Why yes, I DID run some races this year...

Time has that fun way of sneaking right on past you. It's almost the end of April already, graduation is right around the corner for my oldest daughter and I haven't updated this since January. Well, here goes...

2/7/10 - Red Top Rumble 11.5 mile trail race: My longest trail race at this point, and hardly my shining moment, at least that's how it turned out. I felt good about it, and was over halfway through it and keeping pace with two other ladies when that powerade I'd had a couple mouthfuls of back around the 2 mile mark reared it's ugly head. Lesson learned, no powerade at any point during a race. But I finished, dead a$$ last - lol. It's a finish for me, better than a dnf! I refuse to not finish a race. All in all, this was a great race put on by the GUTS group, I look forward to improving and running more of their races.

2/13/10 - SweetH2O Sweetheart Half Marathon: Who knew Georgia would see snow and ice the day before, and yet the race was still on? It was too cool, driving out there that morning, wondering how many would actually show. A pretty respectable crowd turned out to run on that very cold morning. It was cool to see a few runners I've gotten to know over the last year and run a race with them (well, not actually "with" them, as they're far faster than I). And of course this race was put on by my home team, Douglas County Road Runners.

The cold, snow, and ice added to this challenging half, and perhaps it wasn't wise of me to do it 6 days after Red Top, but I feel this compulsory need to challenge myself once in a while. As long as I finish, right? Now I'd run out to TOTW a few times before, so I knew what was waiting for us, but it still kicked my a$$. Thankfully, I didn't wipe out anywhere, as quite a few did after the sun came up and starting melting the snow and ice, creating a wonderfully muddy mess. Reann ran this, but had fallen behind before we'd gotten to TOTW, which is where I caught up with her friend Sada. She and I stuck together the rest of the race, and finished together. Reann, well, she was one wooped kid, but I'm proud of her, she could have quit, she wanted to quite a bit, but she finished probably one of the toughest half marathons out there. That's 2 for me, and 1 for her. Go us!

2/21/10 - Resolution Rush 5K: I decided to the 5K at the last minute with Chels, instead of the 10K. Chelsea did a great job with her 1st race! Came in at 32:13 for her very first 5K. What a kid! I came in a few minutes later and was happy with it. Got to see Sally B. take the 1st female prize while we waited for Jennifer to finish the 10K.

3/6/10 - Berry 10K: Another race Reann and I did together, Chels had to bow out due to a band commitment. A good race for me, actually posted my best 10K time to date (good thing, I wanted a better time for a peachtree qualifier, and this was it!). Reann did really well also, coming in very close to her best time at the Resolution Run back in January. Also stuck around for fellow Rogues Jennifer, John, Alex and Terri who were running the half marathon. Very cool to see Alex cross the finish line for his first half, and posted a fantastic time too!

Now, I decided in February to sign up for a 50K (what?!?!?). Yeah I know, and I was really wanting to do the one in June in South Carolina. I've heard nothing but good things about Terri Hayes races, and this was her Chatooga 50K. But, after living in GA for 8 years, I've apparently developed allergies, and they responded to the HUGE amounts of pollen in the air earlier this month, and I went down for the count. As such, I scratched the 50K in June, but am still contemplating signing up for Stump Jump 50K in October. One, it's 5 months away, two, it's in the fall, three, no less than 5 Rogues have signed up for it. A Rogue trip, how fun! Or, there's Mystery Mountain Marathon, another GUTS race, also in October. Hmmmm, decisions decisions, do I focus on marathon distance for now and push the 50K off til next year?

Another great happening was the 4th annual SweetH20 50K Trail race out at Sweetwater Creek State Park on April 3rd. I really love volunteering for this event, these are the runners that inspire me to push my own goals. It was absolutely fabulous to see all the "cool kids" out there running on the first hottest day of the year. Congrats to Sally, Spurgeon, Marty, Christian, Wayne, JT, Tracy, Kena, Perry, Mark, Jason, John, Sean O., Sean B., Thomas A., Graham, and the countless others who braved the heat (and TOTW, twice!) to finish the "toughest 50K in the Southeast".

Right now, here's my pretty slim race calendar:

5/22/10 - Warrior Dash 3.2 mile run w/obstacle course
7/4/10 - 41st Annual Peachtree Road Race 10K
3/20/11 - Atlanta Marathon (this will be my first road marathon!!)

It's slim for one reason, Chelsea is graduating from high school and going off to college between the end of May and the beginning of August, ka-ching!

No denying it, 2010 is here

Here is is, January 27th already. I have 3 races coming up in February, and I'm fighting with myself, trying to push past the mental anxiety of registering for an 11.5 mile race and a half marathon within 6 days of each other. My training hasn't been going the way I want it; again, more mental anxiety that I'm trying to tell myself isn't worth worrying over. Wondering if I'm subconsciously causing the ailments I've had. This stinks, no other word for it.

I have to get past this, I WILL get past this. Since my goal is to finish both long races, preferably not the last person being swept in by the sweepers, my mind is made up. No more will I let this stuff get me down. Anything else that tries to push it's way into my psyche to make me lose focus is going to get a beat down.

One thing I'm really tickled about? Both my girls are out running now. Chelsea started coming out with us at the end of the year, and is doing her first 5K on 2/21/10. She figures she'll get into running and taking care of herself now to prepare for 6 days a week of marching band practice this summer when she heads off to JSU (sigh). Reann will be doing the half marathon with me on 2/13/10. It's a proud momma I am of those two girls. Reann even got up and did the Resolution Run 10K on New Year's Day and beat her previous 10K times by 10 minutes!

So here we have it, I'm regaining my focus and pressing forward. I WILL push myself and do the absolute best I can in the races I have scheduled.

2/7/10 - Red Top Rumble 11.5 mile trail race - Cartersville, GA
2/13/10 - SweetH2O Sweetheart Half Marathon trail race - Lithia Springs, GA
2/21/10 - Resolution Rush 10K - Canton, GA
3/6/10 - Berry 10K - Rome, GA
3/20/10 - Publix Run Wild 5K at Grant Park - Atlanta, GA (did this last year in the pouring down rain and have my best 5K time, so obviously want to do this one again)

Oh, and did I mention the half marathon does have TOTW (Top of the World) in it, oh good. Described as "hefty roller coaster hills", this is probably my achilles heel in the race. Repeat after me... "hills are my friend, hills are my friend, hills are my friend..."

Looking forward

Well, finished the Daysprings 5K faster than I did it last year, so that's a plus, but was slower than my other 5K times this year. Ah well, it's still a + in my column.

Coming up, don't think we're going to do the Jingle Jog 5K since I've registered Reann and I for a trail half marathon in February and we need to focus on training for that. Plus I'll be doing the Red Top Rumble 11.5 mile race 6 days before the half marathon, so we've got our work cut out for us. May add a 10K in there somewhere, need to shoot for a good qualifying time for the Peachtree Road Race yanno!

Here goes:

2/7/10 Red Top Rumble 11.5 mile, Cartersville, GA

2/13/10 SweetH2O SweetHeart Half Marathon, Lithia Springs, GA

I know, I know...

I've fallen behind once again.

Let's recap, shall we?

9/7/09 U.S. 10K Classic: Reann and I rose at o'dark:30 and headed over to Cumberland Mall to park and get to the starting line. A nice big crowd greeted us, not quite as big as Peachtree, but a respectable 15,000+ as it was. The prerace festivities were great, including the skydivers who parachuted down to Cobb Parkway (no way would you catch me doing that, not with the hills or the power lines all around!). Then to watch the cyclists start, then the inline skaters, then the wheelchair division, then it was our turn. Oy. You start off going a slight downhill, down and under the 285 overpass, then you start climbing the first hill of the morning. Ugh. lol.

I wasn't feeling it that morning, so sent Reann along ahead once we got to the top of the hill with a stern warning to wait for me at the finish line and NOT TO MOVE ONE INCH PAST IT! lol So I plodded on, running when I could, walking the hills, and actually started to feel better as I went. Hit mile 4 in a respectable time and spotted Reann not long after that. By the time we hit the "Big Chicken", I knew we'd be alright. All we had left was a downhill to the finish line, or so I thought. Who's madcap idea was it to have you run hell-bent for leather downhill after the big chicken only to then have to run UPhill to the finish line? WTH? I about died lol. But I finished it and crossed another race I will not do again off my running "bucket list".

We decided not to do the Ekiden Trail relay.

10/31/09 Silver Comet Half Marathon: Here it is, my first half marathon. It snuck up on me, or better perhaps it clanged me over the head after life threw me off my training stride. I wasn't completely out of it once it came around, but I sure could have trained better for it. Anywhoooooo... Another o'dark:30 wakeup call, this time making sure Chelsea and Reann were up (momma needs a cheering section, yanno!), then we were off. A pit stop at Dunkin' (America runs on Dunkin', and so do I, just not this morning). Hot chocolate for the girls and a plain bagel for me. Got there early enough to get a primo parking spot behind the Mable House Arts Center, picked up my race # and timing chip, found a spot to secure the timing chip to my laces (zip ties? really?), then cooled my heels for a bit, had an espresso love gu gel (got my caffeine anyway), stretched, did a slow jog around the parking lot, then nature called. Whoa...nice lines at the port-a-potties. Got in line and started chatting with another girl who was running her first half also. Traded advice we'd received from others, even gave her one of my gu gels to try out. Finally was able to take care of my own business, and got out in time to see them herding everyone into groups based on what their anticipated race pace would be. I plopped myself towards the back of the 12:00 minute group. Then we followed the crowd back around front of the building on Floyd Road and waited, and waited, and moved up, and waited, and waited some more. Finally, we were off!

Started off with a slow jog while we all started to spread out over the mile and a half we had on the road before turning onto the Silver Comet trail. Of course, it couldn't stay mild and overcast, about 3/4's of a mile into it, the skies opened up and the wind picked up. We'll call that a torrential downpour that stayed with us just about all the way to the trailhead. Ah well, what's a little water going to do? It wasn't stopping me, no way. Although I heard afterwards that plenty others turned around and went back. Their loss. I felt good out there, in the rain. It was a bit daunting for me though, I will admit. Hard knowing how far out I had to run before I could turn around and come back the same way. The first hour and 15 minutes or so were the hardest mentally for me, until I saw more of the faster runners passing me heading towards the finish line. That energized me all the way through mile 12, where I alternated saying I'd have enough for a finish line sprint, and I wasn't going to make it. I was getting dog-tired by then and really had to push myself. Of course mile 12 is also where a sneaky incline starts, so I had that working against me too. I kept the argument going with myself in my head about whether or not I would be able to sprint at the end, all the way until I saw the 2 EMS guys on the side. THAT got me going and sprint I did, once again taking Chelsea and Reann by surprise so that they only got a picture of me from behind heading for the finish line... haha.

It was a bit on the awkward side to have to stop right after crossing the finish line so that they could cut the timing chip off your laces ($35 fee if you didn't turn it back in, ouch), and that probably didn't help me. But I finished! YES! Even made sure I got my finisher's medal! Ahhhh, it felt good to know I was done, that I made it 13 miles. It wasn't pretty, and I'm happy with the fact that it doesn't have to be, as long as I'm satisfied with the end result. And I AM!

Aside from some shoe issues I had and soreness from said shoe issues, I'm good and looking forward to signing up for another half. I'm leaning heavily towards the SweetH20 Sweetheart half that our Rogues are doing in February. A trail half! YES! I think a trail half will really help me decide if I'm going to pursue a race distance beyond 13.1 or not. As of right now I'm still undecided.

At any rate, the next upcoming race is one Reann and I did last year, so this may become a tradition.

11/14/09 Daysprings 5K, Douglasville GA (this one usually benefits one of the local schools, this year it benefits the flood victims from this past September)

12/12/09 Jingle Jog 5K, Atlanta GA (haven't registered yet, trying to make it a family thing for the three of us)

2/13/10 SweetH20 Sweetheart Half Marathon Trail Race, Lithia Springs GA...???


Hmmmm...

Let's not get cocky...

"You don't have to go fast, you just have to go" "Running is a mental sport and we are all insane" "Running is cheaper than therapy" - these are just a few of the cool running slogans I have come across. An old school friend has told me that running is an addiction for him, and I now understand why. But with the running, and increasing distances, I've discovered that you really can't push your body to an extreme and expect it to bounce back like you were 20.

I was getting out and running and/or walking quite a bit a couple of weeks ago. After the 12.5 miles out at Kennesaw mountain on the 18th, I put in another 25 miles the following week, and was cocky enough to think I could do 10 miles out at Kennesaw that following Saturday the 25th. Not so, grasshopper, as my left shin started giving me problems after about the 3rd mile. "Ok, this can't be good", I mentally berated myself for pushing too much, too soon. I slogged on though, I wasn't going to let it stop me from getting the miles in, it only stopped me from running them. Got back to the parking lot about an hour and a half later and popped some advil. Once I was finally back home I "iced" it with a bag of frozen veggies. Alternated the advil and veggie bag throughout the rest of the weekend.

I only got out and walked and ran twice after that, before the 5K on the 1st. As such, onward to that race report...

8/1/09 St. Julians Fishes and Loaves 5K: The morning dawned overcast and humid. Oy. A good crowd was there for this inaugural run. Started off at the Douglas County Courthouse and ran a loop around there to the street, then down to the Douglas County Transportation Center parking lot for another loop around, then back down the road to a right turn towards the senior center for a loop around and back to the courthouse parking lot to do the entire loop again. Mile 1 was great, I was feeling good and keeping a good pace and hit a personal best 1 mile split - 10:21. Mile 2 was a little tougher as the heat and humidity started to make their presence known (as well as the hill we had to run up again) but still hit a personal best 2 mile split also - 23:24. Mile 3 kicked me in the proverbial pants, it was a struggle to run around the parking lot at the transportation center, so I had to kick it down and walk a lot more than I had wanted to, but since this was only my 2nd run since the Saturday before, I took it in stride. I did keep enough in reserve to make my finish line sprint once I made the turn into the courthouse parking lot though! Time could've been better, but it gets chalked up to experience nonetheless. I did it in 38:00 flat, Reann came in behind me at 38:11.

Onward and upward. Now it's time to hit the hills for some repeats to prepare for the US 10K Classic in 5 weeks! Oh, and I'm planning on doing a 40K trail relay with some fellow Rogues in October. If we can find a 4th person, we'd each be doing a 10K, so far we have 3.

Upcoming:

9/7/09 US 10K Classic Smyrna, GA
10/18/09 Dirty Spokes Ekiden Trail Running Race 2009 Conyers, GA
10/31/09 Silver Comet Half Marathon Mableton, GA