having run some of these streets during the SLO half, I knew partially what I was in for. The course loops downtown and starts with a little less than half a mile sloped down, then you make a left and it’s pretty much uphill for the next 1.5 miles. It’s the kind of hill that you don’t notice driving but kicks your ass running. Ahh, crap. So new plan was to try pull off the following splits- moderate speed, slower speed, fast finish. Pretty simple right? 😃

Having picked up my race bib the day before may have made me too relaxed. Per usual my mom was along for the ride and we didn’t even get to the start line area until 7:45. I ended up bailing out of the car while she found a parking spot. Then I needed a restroom stop and there was a line. Another woman in line and I joked that at least races never seem to start on time. 😏 Took care of business and headed to the start. I hopped into the starting line chute at 7:54. I figured I could use the 6 minutes left until the 8:00AM start time to move my way forward in the crowd and get my Garmin situated. Maybe stretch a bit. Best laid plans right?The race whistle blew at 7:55.

5 minutes early!?!

Mile 1- 9:00

My Garmin was on but didn’t have a satellite yet. I just pushed start and figured I would deal with it later. I got hung up in a crowd crossing the starting line but managed to break free after a few blocks. A little too fast since my Garmin buzzed that I was running a 7:30 pace. Oops, slow it down there. Then we turned up the next street and that was taken care of for me. 😊 I passed the mile marker and checked my watch. I knew the mileage was going to be off but I wanted an idea of my overall time. Except the display was on some funky screen only showing the time lapsed in run/walk intervals. Ok then, guess I was running blind.

Mile 2- 9:42

This felt like the longest mile ever. I kept wanting to take a walk break but was arguing with myself that it was all in my head. I felt like we were climbing forever and it’s not even that steep! We only gained 133 ft. I felt like everyone and their brother were passing me. A woman came running up behind me pushing a stroller- uphill- looking fresh as a daisy. I instantly felt out of shape. I told myself I could walk at the water stop. But knowing that there was only one on the way up I had brought my own just in case. So I kept running. Seriously I felt like I was almost at the freeway on ramp, where the hell was the turn around? Oh there, thank you lord. My watch buzzed for it’s mile 2 a little before that and said 9:42. Ouch, definitely not PR pace. It was the only mile I had seen so I wasn’t even sure I was going to break 30. Grrr.

Mile 3- 8:17

I had hoped the downhill was going to help my pace but my stomach had started protesting around mile 1.5. I wasn’t sure how that was going to play out. I drew level with another woman and we had a little chat. She was surprised at just how much of a hill that had been. She said she hadn’t known. I said I had known but that didn’t make it any easier. 😖 We separated, I think I pulled ahead but I can’t remember! I picked up the pace and started reeling people in. I didn’t really feel like I was pushing the pace fitness wise but my stomach was telling a different story. I ran as fast as it was letting me and figured that was the best I could do right then. I could finally hear the announcer and people cheering. Yay, I was almost done! I could see the clock but it was far away and I thought it said 29:something. Then I realized it read 26:something. Holy crap- run!

Finish- 27:10 New PR!!!

Hell yeah! How I took 38 seconds off of my previous time, I have no idea. I felt like I was crawling up that hill. Now I am left thinking that if I had pushed a little harder on the hill, I could have been sub 27. Fitness wise, I didn’t feel like I gave it my all. I know part of that was due to some serious cramping in the last half but part of that was also due to my pre-race doubts. Or maybe me deciding to just hang on and not stress about the race was what got me that shiny new PR. Who knows. I do know I was happy about the race. I ran according to my plan and managed to pull off a fast time for myself. Maybe next time I will push a little harder. Now I just need another 5k. 😃

Oh and the women with the stroller was rocking the 10K. So fast!

What’s you favorite distance to race? Least favorite?

Shoreline Half- Recap

Going into this race, I knew not to expect too much. Partly because I had such an off May and June and I haven’t caught back up yet. Also, the course description was flat and I don’t do so well on flat courses. Then there was the humidity factor. Humidity is a big trigger for my asthma and I haven’t had the best showing at races with high humidity levels. Case in point-

Rock’n Around the Pier– 2:20:something and the first race I considered DNF’ing
Ventura- 2:34:something Granted there were other issues too, but I walked from mile 6.5 on. I also felt broken at the end- I almost couldn’t walk back to the hotel.
Surf City– 2:19- 95% humidity? Seriously?

So of course, I head back to Ventura for more ~~pain~~ fun. Different course but 85% humidity at the start. I tried not to look but have finally learned I need to be prepared. I was aiming to run a comfortable race and finish around 2:15. I don’t know about you but humidity is never comfortable. So here we go.

Race morning-

After 4 hours of sleep I was up at 3. I had limited my carb intake since Friday and eaten less than normal pre-race on Saturday. I did this for Wine Country and it worked well so I tried it again. We were on the road by 4:15. My mom drove so I dozed off and on along the way. We arrived 30 minutes before packet pickup so headed to a nearby McDonald’s to use the restrooms and she and S had breakfast. That place was sketchy. Parking was easy and we headed out to the start. Packet pickup was actually easy. I think I had birthday luck and got everywhere before lines formed. I had good port-a-potty luck too. 🙂 Exited one to find about 60 people in line. They had a map of the course up and announcer going over it. There were pacers for every 15 minutes starting at 1:30. The start was self seeded with 4 waves- Sub 8, 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00+. In keeping with my plan to run a 2:15, I lined up with that last group. Here’s where I had to contain my inner fan girl. Earlier while hanging in the grassy area with my mom and S, a man walked past up wearing a McFarland singlet. I pointed him out to my mom and wondered if it was real or just something they sold in association with the movie. I then forgot about it as we headed to the start line. The corral at the start was very tightly spaced and I looked right then snapped my head back. The flippin’ McFarland running team was standing there! At least part of it. Say what!? They soon squeezed their way through to the sub 8 group. Then the gun sounded and we were off.

Miles 1-3- 9:14, 9:23, 9:34

So much for lining up with the 10:00+ pace group. I went out too fast!! The race has 3 or so miles on the boardwalk- at the start and end. This meant amazing scenic ocean views, but it also meant running on concrete. My left leg was pissed early on. Nothing alarming, I just knew I needed to shake it out. We switched to black top by the end of mile 1. I shook off the pain by mile 3. The next miles alternated between a black top bike path and busy roadside. I was feeling pretty good but I also realized I was going to positive split this race in a big way.

Miles 4-6- 9:36, 9:50, 9:47

There was a tiny incline for miles 5 and 6 and I loved it. It made my legs happy. 🙂 Nasty looking dumpster aside, the course scenery was still awesome. It was a clear, sunny day and the ocean looked amazing. It was high 60’s, low 70’s which normally I would love but I could tell the humidity was getting to me. It was no longer a question of if but when. We hit the turn around for this section a little past mile 5. Now I knew what I was getting on the way back so I was ready. The course leaders had also flown by when I was around mile 4- they were flying! I was pacing myself by following a tall man in front of me. I did that for about 4 miles before I passed him.

Miles 7-9- 10:32, 10:47, 10:07

I took my first walk break during mile 7. And another. Grrr. I was trying to make up my time in mile 8 when I had a breathing issue. I had used my inhaler 3x leading up to race start but it wasn’t enough. I haven’t mastered using my inhaler while running so that meant slowing to a walk, taking out the inhaler, using it and giving my lungs a minute or 2 to calm down. I need to work on that but I don’t train in humidity. Mile 8 is usually my favorite mile but I feel like I missed most of it. I did find someone new to ~~chase~~ pace though. Up ahead, I saw someone I thought I recognized but have never seen in real life- Hilary @ Embrace the Neon! I chased her for the next 5 miles. Running- the only acceptable way to chase people. 🙂 I promise I’m not creepy, I just find someone to pace off of. Miles 10-11- 11:13, 10:57

I had graduated to walking all the water stops. I would drink half the water and dump the rest on my head or down my back. I was so sweaty, it was hard to tell the difference. Heading back to the boardwalk something funny happened- the arms at the train crossing came down! I saw everyone ahead stopped but I didn’t want to stand still and wait so I slowed to a walk hoping the train would come through before I got there. They lifted without a train ever coming through- what? Then we were back on the board walk. This is where things got dicey.

The boardwalk wasn’t closed so we were dodging walkers, non-racing runners, bikers, surfers, dogs, etc. That took so much more energy, mental and physical, than I had. One woman got off of her bike and parked it horizontal across the path. I swear she looked at us racers like “deal with it” but that could have been the fatigue making things up in my head. Another hard part of mile 11? Running past the finish line. We had to run past the finish/ start area to head the other direction for a 2+ mile loop before the finish. Grrr.

Miles 12-13.1- 11:32, 11:00, 8:17 pace

And my lungs protested again. Once more I slowed to use my inhaler. I had troubles getting started after that. I knew I was so close to the finish but I was hot and tired. I was so sweaty, the shorties under my skirt started sliding- they have never done that. I took more than a few walk breaks those last 2 miles. Then it was back on the board walk for the final push to the finish- dodging people all the while. Somehow I mustered up energy for a final kick to the finish.

A thumbs up?

Finish- 2:14:39

We were given our medals and herded into the grassy registration area. This is where my only real race gripe came about. The race promised tacos and beer at the finish line. Which were there but all I wanted was water. I could not find a freakin’ water table! I looked everywhere, even my mom and S couldn’t find one when they met up with me. I had read about other bloggers having this issue at races but had never experienced it.

I was so hot and sweaty and I just wanted to cool down. I took off my shoes and belt and passed them to my mom. I went down the beach, climbed over the rocks and walked right into the ocean. I heard her yell that I had paid a lot of money for the socks I was now walking the beach in. 🙂 It was seriously amazing. If I didn’t have my bib or my Garmin on I may have just sat down in the water. I hung out there for a bit before heading down the beach to the stairs back to the boardwalk. I didn’t trust myself negotiating the rocks the a second time.

All in all, I really liked the race. Even with falling apart at the end (thanks humidity) I managed to come in under my goal time for the race. Granted it wasn’t comfortable but it was fun and a great way to start a birthday. 🙂 After changing at a nearby In n Out (fries- Diet Coke!) we headed up the freeway to Santa Barbara for some birthday shopping. S’s birthday was the day before. My legs were feeling pretty good after the race but I kept popping my toes out of joint, grrr. Sorry if you’re squeamish. This isn’t something that’s new, I’ve had the issue for years it just seemed to happen multiple times yesterday. I managed to restrain myself shopping wise but did come away with a new skirt and pair of shorts from Lululemon. Oh and a purse from Macy’s. A great but tiring day. I was in bed by 10pm. 🙂

How do you celebrate your birthday? I’ve yet to have any cake!

Ever had to dodge the public while running a race?