#2: Father's Day 5K

This morning was my second 5K of the summer, the Father's Day 5K at the Myriad Gardens in OKC.

It did not go as planned, but oh well. The race started at 8am, and it was already hot. The temp was 80F by 8am, the wind was SSW at 15mph, and the humidity was 77%. I managed to turn off my watch as I crossed the start line, and I didn't get it restarted for about 10 seconds. Being me, of course I went out too fast in the first mile. The course was a sunny run through midtown, and I didn't carry my own water, so I got overheated. My first mile was 9:10, and the second was 12:09. I did a lot of walking while my stomach reminded me about how it feels about going out too fast in a summer race. I finally got it under control around halfway through-I even ran through a sprinkler and it felt glorious. The water on my legs was enough to cool me off so I could continue.

When I got to the finish, I got my water and banana and sat down until my brain returned to the building. I saw them posting results, so I went over. It was a computer screen and the bib number was manually entered by some random HS kid. I was super duper excited to see that I had placed second in my age group again! I was quite shocked, actually. I started texting my husband and one of my friends, saying how excited I was. I never place in a city race! I wanted a pic of the screen, so I went over and asked them to look me up again. That's when I noticed that the time they had for me was 22 mins. I've never run a 22 min 5K in my life, and besides, my garmin said 32:52. I let them know that my time was wrong, briefly spoke to a cyclist friend who also ran the race, and headed home feeling a little bit disappointed. I should have known that I didn't actually place, but since this is an inaugural race on Father's Day, I had thought that it was possible.

When I got home and showered, I checked my online results. Finally, the time was right (33:07), but they had me in the Male 30-34 age group, lol. Finally got that straightened out, and here are my stats for this race:

Time: 33:07
 O: 94 of 190
 F: 35 of 91
 F30-34: 7 of 17
Weight: 116lbs

The 3rd 5K of the summer, the Hot 5K, is Friday night at... somewhere. I should look that up, and probably figure out when packet pickup is before Friday gets here, lol. I will definitely carry my water bottle this time. I have been conned into running an obstacle run on Saturday, so hopefully I'll be able to walk on Sunday. I have a history of sprained ankles, but I'm going to proactively KT tape them to prevent that. I'm not incredibly enthused about running this race because I'm not in great shape, but it is what it is. My bootcamp teammates are all going to want to be competitive, and the event is timed, so I'll probably end up running it alone. If I don't blog about it within a week or so, then that means I'm probably still stuck in their tiger pit obstacle. It's supposed to be a 7ft deep pit that you have to climb out of. Being 4'11", I'll be in there for a while, lol.

1st 5K of the summer

I'm trying to do a bunch of 5Ks and speed work this summer in order to drop some weight and increase my speed a little bit. On June 7, I ran my first 5K of the summer: The Scorcher 5K in Stillwater, OK. It was a miserable experience, but I enjoyed it, lol. The humidity was roughly 90%, so that sucked. It was also quite windy. I wanted to race it, rather than run it, so that I can have an accurate starting point to compare to the last 5K of the summer. I would like to see a drop in both weight and time, so we'll see if I can accomplish that.

The race started at 6:45am. There was also a half, and they started at 6:30. I really wanted to run the half, but I can't imagine how much it must have sucked in that humidity. I tried to run the entire 5K, but I wasn't carrying my own water, and so I took walking breaks when my HR got above 190. So there were a few walking breaks in the latter half of the race. Overall, I did as I expected. My time was 32:04. What I did not expect was an age group placing! I will probably never be fast enough to place in the city, but this was the 2nd time I've placed in small 5Ks. It was kind of nice :D I got 2nd in the F30-34 AG.

Here are my overall stats:

Time: 32:04
O: 44 of 109
F: 15 of 58
F30-34: 2 of 7
Weight: 115lbs

This is not how to run a negative split, lol. I always go out too fast on the first mile. I really need to work on that.

My second 5K is tomorrow morning. It's a father's day 5K. I doubt that I'll place in my AG again, but maybe I can go just a teensy bit faster than 32:04. We'll see. This one starts at 8am, which I think is sort of dumb for a 5K in the Oklahoma summer, but whatever. I'll push myself, but not to the point of heat exhaustion.

I have a 3rd 5K next Friday-the Hot 5K. I will be able to run both the Hot and Hottest, but I will be out of state for the Hotter. I'm going to Oregon for an ASL Silent Weekend with some classmates. I'm going to take my running stuff and try to get in a run near the beach. I think that'll be very cool.

Over halfway done!

Ok, so we can all agree that I suck at blogging. But I'm busy with work, school, plus I have to actually run. This is week 12 of training. So far, it's going fairly well. There have been some weird issues going on, but I'm trying to figure out how to manage them. I've run 5 races so far: 3 5Ks, one obstacle run, and one half marathon. I've got 2 new PRs and 1 age group placing. As Inigo says, "Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up..." (kudos to you if you have to complete that quote in your head. We should be friends!)

8/16/13: Hottest Friday Night 5K
28:32 (almost a PR! dang it), ave pace 9:12. Wiley Post Park, 82F
21/68 in F25-29

Sizzling Summer series overall: (rankings based on gun time)
F25-29: 9/34 (top 26.5%) <----top 10 of my age group, ya'll. :D
Overall F: 59/173 (top 34%)
Overall: 138/283 (top 48.8%)
Total time 1:30:19

8/31/13: Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival 5K
31:57. Ave pace 10:18. Tuskahoma, 85F at 8:30am, full sun. (In other words, a heat stroke suck-fest. This is why I slowed down.)
2/18 in F24-29. This is likely to be my only age group placing for a long time, folks. I can't place in city races because I'm a turtle. If the heat isn't too bad, maybe I could win my age group next year. I never got my medal for this race, which makes me sad.

9/28/13: Gravedigger Obstacle Run
1:51:14. I was seriously scared of this race after my experience in the mud factor, but this was amazingly fun. Seriously, it was one of the best races I've ever run, and I will do it again next year. I at least touched all of the obstacles, but I didn't complete 5 of them. I ran this with my bootcamp friends. It rained for the entire race, but the temperature was perfect while we were running. I fared much better after this race-I only had a few bruises, and my left ankle was a little sore. No broken skin, and no sprained ankles this time.
25/42 F25-29
73/135 F
191/299 overall

Before:

After: (OMG it was so cold once we stopped running, hence the terrible pic)

This is me on the following Tuesday. I am a fan of periodical locker-room selfies, but I love how I can see the bruises on my underarm from the 2x4s that I hugged at the top of one of the platform obstacles (I'm scared of heights!). Plus, it's sort of nice to look back and have something to compare myself against.

I have had the Spirit of Survival (SoS) Half on my calendar since they announced the date for this year's race. My LRS announced a 5K on the same day, and I immediately dismissed it because I can't be in two places at the same time. Then one of my bootcamp friends kindly pointed out that the half started at 7:30 in Lawton, but the 5K didn't start until 3pm in OKC. Plenty of time to get from point A to point B, with some time to shower and eat in between. So, I present to you the craziest thing I've ever done (to date): 2 races in one day, one of which is over 10 miles long lol.

10/6/13:
SoS Half, in Lawton. I had to leave at 5am to get to Lawton by 6:45am. The race started at 7:30am. It wasn't nearly as cold this year, but I still consider 44F to be below my comfort level. As usual, I started out a little too fast. My first 2 miles were both under 9 mins. Funny how last year, my first mile was in the upper 9s, and that was way too fast. Anyway, things were great until my left hip started hurting around 10 miles in, and I started getting a cramp in one part of my abs. The ab pain was enough to stop me and I had fingernail marks in my palm. This feels different from a side stitch; I'm not sure what's going on. Sucking in will help reduce the pain, but I still have to ride it out. In all, I had 3 ab cramps during the run. The hip pain was bad enough that I had to fight to run the last mile. My A goal was 2:15, and my super-secret goal was 1:59. I knew around 8 miles that 1:59 was impossible, but 2:15 was attainable. When I approached the finish line, the announcer said "and now we're at 2:16." I was so angry! I knew that I had probably gotten 2:15 on my chip time. It wasn't until later that I was able to check the results: My gun time was 2:15:57, and my chip time was 2:15:26. But my previous time was 2:36, and I was over there upset about a 20 min PR! But I'm very happy that I met my goal time.

Time: 2:15:26, ave pace 10:20 <----20 min PR!
23/39 F25-29
108/253 F

So I went home and showered, tried to eat something, and then went to work to meet my bootcamp friends so we could carpool.

Runtoberfest 5K
I ran way more of this race than I thought I would be able to. It's amazing how running with very motivated friends can help you push yourself. My hip was ouchy, and the cranky ab attacked me 2x during the run. We had to walk one hill, but other than that I think I ran most of the run. I was fairly calorie-deficient at this point, so most of it is a blur. Actually, most of the day is a blur too. I fell asleep by 7pm lol. I wore the tech shirt from the half during the 5K; I think my favorite part of the entire race was a guy cheering on the sidelines. When I passed him, he saw my shirt and said "hey I ran that this morning!" I said, "I did too!" and kept running right past him. That made me feel a little bit badass. :D

Time: 30:38, ave pace 9:53
80/199 F25-29

This was my last race in the F25-29 age group. My 30th birthday is this coming Monday. I don't have any races scheduled until the Nov 24 marathon. The Putnam City Cancer Classic 5K that benefits my workplace falls on the same day as my 20 miler, and I'm not willing to compromise that long run in any way. I think I'll go cheer on my friends, and then go do my long run. The 5K is at Lake Hefner, but I might go do my long run at Earlywine instead. The wind coming off of the lake can be really cold, so it'll depend on the weather. I'll probably have to pull out my thermals by that point.

I am in an ASL interpreter program at school, and they have an upcoming ASL walk at the OKC zoo on October 19. If anyone local reads this, please consider going! I sort of groaned a little bit because it's a walk (I want to run!), but it's still going to be a good time. I have a scheduled 18 mile long run that evening. Because my 30th birthday is on the 14th, I am going to make that long run a 30K and do 18.64 miles.

44 days until the RT 66 marathon! I have a few kinks to work out,  mainly my IT band and mysterious ab cramps. I am making extra sure that I foam roll regularly; I've sort of slacked on that over the last few weeks, and I hope that that is why my IT band/hip acted up during the half. I don't know what to do about the random ab cramps, beyond knowing that sucking in makes it go away a little bit quicker. I have plenty of time to figure all of that out though. This is my motto for this cycle/semester, because both running and learning ASL are tough. But I am tougher.

A change of plans, a new PR, and new shoes

It's a day of new stuff! I'll start with the change of plans. Around 2 weeks ago, my bff Liz and I decided that it would make more sense economically to do a local marathon rather than the Cowtown in Ft. Worth, in Feb. It just doesn't make sense to pay for a hotel and gas and try to drive 3 hours after running 26.2 if our DHs can't go to the race. Therefore, we have officially switched to the OKC Memorial Marathon on April 28. I had to rework the training plan; we are using Hal Higdon's Novice Supreme plan, but we didn't want to go all the way back to week 5. So I duplicated weeks in the plan until the schedule is back on track.

Just because I can't bear to lose my record of what I did in the weeks between my half and switching races, here's my training plan prior to switching:

And here's the new one, as of Thursday:

The Putnam City Cancer Classic 5K was yesterday. The bad news is that it was supposed to be Liz's first race, but she got sick and had to stay home. The good news is that I PR'd. My chip time is 32:13.63, so I'll just call it 32:14. I finished 120th of 235 overall, and 7 of 18 in my age group (F 25-29). I am really happy that I finished in the top half of my age group. The shirt is pretty awesome:

My finishing photo (taken by DH) looks pretty much the same as the one from my half:

Finally, I bought some new running shoes. While I fell in love with a pair of Brooks Glycerin 10s, my mom sent me $100 for my birthday, so I couldn't swing $140 for the perfect shoes. You can bet that I'm going to watch for them to go on sale though, or maybe I can get them for Christmas. I ended up with a pair of Saucony Progrid Ride 5 in the blue/white color. They were my second choice, but I still like them. In a weird coincidence, they are the exact same kind of shoes that Liz runs in.

Run Summary:

10/17/12: (Wednesday)
Stats: 3 miles in 37:05. Shins a little sore but ok. Left hip sore too. Watched Cosby; lifted weights afterwards-legs & shoulders.

10/18/12: (Thursday)
Stats: 3 miles in 36:20

10/20/12: (Saturday)
Stats: 6.02 miles at hefner in 1:13:16; HP & the prisoner of Azkaban

10/23/12: (Tuesday)
Stats: 3 miles, TM, 35:39

10/24/12: (Wednesday)
Stats: 3 miles, TM, 37:49

10/28/12: (Sunday)
Stats: 6 miles, TM, 1:11:31

10/31/12: (Wednesday)
Stats: 6 miles, TM, 1:11, 23, Once Upon A Time

11/3/12: (Saturday)
Stats: Putnam City Cancer Classic. 3.1 miles, 32:14.

Riversport Challenge, Half Marathon Training, and a bit of insanity

On June 30th, I participated in the OK Riversport Challenge on the OK river at the Chesapeake Boathouse. The race was a 500m kayak followed by a 5K run. It was incredibly hot, but still a lot of fun! I've never kayaked before, and this is my first 5K race, so it was an automatic PR. Here's the breakdown:
Total time: 44:21
Kayak: 6:48
5K: 37:33
9th of 10 in my age group (25-29)
52nd of 66 women
101st of 127 overall

Obviously, there's room for improvement. But it was hot, and it was my first time kayaking. I got caught up in a jam with another girl who had never kayaked before, so that took a lot of time. I decided while running that a slower time was better than heat stroke. There were only 2 water stops-one at the beginning/end and one at the turn around. I think they should have had one in the middle because the temp was over 100F that day. Here is a pic of my running buddy Angie and me after the race:

I unofficially started half marathon training about 2 weeks ago. I wanted to gently ease myself into the schedule of working out almost daily. Unfortunately, I pulled my right hamstring last Tuesday. I iced it that night, and rested it Wednesday and Thursday. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. I ran 2 (very slow) miles on Friday, and while it hurt, it felt better after stretching. Because of that, I thought it was ok to run 3 miles at the lake on Saturday. That was a bad idea. Between that and being on my feet for a full shift on Saturday and Sunday, it got fairly angry. I put heat on my hamstring and kept it elevated for several hours on Sunday.

My friend Gnome and I are going to run the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon in Lawton, OK, on October 7. We officially started training on Monday. Here is my training plan, altered a little bit from Hal Higdon's Novice I program:

On Monday, I worked out my arms and abs in the group training class (and they still hurt, btw). I rested yesterday. The trainer, Kelie, said that it is ok for me to bike instead of run, but I've decided to just take the entire week easy. I've been putting icy hot patches on my hamstring and am putting heat on it at night. My plan is to avoid running this week, and try biking next week. I might try the bike on Friday and see what happens, and maybe get on a treadmill for a few minutes on Sunday to see how it feels. I'm super worried that it won't heal and that I'll suck in the half. I'm really OCD and schedule-oriented (think Sheldon from Big Bang Theory), and this deviation from the schedule is stressing me out big time.

Now, on to the insanity portion. Gnome's husband has suggested that it is possible for us to train for the marathon in Dallas, rather than the half. We could pick up on of Hal Higdon's novice supreme plans around week 22, and be right on schedule. If my hamstring gets straightened out, there's a pretty good chance that I'll try the full. Crazy-talk, that is.

Here's a recap of my runs since I blogged last:

6/19/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 2.31 miles in 30:04
Notes: Continued walking dead, season 1 ep 1

6/23/12 (Saturday):
Stats: 4.17 miles in 54:56, pace 13:09, ave speed 4.56mph. At hefner with Angie

6/26/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 3.41 miles in 45:01.
Notes: also, rowed 2511 meters in 15:30, 2:48 500m/m, resistance at 6. Walking dead, ep1, 2.

6/30/12 (Saturday):
Stats: Riversport Challenge. 3.1 miles in 37:33
Notes: also, 500m kayak in 6:48

7/3/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 3.1 miles in 38:24, ave sp 4.8.
Notes: walking dead ep 2 & 3

7/7/12 (Saturday):
Stats: 4.1 miles in 50:21, ave sp 4.9
Notes: Once Upon A Time: world w/out magic

7/10/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 3.1 miles in 38:07
Notes: Grimm. Injured my right hamstring.

~~NOTE: This marks 139.12 miles on my shoes~~

7/13/12 (Friday):
Stats: 2.0 miles in 30:46
Notes: Hamstring still not happy.

7/14/12 (Saturday):
Stats: 2.94 miles in 43:45 with Jake at Hefner. Pace=14:53.
Notes: Hamstring not better. Also, Jake is an enthusiastic runner who expends all of his energy at the beginning and lags at the end. Also, note that he is scared of bikes. 2nd also: came back to a flat tire.