Posts Tagged ‘5k’

Since You've Been Gone

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

*Brushes off the dust, removes the cobwebs*

*sigh*
Sorry for the aweful song choice, but sadly it FITS. I actually wanted to find a song from The Who in honor of the Super Bowl, but while I do have blue eyes, this isn’t a very introspective post and I don’t know anyone named Baba O’Reilly.

So, even though it’s a month into the new decade, here’s a recap of the past year and what I’ve been up to since my last post ages ago.

2009 Summary:
Miles: 1269
Hours: 196:46:25 (about 8 days)

3 Marathons: 4:00:36 PR
1 Half-Marathon: 1:55:49.04 PR
1 10 Mile Race: 1:32:25.82 PR
1 10k: 49:55.2 PR
1 8k as part of the two day Blackbeard Challenge with my PR OBX Marathon: 47:23 PR, 15/64 finish in challenge
6 5ks: 21:04 PR
1 Mile Race (after a 5k): 6:12
1 Bourbon Chase with 12/151 overall finish, 4th/80 in age graded division
1 Speed Session ending with a 6:10 Mile time PR

I had a fantastic year in running. I never thought I would get into running as mush as I have, but I’m really loving it. I ran a ton of races and never quit running for more than a few weeks (December after the Huntsville marathon).

Quick Summary of my fall races:
Bourbon Chase:
Most fun that I’ve had running. It was a fantastic experienc being part of a team and being competitive was great fun as well. Spending an overnight in a van, cheering on fellow teammates, running 3 times including one at 4:30am, celebrating with the team aftwards. Great fun, and I’m looking forward to doing it again!

OBX Marathon:
PR’d with my goal time of 4:00! It was a great course with a pain in the ass bridge to run up and it was awesome to race at a place where I’ve vacationed for years. I also loved running the 8k on Sat. and Marathon on Sunday for the Blackbeard’s Challenge. Only downside was the leg cramps I had around mile 23. Ugh.

5ks: Habitrot, Rudolph Red Nose Run, Run for Mercy
PR in Habitrot to impress the parents and kick-off a nice Thanksgiving. Age group award (that I missed out on) and fun and freezing Rudolph run. Competing with a final sprint for an Age group award (my first!) and running with friends for an awesome race that was directed by Melanie for the Run for Mercy.

Rocket City Marathon
The most fun I’ve had running a marathon. Rode with Amy to and from Huntsville that day. Ran with both Amy and Melanie (and also another friend Cheryl) most of the way at a nice enjoyable pace. Finished with  Melanie who had a fierce sprint for the last quarter mile! It was great to run with friends and enjoy the race (my second marathon in about a month). I also completed my goal of running the whole thing w/o walking!
Plus, had a fantastic cheesburger and milkshake on the way home.

So there you have it. That’s what running I’ve been up to *insert bad some title here*

Stay tuned for my plans for 2010.

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Posted in Marathon Report, Training, race report, running | 2 Comments »

It Takes Two: Smyrna Parks Race Report

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

It’s not just one, but two, two race reports in one!

I ran the Smyrna Parks 5k and 1 Mile race this past weekend. And I did awesome.

I took 1:30 off my previous PR (from the Striders’ Picnic 5k)!  And I came close to my 6 minute track mile PR from my speed sessions. Sweet!

The day started off HOT and HUMID. I registered and then ran a little warm-up half mile. I’ve been doing this in speed sessions, and I think it works well for races as well. I met up with a Bourbon Chaser teammate, Bill, wished him luck and headed to the start line.

At the start, I was surrounded by kids. There were kids everywhere because the race was open to Cross Country teams. It was a cool site to see all the kids out there enjoying running.

The gun went off and I started with a pace around 7:30. I felt good. I was curious as to what a good starting pace would be, because I haven’t run many 5ks, but this was a great starting pace seeing as I’m pretty sure I had negative splits the whole way!

This ended up being a fun race. First, it was FLAT!  I couldn’t believe how flat it was, and it felt awesome. Second, it was fun the run with all the kids around. Third, I ended up having a nice finish with a 22:42! I finished 6/12 in my age group, 100/380 total.

I finished, caught my breath, got a bottle of water and had to prepare… I was running a mile race in less than an hour! In between races, I hung out with some fellow Striders (the fast bunch, who shrug at 17:30 5k, saying it was nothing!) and tried to keep my legs loose.

Soon, it was race time. I felt like I was pretty hardcore when I lined up. There were a total of 42 who stuck around for the mile race. The gun went off and my legs felt TIGHT! It was tough to get through that first quarter, but I did. I kept a pretty good pace and saved a bit for my sprint at the end.. I ended up with a 6:12 time! Not bad for after a PR 5k!  And only 12 seconds off my best. I also finished 2nd in my age group (OK, out of 2.. but still….) I finished in dead middle 21/42.

That’s become standard for me. I have a tendency to stay in the middle of the pack.  But that’s okay, because I keep getting faster with new PRs.

Great races, great day…

…except for one fact: Our reward for running both races: They ran out of BBQ and Chic-fil-a.  Thanks Guys! Grr.

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I Do Run Run Run the Zoo Run Run

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Okay, here’s my race report for the Zoo Run Run 5k on Saturday. I’d been looking forward to this race because I haven’t done a 5k since high school. I really didn’t know what to expect. I’ve been on a nice running schedule this month, and I’ve been doing some speed workouts too. My pace has been around the 9 min/mile and that being said I set my goal at an 8 min/mile for the race

After anxiously waiting until 2 (and after a snack of waffles, my new race tradition), we left for the zoo. I got set with my chip, my number pinned and did some stretching. I was impressed with the atmosphere, it was fun. The weather was a little chilly, but I’m not complaining because it could have been a lot worse..  It was warm enough for me to break out my shorts right before the race began.

At 3, the “gun” went off. I started in the middle of the pack and as soon as I started I noticed that I was flying (yay, Garmin). I kept the pace for the first .25 mile or so, but then slowed it down to my normal pace. I wanted to keep that as I warmed up. After about .75 miles, I increased the pace.

The course was a lot of fun. It was neat to run past the anteater pens, farm house, around the carousel, through the bamboo and past some animals. I saw the white tiger and some other strange animal (can’t remember the name). The only thing I didn’t like was that the course was pretty narrow in some spots, making it hard to pass.

As I wound my way through the course, I passed a decent amount of people (and got stuck behind some slow). I was excited that no one passed me after the first mile or so. I was feeling great going into the last mile. I was running around the pace I wanted, passing people and kicking ass on the hills (always one of my goals). I knew I wanted to push myself more though, so I kicked it up a notch at around mile 2.4.

A little after that, I got to run by the aquarium area, where my sister, her boyfriend and Maureen were. They cheered me on as I went by and waved. Onto the finish… which came quicker than I thought.

I left the zoo and went into the parking lot and looked at my watch… barely 3 miles. “Well, maybe it’s be a loop in the parking lot” I thought. It was, but still seemed short… and according to my garmin, the course was 3.02.. So who knows..

I looked at my time… 23:54.. a 7:43 pace.. SWEET!

I was excited to get my goal and went to enjoy the festivities…. after a while…  because they didn’t open the food until 4:00.. So that left us runners waiting a long time. (My only complaint of the day… couldn’t they have opened the food earlier, so runners could get in and out, then the walkers?)

The food was good though, pasta from Amerigos.. plus, they had BEER from BLACKSTONE… woohooo, what a great reward.

And on top of that, we made a stop at Krispie Kreme on the way home.. Definitely earned it! (And after a marathon.. a 5k feels so SHORT!)

Zoo Run Run
Time: 23:54
Pace: 7:43
Place: 127/???
Age: 18/53

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