We wanted these between 2:50-2:55 and considering the humidity I was expecting to be on the slower end. Surprisingly between extra sleep and two cups of coffee I ran them a tad bit faster than planned, all sub 2:50. Now no major workouts before a 10K Saturday.

Thank you everyone for the Disney trip advice. We stayed at the Contemporary and on the first day Steve says to me “I saw a sign for a jogging path!” I was very excited but learned the path was an 800 meter loop around the hotel…womp womp. All good though, Coach Hadley said “run when you can”. No pressure to get miles in and in the end I probably walked 5-6 miles a day and only ran 2-3.

My other concern at Disney was food. Anyone who has read my blog knows I am not a stickler about food. I love it all but was not thrilled about the idea of eating what I anticipated would be cheeseburgers and fries all week long. I did none of the vacation planning and figured the meal plan would be fast food type kid meals. NOT TRUE AT ALL. We ate so well! My kids did not touch a single chicken nugget or corndog and probably ate more veggies than normal because they were presented in Mickey shape. If you are booking a trip to Disney, reserve dinner at the new Beauty and the Beast Castle. It’s gorgeous, quiet, and the food was incredible. Apparently it books up months in advance so that’s why I’m giving you the heads up. For all my veggie lovers, every sit-down place we ate at had vegetarian options. I was very impressed at the food options. Oh, and guess who missed her daughter dancing on stage with Prince Charming because she was too busy filling her plate with sushi and carrot cake? This girl. Not my finest Disney moment.

Anyway before I get back to running related news, here are some pics from our trip. I’ve never been a “princess” girl and didn’t expect to fall into the whole Disney thing but I can see now how people get wrapped up in it. The excitement in our kids eyes was priceless. The trip was absolutely fantastic. That being said our next vacation will be a crowd-less, beach one where I can be a lazy daisy

Before the Park Opened.

Kinda wish I had a Cinderella gown too!

I swear I did not do the orange thing on purpose.

Running is going well. I’m officially back to real workouts and while it took a week or so to start to feel smooth again my legs are coming around. Last weekend I raced another 5K with friends. I wasn’t thrilled with my time (18:09) but it is about what I should expect at this point. Hopefully that time will drop down significantly before marathon training ramps back up in September. I have plenty of endurance but I need speed!

This weekend I will be racing the local Elizabeth River Run 10K. It is hard to believe but it will be my first 10K I have run since racing competitively….automatic PR right!?! I did run a few when I lived in Washington State but I can’t even remember my times. Have a great week everyone and to my friends in Oklahoma, stay safe and sending you lots of love!

I promised a peek into what my post marathon recovery phase is like and can honestly say the first week post Boston was blissfully lazy. I did not run a step for four days and the first day back I ran 2 miles. I repeated that another day or so then took two more days off. Then I ran 3.5 miles for a few days, took some days off, then ran 4 miles. I loved it! Never will I understand those people who post marathon say they hate recovery and want to get back to work immediately. Bring on the sweatpants and extra sleep for me. Also the Doritos….lots of Doritos.

The end of last week I did sign up for my neighborhood 5K. I can walk to the start and the course runs right by my house. My neighborhood is fantastic so I love to support the kids school. The problem is the day prior (after I had already paid for the neighborhood 5K) the Mr. says “Hey, there is a 5K at my work today. It’s free and there will be free food.” I heard “free” twice, therefore I hopped in his truck and went with him. I had every intention of running the work 5K at an easy pace, put myself on the starting line at the appropriate place, and never wore my watch. However at the first mile I looked around and noticed only 3-4 men in front of me and well, it’s fun to beat the boys so I sped up a bit. I found myself in second place overall by the halfway point and the placings never shifted from then on. I was surprised to finish in 18:38. Afterwards there were awards, free sushi, coconut water, and veggie/turkey wraps. The food was amazing! Usually post race festivities are beer (not my favorite after racing) and bananas (fair enough but nothing spectacular).

That 5K left me a bit concerned for the next day but if I’ve payed for a race, I’m running. The Independence Middle School 5K was a morning race and the work 5K was a nooner so two 5K’s in less that 24 hours is NOT what I would recommend for the post marathon recovery period. It’s pretty dumb actually. My warm up consisted of walking 800 meters to the school and picking up my race packet. I ran from the race packet pickup to the starting line, around 400 meters, then did some strides and warm up drills. Normally I am an obsessive stickler and like to run 2-3 miles before every race except the marathon. This was very low key. Again I did not wear a watch. I wanted to run for pure fun and knew I’d be staring at my splits worried the whole time if I wore a watch. I took the first mile very relaxed and it felt like a fun run because I passed my house, my kids friends houses, etc. Being in my neighborhood made the whole thing have a different feel. Once we hit mile 2 a volunteer told me our time was 11:40 and I thought “Her watch is off.” When I came around the 3 mile bend and saw the first two numbers on the clock were 17 I was shocked. I finished in 18:08 as first female and 3rd overall. Maybe there is truth to the whole “Running relaxed is running fast” thing that I have such a hard time buying into.

Why Thank you General!

It is rare for me to run 5Ks. I am a marathoner so while short distances are helpful I will always lean towards the longer races. The fastest 5K I ran in 2012 was an 18:22 and I remember working HARD for it, as in “That hurt so bad I never want to do it again HARD”. Last Saturday’s 5K showed some promise that I can get speedier. While it is a bit unfair to say I haven’t run a sub 17:30 5K since high school considering I have never trained or tried to reach that goal, it is the truth. Now I have a little fire growing under me to work towards it. If I choose a late Fall marathon as opposed to my typical October time frame then that leaves me with plenty of time to get some speed training in. I am leaning towards the Philly Marathon in late November so if you have run this one, send me advice PLEASE.

Tomorrow the family and I leave for Disney World. Any running advice? We are staying in the park and I have no clue what to expect. I’m hoping I can sneak off and run early in the morning. Our kids do not know we are going yet. Relatives of ours did the same thing (not tell the kids until the morning of) and I never actually thought I could pull it off.

So I’m thinking Summer of Speed?? What about you? What is everyone training for? Any Summer Goals? Disney Advice? Take care everyone!

Today’s Workout- 60 minute Runner’s Core class at Running, Etc.

Run for Boston 2.62 mile run at Running, Etc.

Last Tuesday as I waited to board my flight home, I sat next to a retired Sheriff at the Logan Airport who was on his was to D.C. to speak to Congress about gun control. We talked about the previous days events and I told him in the most hopeless voice that I never thought the suspects would be caught. I said “There were thousands of people there yesterday, I couldn’t even move to find my friends. How can they be found? It’s a needle in a haystack!” He looked at me and said “I promise you they will find who did this.” A week later I wish I could thank him for that. I wish I could thank and hug every Boston Police Officer, FBI Agent, First Responders, Fireman, Hospital Workers.

When I wrote my last post I had a huge dark cloud hanging over me. I was so angry, sad, and bitter. I could not think about any good part of that day without picturing the horrible side as well. When the suspects were caught though I felt stronger and I didn’t want their evil deeds to take away the good in that day. So I will recap that race a bit and I will remember the POSITIVES. Here is an online article written by Jon Leiding that talks about a few friends and I. Reading his words were one of the first steps for me to shake that dark cloud away.

What I Should Be Telling You About the Boston Marathon

I flew into Boston on Saturday around noon, met some amazing friends at the airport and before hitting the expo we checked into (in my opinion) the cutest hotel in Boston, the Kendall Hotel. It’s located in Cambridge close to the train. They serve an amazing breakfast (included) so check it out Boston 2014ers. The expo was an absolute madhouse. Usually I buy nothing at expos but I left with a backpack and t-shirt. My hoodie from the last time I ran Boston is still in good shape. I committed a Boston sin and never bought the jacket. I just never wear jackets…ever!

Group Run with Chanthana, Scott, Jenny, Kevin.

Sunday, Race Eve, was a fantastic day. I am truly blessed to have some amazing friends to run races with. We chill out at the hotel, we eat meals together so no one is ever alone to stew about the race, but mostly we make each other laugh. I did run two shake out runs along the river each day. It was gorgeous and I could see the Citgo sign on every run. Love that sign. I was a huge ball of nerves all weekend. My legs were not feeling bouncy and I am positive it was from nerves. Never before had I been so nervous for a race. Luckily my FAVORITE old school, elite marathoner Coach Dave Symonds was in town to watch his son and I race. He has been the biggest influence on my running career and just to see him was wonderful. He is from Boston and when I was in high school would talk about the Boston Marathon often. He wore a Boston Red Sox hat EVERY day. He had run a 2:35 on the Boston course back when there were no barricades. He said running up HeartBreak Hill the crowds would be so narrow that they would touch you….crazy! He also told me something that stuck with me the entire race. He said that he also PRed every marathon he ever ran. I took that to heart and because I want to be just like my running idol (him!) knew I would do everything I could to keep my PR streak alive.

Coach Dave Symonds, Kris, Doug Symonds

Race morning was fantastic. I slept much better than I had before the Twin Cities Marathon. The hours in Athletes Village were cold but fun. Hanging out with friends before the best marathon in the world is nothing to complain about and before we knew it, it was time to line up. I was in Corral 2 and had no trouble at all walking in and lining up in the back of the corral.

My first mile I was a bit slower than we wanted. It is downhill so while we want a slow first few miles, the downhill would negate some effort a bit. We wanted 6:22-25ish and it was a 6:33 mile because I was boxed it. I could not make my way weaving around people and did not want to waste any extra effort trying anyway. After that I was able to ease into a good pace. The crowds were incredible right away and lasted the entire 26.2 miles. I know you’ve heard it 1000 times but really the spectators at Boston are incredible. I feed off that energy. I took three Gu gels during the race at miles 6, 13, & 18 and alternated water and Gatorade at every other aid station. They had aid stations every mile and that was excessive for me. In the future I will go back to 4 gels because I think I needed a bit more during the race.

I hit the half at 1:24:13 and soon after that saw Coach Symonds and his wife. It was the boost I needed to get my mental frame of mind ready for the hills. The hills destroyed me. Last time I ran Boston in 2010, I was living and training in Seattle. I remember thinking Heartbreak Hill was a joke. This time I was embarrassingly slow up Heartbreak. I tried to stay relaxed and not freak out when I was passed 4-5 times on the hill. Once I got to the top though I was able to get back on pace. My favorite mile of all was just after 21 when we hit Boston College. The roars from the college students there were INCREDIBLE. My best advice for Boston is to wear something that stands out. My black runderwear and hot pink Running Etc. singlet stand out and I get tons of attention. At Boston college the drunk boys were screaming in my ears and yelled “MARRY ME!” I’m a 33 year old mother of 3, if you scream at me like that on the outside I’ll bashfully be all “Oh stop!” and on the inside I’ll be “HAPPY DANCE! YOU ARE THE BEST!” It was a race highlight for sure and I dropped a 6:11 mile in the excitement. From then on I am really proud of my pace. Coach Hadley had pressed in my mind that we must switch to predator mode in the last 10K and I did just that. Every ounce of my body was exhausted and wanted to quit but I made myself keep my eyes up and lean forward. The results say that 5 girls finished in the same minute as I did but that was chip time. Every girl I could see I made it my mission to pass and just like Twin Cities I think I did that. Even still I knew I was cutting it close to sub 2:50. I had as close to chip time as I could on my watch but math in the last 10K is not my strong point. Okay, math is never my strong point. At mile 24 I started to panic and was giving everything I could. That last stretch down Boylston when everyone is posing for pictures I was sprinting like a crazy girl! I crossed the finish line thinking I ran just over 2:50 and I was so upset. I found Coach Symonds and instantly was transformed into a 16 year old again and cried like a baby. Then I cried like a baby again when friends told me I made it under 2:50 and ran a 2:49:58 for 44th female. Those two little seconds made all the difference! I still am in shock that I am a sub 2:50 marathon runner. I wanted it SO badly and worked hard for months for it so to have that dream come true….I was on cloud 9 on Boylston Street….for awhile anyway.

Forgive me if I don’t talk about the rest of the day. I really have no desire to talk about it. I am VERY grateful out of ten plus friends running and finishing at different times, we were safe. I want to thank you ALL for your support, well wishes, and concern this past week. Thank you for reminding me that it is okay to focus on the positive and wise to push the negatives aside. I appreciate it so much! I will post again soon with details about my recovery period. Take care!

5 easy miles. (I didn’t wear a watch for this one)

I’m going to keep this blog post short & sweet because as you can see below I still have more packing to do! This training cycle covered 1191 miles of road and trails to get ready for one fast 26.2 mile stretch into Boston next Monday. Along the way I started with a new coach, PRed in the only two races I ran this cycle, and I’ve run workouts I never thought I could. It would be safe to say I am the fittest I have ever been. That being said, we all know there are 101 things that can go wrong on race day but I believe in our plan and will focus on executing it perfectly. No matter what happens I will be leaving every ounce of effort out on that course and will be grateful that I get to run such a historical race with some amazing friends. I have worked my tail off, race day is my celebration, and I’ll be doing everything in my power to make sure it is a good one.

Must get packing!

I am bib number 1195 for those interested. My goal is to PR in a big way (current PR is 2:50:50) Send any extra speedy vibes my way! Wishing you all a great weekend and to the Boston Marathoners an incredible Patriot’s Day!

20 miles total, First 15 easy, Last 5 at 6:20-6:30 pace.

What have I been up to since the Shamrock Half? The Mr. and I decided to take our 10 year wedding anniversary (yes we were married young.) only about 20 months late. Two years ago we had plans to visit Vegas and renew our vows by Elvis. The Navy had other plans though and when that unplanned deployment ended, we moved, and kids started school, yadda yadda yadda, life happens. The saying the best things in life are worth the wait is completely true.

We visited Vegas this past week and the entire trip was a dream. I felt like I was floating up and down the strip having the Mr. 100% to myself. We had an amazing time eating, drinking (wee bit too much…yikes!), going to the shows, dancing, sleeping in, and yes….training! Our hotel was on the South side of the strip and I was able to get some gorgeous miles in. On days I didn’t feel like fighting the strip congestion (days I slept in) my treadmill view could not be beat.

The Marriage Ceremony was perfect! Our first wedding was very traditional in the gorgeous USNA wedding chapel so to have a silly, cheesy Elvis ceremony was completely different but equally fun. I love Elvis, I love glitter, I love anything ridiculous and over the top. Elvis walked me down the aisle while singing Love Me Tender then remarried the Mr. and I. I was NOT expecting to get choked up but I did. Our only witnesses were Elvis and the photographer and they made sure it was a fun but romantic ceremony. I promised Steve I would never step on his Blue Suede Shoes and he promised never to wear Blue Suede Shoes.

Happily Remarried Couple:

After the ceremony we had dinner and toured the strip again with many bar stops along he way I’m a nerdy history fan and have read every book on Cleopatra, Marc Antony, and Julius Caesar there is, so we couldn’t pass this photo op up:

Just to prove I did some training, view from my treadmill. Not bad!

Have a great weekend everyone! I’ll be back to regular running updates soon!

5 miles easy- I have not done this yet and it’s going to be ugly. So sore!

Renee and I…..freezing but happy!

Yesterday I ran the Shamrock Half Marathon here in Virginia Beach as a Boston Marathon prep race. It went well and I could not have asked for a better race execution ….well maybe 8 seconds faster I missed sub 1:20 finishing in 1:20:07. It was a 2 minute PR for me and an 8th place finish in a tough field so I will not drag myself down over 8 little seconds.

Race morning started early. I woke up at 4:45 to eat my usual breakfast- toasted, buttered everything bagel with large red Gatorade and loads of coffee. I put on my new green Running, Etc. singlet and green bunhuggers. The race is Shamrock themed and everyone goes all out for it. I was supposed to meet friends, Renee and Rob, at the starting line at 6:00 and I managed to be 10 minutes late trying to check & recheck everything I needed. Then during our warm up I realized I let my gel, sunglasses (crucial for blocking wind!), and lucky Twin Cities ear warmer in my checked bag. I left our warm up early thinking I could get the bag back…no luck! Luckily a friend lent me a gel but obviously I was feeling a bit squirrely with pre-race jitters.

None of the nervous tendencies mattered though. When the gun went off my mind immediately focused on executing a solid race. The Shamrock half course is perfect for that. It can be broken up into nice, even segments: 5K until we turn left onto Shore Drive, almost 3 miles until we turn right onto Fort Story, etc. The course is almost flat but the wind can be brutal. The race organizers J&A Racing gave the elite athletes a folder with course review and wind directions inside. It was such a thoughtful touch and it kept my mind busy during the race. I always had a small distance to mentally work on and never allowed myself to panic when the head winds were terrible (as they were) because that little course review had told me the wind direction would change. Little things like that can make a big difference.

The big starting crowd started to thin out just past the 5K mark. I hit that target on time but there was a strong headwind. I had the choice of slowing up and running alone or speeding up and running with a pack, so I sped up. Around 5K I found a pack of about 4 guys to work with. Despite trying we never could block the wind for each other along the Fort Story stretch (a military base along the beach with strong winds) but the pack allowed me to focus on maintaining a good pace. If I was alone in that wind I may have slowed but I forced myself to stay right with them and tried to take my turn leading too. We hit the lighthouses which are around the 8-9 mile mark and I could start to see two girls a few hundred feet in front of us. I kept my head up and eyes on them and slowly tried to real them in leaving my pack in the process. Whatever it takes to keep that mental focus. In the past I would have been hesitant to leave a safe pack of guy runners but I was feeling strong and brave. I passed the girls right before we turned left onto Atlantic Avenue and when the bands and crowd started cheering for us I couldn’t help but show a huge smile. I was working it and hurting but I knew I was heading for a big PR. My form was still strong and I was confident I could up the pace a bit. Coach Hadley had prepared me well. From Mile 10 on each mile was faster and faster. We did have the wind on our side but the faster pace was also do to all of Coach Hadleys reminders to practice negative splitting on each and every run. It is now programed into my mind and legs. I focused on the street signs, knowing we had to run from 77th street down into the low 30′s (33 I think?).

With two miles to go I KNEW I was cutting it close to 1:20. I was digging deep and my final sprint on the boardwalk to the King Neptune Statue finish line was as fast as I could muster up. I glanced at my Garmin and it read 5:25 during the last 700 meters. I gave it all I could so while I missed sub 1:20 by 8 seconds, I am thrilled to have run faster than I ever have by two minutes. I crossed the finish line and high fived a bunch of volunteers. I was so darn happy! I saw friends and hugged them, grabbed water, gatorade, pretzels, cookies, bananas, a Shamrock Hat, and a great finishers item…a fleece blanket. Perfect for a cold day at the beach. J & A Racing does races right. When I saw Renee and Hollie and learned they both PRed too, it was icing on an already great day. We took some pictures and I went to the post race party. Here are my final race stats and a picture of Hollie and I. I’m only wearing forty layers in that picture.

Post PR Happiness

Now it is time for me to rest up and focus purely on Boston. Thank you for reading everyone and thank you for your support!

3 warm up, 10 X 800m @ @ 2:49-2:56 w 2:00 minute jog recovery, 3 mile cool down

Yesterdays 800′s went well. It was the first speed session I have done alone in a few weeks. Running these alone can be boring but it’s helpful for me to toughen up. It also happened to be a blustery, rain-soaked workout. I confess I did my warm up on the treadmill so I could stay dry an extra 24 minutes before heading out into the rain. The slower end of the 800′s were into the wind but I made a point of running out and back to even it up. The point was to run them strong but as Coach Hadley said “Don’t over reach, Don’t be heroic.” I love the whole train, don’t strain philosophy.

Today’s workout is an easy 10 miler. We are cutting back the intensity of the rest of the week in prep for the Shamrock Half Marathon so the 800′s yesterday are my last speedy day until Sunday. I am extremely excited to race this Sunday. The majority of workouts have been going well, I’ve been recovering a best as I can (as best as any of us non-pro athletes can), and I’m at a nice racing weight. I think I’ll be able to set a nice PR (sub 1:22) but am anxious to run ambitiously at a close to high 1:19 pace if the wind and body cooperate. Just typing that makes my stomach flip a bit. Wish me luck!

My recap for last week is below. The only hitch I had was Wednesday’s 10 miler at marathon-ish pace. The pace felt too fast (even though I’ve done this pace and distance before) so I stopped a few times to rest….ulgh. Usually this is my favorite type of workout but the day before I had run twice and participated in a parent-kid basketball game. The basketball game would have been humiliating but by some outlandish miracle I threw a 3 pointer. It was one of those “wut?” moments because if you know me in real life, you know I can run far but I have ZERO coordination. I’ve never seen my five year old so proud. He said “I thought you were going to be a wimp, but you were a winner!” How funny/cute/slightly embarrassing is that?

This morning I woke up to the sweetest surprise. A friend Hillary wrote a blog post about two friends and I titled “Ladies who Launch.” It made my day. If you want to read a blog that actually has quality writing (as opposed to my rambles) check her out. She is on my “Must Read” list….Tongue In Chic The picture below is immediately post-Twin Cities marathon when we all managed to PR. One of my favorite running memories.

Hillary, Jenny, Chanthana, Kristen
Twin Cities Marathon 2012

Lastly Boston Marathon bib numbers have been released. I was absolutely thrilled to see a #1195 next to my name. When I ran Boston the first time I was in the 7000′s. It is a dream of mine to one day have a little F in front of my name and run in the Boston elite field. A girl can dream right?! If you’ve gotten your number, let me know. I’d love to see as many friends as possible.

Anyone else running the Shamrock Full, half, or 8K this weekend?

AM- 2 warm up, 16 X 400m @ 5:40 pace, 2 mile cool down

PM- 4 Miles at an easy pace (on treadmill after kiddos are asleep)

Am I the only one who gets insomnia on the nights I am the most exhausted? Earlier in the year I gave up caffeine after mid morning ONLY because I am very sensitive to it and I noticed when I didn’t drink it at lunchtime I was able to go to bed earlier. How can a drink at noon affect me 9 hours later? Is it just my imagination? Is it really the caffeine or am I just over tired? Anyway, I had a domino of sick kids for the past few weeks disrupting my sleep so Sunday afternoon I caved and had the teeniest bit of coffee. Guess who laid awake in bed from 10-1 am? Hate that the night before a big effort workout. The plan was for 16-400′s. After last weeks efforts my legs are beat but there is still no real end in sight. Anything speed related intimidates me so I was happy to convince a friend to run this one with me at the last minute and he paced the whole thing perfectly. I ran this same workout a month ago slightly slower but with more effort so even the speed part of my training is coming together nicely.

By the way, my newest favorite recovery tool is The Grid. I bought it a month or so ago with huge doubts. I’ve hated foam rollers. I have one I bought a year ago and I gave it to my kids to play with because I never felt any difference using it….kinda like compression socks….just not for me. The Grid is different though because it has a PVC pipe center. It works!! I’ve been using it for 10 minutes a night and I swear I feel less tension throughout my glutes and hamstrings. It was a bit pricey ($40). I was lucky and had a gift card but the store owner convinced me that it will never wear down like the cheaper foam rollers do. My youngest uses it like one of those circus performers, standing on it, rolling it to get places, and it never dents. Kid and Kris approved!

Week 8 Rundown- This past week was hands down the biggest quality week I’ve ever run. Last Fall I did hit some higher mileage but with one less quality session a week and the mileage was completed in more run sessions as opposed to the 9-10 runs a week I do now. I may be running a tad bit less this cycle but I am running smarter. Here is a brief rundown of my 8th week (out of 15) before the Boston Marathon.

Monday- 2 mile warm up, 3 x 2 miles @ 6:00-6:10 w/ 2 minute job, 2 mile cool down.

(Splits ended up at 6:07, 6:03, & 6:00 pace)

Tuesday- AM- 10 miles easy pace PM- 4 miles easy pace

Wednesday- 3 mile warm up, 10 mile progression starting at 6:40- dropping to 6:10, 3 mile cool down

Thursday- AM- 10 easy, PM- 4 easy

Friday- 18 mile steady state long run. Averaged 6:41 pace.

Saturday- 8 miles slow

Sunday- 10 miles averaging 7:25 pace

The steady state long run was a big deal for me. I’ve done plenty of long low 7 minute pace runs but to dip down that close to marathon pace for that length of time was a big step for me. The last mile was close to 6 minute pace and I loved it! Saturday though I paid big and after a busy morning with family life I laid low for a very long time trying to recover. Everything hurt. I finally drug myself to the treadmill that evening and it was a slog (slow jog). I did sleep good that night!

Last Tuesday when I was feeling a bit anxious about the weeks workload and managing three kids on my own for a bit, I found the nicest surprise on my doorstep from the folks at Cascadian Farms. I am always hesitant to post when they send me something. I am worried that it will come off as bragging but this last surprise was way too kind of them for me to not give a big thank you. Cascadian Farms has been super kind to me this past year by keeping me fueled up with organic granola bars and my most favorite Larabars (<-personal favorites). So thank you Cascadian Farm. You guys and gals are the best!

Take care everyone! Hope you have a great week!

AM- 10 Miles, 2 warm up, 3 X 2 miles, 2 mile cool down

PM- 3 Miles at an easy pace followed by Core Work

Anyone want to hear my Virginia is for Lovers 14K Race Recap one week late? Good news is that while I’ve been a bad blogger, I’ve been a good runner. In my last post I was hesitant to give you all a goal pace time for the race. Why? It was a combination of it being my first race under Coach Hadley’s program, my first race in two months, and a tad of fear. What if the starting gun went off and I suddenly had two left feet? What if this program wasn’t for me? Who likes exposing themselves like that? I’ve never run a longer race without a real taper before. I should have braved up though and told you our goal pace for the 14K was between 6:08 and 6:05. I’ll cut to the chase and tell you I ran 6:00 flat pace.

The morning of the race was cold and windy. I woke up and ate a banana with peanut butter & honey plus 16 ounces of red Gatorade for breakfast. Oh and coffee…two big mugs of coffee. The race started early so that was all I needed. Friends and I warmed up for 2.5 miles and the entire run was a windy cold mess. Wind gusts of 40 mph are no fun. We gathered in the starting line area and there was no room to do the usual strides or warm up routine. No big deal though because when the gun went off I knew right away that I was going to have a good race. Sometimes it all just CLICKS and the pace feels smooth, strong, and relaxed. Those are the moments I live for in racing. My first mile was 6:07 and I was 5th place female. There were some very windy spots and the course is not a fast one, tons of turns with a few 180′s. It’s a fun course though because you can always see friends running and J & A Racing does an incredible job of decorating the course with cute signs, candy hand-outs, etc.

I hit the 5K in a conservative 6:08 pace and then I worked my way down to sub 6 minute pace. At that point I can say that I ran every mile faster than the last. The second to last mile we hit a major headwind so my pace faltered but the effort was stronger and stronger until the finish. I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face as 3rd place female behind two Olympic Marathon Trials women. Yes, it flipping hurt but it was the kind of hurt that I was in control of as opposed to the kind of hurt that you are counting down the miles to finish. There is a huge difference there. If you never experience the first, it can be so difficult to love racing. Here are my stats. Click on the picture to go to the results page.

After the race J & A Racing had a great party! They are the most amazing race organizers. As soon as you finish you are handed a finisher’s gift, your medal, and food. This year we were given a beanie hat (in addition to the wine glass and t-shirts in our goodie bags). They also always have soup in bread bowls, beer, and a band. It’s a great indoor after party similar to their Surf N Santa after party. Here is a blurry, dark picture of my 14K teammate (We finished as 3rd place team!!) Thomas Hicks, Renee High, and I. I NEED to get better about taking pictures for the blog. I always forget. I wore my lucky Twin Cities Marathon headband, Thanks Brady!!

This upcoming week is a big training week for me. It’s higher mileage which I am used to but more quality than I’ve ever done before. I am excited for the challenge. In case you are wondering my title quote is from Coach Mark Hadley. Only 56 days until the Boston Marathon! Have a great week everyone!