Anyways, this is a running blog, so I will highlight some of the races that I have run in the last few months.
September 16, Hocking Hills Indian Run 20K
I decided to go down to Southeast Ohio with a bunch of my favorite running friends. We rented a nice cabin for the weekend and never took an advantage of the hot tub! The Indian Run took place in Hocking Hills State Park, more specifically it ran around the upper and some of the lower loop around Old Man's Cave. There were many different distances 60K, 40k, 20k, 10k, and 5k. What made it interesting is that there were all different start times and you just went to the start line when you were ready to run, tell someone who wrote the time you started, and then you just took off. Several of my friends were also running the 20k and I was going to run with them but I felt good at the beginning so I just went with it. This race was described to me as a trail race but the first 4 to 5 miles were on the roads, but they were anything but flat! Another runner ran past and I asked him if this was actually a road race? He laughed at me and told me not to worry that we'd be in the woods soon enough. I remember having to walk up this huge hill right after turning into the woods and was so happy to see an aide station at the top of the hill. I ate a fig newton (something that you'd never see in a road race) and kept on a decent pace as the wooded sections were mostly run-able. I wished I had some better shoes though as I slipped through a muddy section but managed to stay on my feet the whole time. There was a section of the trail that had a lot of roots that I ended up walking more than I would have liked but finished strong with a time of 2:16 (12.4 miles)
A group picture before the run
This was a unique medal from the race. The students at a local school made them
September 23, Akron Marathon Relay Leg #2, 6.2 miles
I love being a part of this race. I have participated in this race 10 times (I missed one year after giving birth to Ella) in various ways: 1 full marathon, 5 half marathon, 4 relay teams. This year one of Ella's friends mother asked me if I would like to join their team. They were running it for fun so there was no expectations. I wanted to run the second leg since it was running through Firestone Park and the kids and Matt could easily see me along the course. The day turned out to be a warm day but I didn't have a problem since my leg started around 8 am. I'm so glad that I decided to run the relay this year because of the heat, since I thought about running the half (which also would have been a bad idea after running the week before). I didn't know my relay runners at all and was surprised that I managed to see the first leg runner at the start of the race which made the transition better when he handed off me. My leg started in the downtown area and ran up Brown St to N. Firestone Blvd. That was probably the "hardest" section as you ran up a slight incline the whole time but since I knew that Firestone Blvd would be a nice downhill and seeing my friend, Amanda, and my little family was a nice half way surprise (well not really a surprise but you know). Running back through Main St. I got a little tired but before things went too south, I reached the 3rd exchange point. My part of the relay was done in 53:45 (5 seconds slower than my PR, lol!) and our team ended up 4:47, it got really hot as the morning went on!
November 12, Made in America Half Marathon
After running the Akron half marathon a few years ago I decided to "retire" from the distance and work on shorter distances. Last year I PRed at the 5k, 10k, and 15k and since this spring I ran a marathon I felt that I maybe I could run a half again. I put no expectations on this race since I wasn't training much. When I say I wasn't training much is that I had a solid base from training for the full marathon and over the summer I had continued to run 6-10 miles most Saturdays. There were also a couple of Saturdays that I ran the 13.1 distance just for fun. So I signed up for this race on October 3rd and on the Saturdays in October ran 10, 12, 12, and a 10 miles. The first 12 miler I ran was terrible. I ran on the towpath out 6 miles and when I turned around I don't know what happened but I felt sick and thought I was never gonna make it back to the car. In fact, I was hoping to see someone out at the trailheads to hitch a ride back to my car. So the next week, I brought some vanilla GU and took it at the turnaround which may have helped. All of my Saturday runs went okay but I wasn't sure what to expect from race day, I usually go out too fast and then crash and burn. So on Sunday race day, while I was driving down to the race I told myself I'd be happy with anything under 2:15 even though I knew I had what it takes to make it under 2:10 (which would be a post baby PR) but I honestly was trying not to get myself too excited about the race. This was a small race that started on the roads (nice rolling hills) and at mile 4 we jumped on the towpath. I glanced down at my watch after the first mile completely surprised that I ran it in 9 minutes! I mentally started asking myself is this too fast? Should I slow down? I could PR! I was very surprised that I was feeling really great so I decided to just go with it and kept on trucking. I got to 5 miles in a little over 45 minutes and asked myself the same questions and got the same answer. I got to 6.5 miles in just under an hour and I was shocked! I realized there was a chance I could run this race under 2 hours (a goal I have had since my second half marathon which I ran in 2:05 in 2008) but again I tried not to think too much about this. I ate a GU around 7 miles (I didn't really need it but it was just in case) and went on my merry way (seriously I was having so much fun!) Then at mile 10, I started to feel a little tired and began to slow down a little, I had to walk through a water station but was able to keep a good pace. The last 3 miles were 9:35, 9:58 (oops, but hey it was under 10 minutes!), and 9:16. I saw the finish line and sprinted. I crossed the finish line with a new PR (NOT JUST A POST BABY PR) on 2:02:32 (3 minutes faster, WHAT!!!!??!??!)
My favorite picture from one of my Saturday long runs on Sand Run
November 23, Miamisburg 5 Mile Turkey Trot
Again no expectations, other than trying to run it under 45 minutes since I signed up to run in that corral. The first mile is the hardest, due to the crowds and the nice hill for about half a mile, first mile just over 9 minutes. The second mile is all downhill so it's easy to make up time, 2 mile was 8:02. Then the course flattens out and the crowds thin out so you can just settle in a good pace. I hit the 3rd mile in 8:28 and felt strong. I didn't even realize I was running faster until I got to mile 4 in 8:16 (!) but again I was feeling great so I went with it and ended up running the last mile in 8 minutes. I finished 37 out of 300+ runners in my age group with a time of 41:39. This might be at PR but I can't remember, all I know is that the last time I ran this exact course a few years ago I ran it 5 minutes faster, so it was definitely a course PR!
So I learned a few things from these races. 1. I am way stronger than I think! 2. Music, loud so I can't hear my breathing (I have never been able to NOT sound like I am dying which might make me think I am struggling when in reality I am not) has really helped me during races 3. My running buddy, Amanda, has pushed me a lot over the last year. She is someone who can't stop and walk during our runs, that I have learned that I don't need to stop and walk anymore 4. Even though the actual marathon race didn't go as planned that all my training really helped me this year. 5. Even though it's nice to have goals, it's also really nice not to have expectations in a race, so that way if it doesn't go the way you hoped you won't be disappointed.
Total mileage for the year as of November 2017: 1627
No comments:
Post a Comment