September Racing Craziness

This was totally unplanned but I ended up racing every weekend this month!  After TransRockies I took it easy for 7 days and then started on my speed workouts gearing for the Houston Marathon in January.  I've never done 800's before and I wanted to work up to 10 before the end of October.  Since I have Palo Duro 50k in the middle of October, I knew I needed to get on it.

I'm loving the 800's.  It has helped me so much especially mentally.  Doing 3 5k's this month, I just kept thinking they were my 800's with out the breaks.  It's working. : )

Labor Day, September 6:  Ft Worth Running Club Labor Day 5k.

My loot!  That's a huge magnet! 

This race didn't get off to the best start.  I had run 18 trail miles two days before, it started late, was hot, and there was a huge line for the porta-potties.  I didn't get in my normal warm-up and just did a couple pick-ups in the parking lot.  I was out of breath from the start and just tried to keep my pace from falling.  I really, really wanted to break 23:00 but it was not to be.  I got lucky though and no one in my age group was faster then me.  (Let's be honest, I really just love winning, lol.)  My brother was in town from Austin and did it with me.  It was so fun to have him around (even if he did beat me) and he got to meet all my RAW friends.

Total time: 23:28

7:33 pace, PR

1st of 56 females 30-34

 19th overall female out of 373

Mitchell, Me, Beth, Kelly

Saturday, September 11:  Mercy Heart Spur On 10k

Kat, Kelly, Me, Elizabeth
Check out our medals!

I did this race last year and it's a great race.  It's really tough...two hills, one which is long and steep to the finish.  It's very affordable and all the money goes to a great cause.  Having no idea how to pace myself for a 10k I was disappointed with this race.  It was fun though and I was definitely tired after that final hill!  I just am still learning how to correctly pace my new speed and I didn't do so hot that day. : )

Total time: 51:30

2nd of 10 AG 30-34

8:18 pace, PR

Troy, Kelly, Elizabeth, T.O., Laura, Me, Jay, Marty

Me and Jay

Saturday, September 18:  Run in the Dark 5k 7:45 p.m. start time

In the morning me, Kelly, and her daughter Brin, volunteered at the Addison Octoberfest 5k.  It was really fun and I was so glad I had signed up to help.  I took it easy in the afternoon and then went up to Keller with Jay, Kelly, and Brin for the Run in the Dark 5k.  Kelly and I were really motivated to set PR's.  I was determined to break 23:00 this time.  It was crazy humid, but the sun was down and I was familiar with the course having run it two years ago.  This was one of those runs that I will never forget.  I felt so good the entire time.  My lungs didn't start needing short, quicker breaths until about a mile to go and even then I could feel that my legs still had a kick in them.  All I kept thinking was, "I'm going to do it!  I'm going to do it!!"  Yay, I did!  (Kelly and Jay PR'd too!)

Total time: 22:53 

2nd AG (30-39) out of 204  (second place by 2 seconds!  The same girl beat me the weekend before.)

7:24 pace, PR

Saturday, September 25:  Rahr Brewery Octoberfest 5k

Laura, Mike, K2, Christine, Me, Beth, Mary, Michelle, Brad, Doug, Troy, Susie

Byron in front pacing me to a 5k PR!

Rain, rain, and more rain.  Even a little thunder and lightning.  CRAZY.  It didn't matter, it was really fun.  Ridiculously huge puddles, narrow streets because of cars, slanted roads, zero mile markers...still really fun.  My buddy Byron asked if he could pace me but said I couldn't wear my watch.  As annoying as it was for me to not know my distance or pace ever, I just trusted him and stayed as close to him as I could.  He was yelling positive things to me the whole time and I know I wasn't the only one that benefitted from it.  I didn't feel quite as good as I did for Run in the Dark but I knew we were keeping a faster pace. Even just  4-5 seconds per mile is huge in a 5k.  Doing these 3 5k's so close to each other really helped me get a good feel for the distance and how to mentally handle it.  I can't wait to take a little time off, keep up my track workouts and try again with some cooler (dry) weather.

Total time: 22:40 

5th Overall Female out of 350

2nd AG (30-34) out of 66 

7:17 pace

This 5k was pretty expensive, $35...but you got free Rahr beer afterwards and there was no limit.  I had 3 and felt like I definitely got my money's worth! : )

Michelle, Christine, K2, Troy, Susie, Laura, Doug, Me, Mary
More medals for RAW!  Laura got the best price for winning...that huge beer mug!

After the 5k yesterday a bunch of us from the running club took off to Tyler State Park.  We camped last night and then ran trails this morning.  I got my 24 miles in and felt great.  Those trails are really well maintained and fun.  I felt pretty sore the first 6 miles or so but the longer I went the better I felt.  First ultramarathon is in 3 weeks.  Palo Duro 50k!  I'm ready!

Endurancebuzz.com

Endurance Buzz featured my TransRockies video and a little write up I did on their website!  : )  Check it out!

TransRockies RUN3 2010

Sportspectrum RiverCities Triathlon

This was the 30th anniversary of the Boisser City, Louisiana triathlon.  It's become famous because of the goodies that you get in your packet.  This year all registrants received a huge travel duffle bag worth $250, a tech t-shirt, sunglasses, tech hat, Feetures socks, and Cliff products.

New goodies!

Diana and I left Dallas at 10:00 am on Saturday and got to packet pick-up right at 1:00.  After getting our packet (which only took about 5 minutes, they were so organized) we went across the street for some lunch.  Still having some time to kill before our hotel rooms were ready, we headed over to The Boardwalk.  It's a shopping/restaurant area right on the water that would have been fun except it was 100 degrees outside.  

Red River from The Boardwalk

After a great night sleep we headed up to the race site at Black Cypress Lake.  Our swim wave didn't start until just after 8:30 and it was hot, hot, hot. Even with my long runs all summer, I'm typically done running by 8:30 - 9:00.  It's just too hot.  This was the only thing that had me nervous because I knew it would be 10:00 when I was running.

It was so humid my camera fogged up!

Tech shirt and race number

800 meter swim:  There were 110 girls in our swim wave, females age 30-34 and Athena athletes.  It was the most congested swim of any open water I've ever done.  It was really hard to get past the slower girls.  The swim was uneventful except for the fact that I'm not in prime swimming shape right now and I was way more tired than I normally am.  Also, the water was crazy hot.  After about 600 meters I was really overheated.

Pre-Race Photo

18.2 mile bike:  This is a fast, rolling hills bike course.  It's WAY better than the Disco/TexasMan bike course because the roads are mostly smooth.  I had my fastest bike split ever, 19.5 mph.  This even included my chain falling off and me having to get off my bike to fix it.  I wore my time trial helmet for only the 3rd time and I was glad I did.

5k run: my goal was 8 minute miles.  At the first and second mile markers I was under 8 min pace (didn't wear my garmin, just a regular watch).  This really motivated me because although I was really pushing it, I knew I could keep the pace up another mile.  The aid stations were wonderful with tons of cold water and ice that I poured over my head and down my shirt trying to cool off my core body temperature.  The run is in the shade, thank goodness, and it made a huge difference.  They even had cold rags for us to wipe our faces with.  The last mile was tough...it included a trail section (which I love, but not when I'm trying to keep my pace under 8), a hill, and some sand.   Overall I averaged 8:05 min miles and I'm super proud of them!

Post-Race!  Exhausted but happy.

When I finished I felt completely spent.  I was kind of dizzy and knew I needed to sit down quickly and focus on hydrating.  I was glad to be so out of sorts at the end because I knew I really pushed myself during the race.  I think I could have gone harder on the bike, but I was glad to still have that run in me.

I took Salt Stick tablets instead of Endurolytes and for the first time didn't cramp at all.  With that kind of heat, I really needed the extra salt that Salt Stick contains.   Other nutrition notes:  ate a whole Cliff Mojo bar about 2 hours before with a whole bottle of water.  Sipped on water during the 2 hours before I started.  Ate a Hammer Gel and took 2 Salt Stick tablets 15 minutes before the swim.  Drank a whole aero bottle with NUUN during the bike as well as half a plain water bottle.  Ate a GU Rocktane with about 2 miles to go on the bike.  Just water and ice on the run.  It worked with no stomach issues or cramping at all.

Next up:  TransRockies RUN3

Garmin 310XT Giveaway

A blog I follow, DC Rainmaker, is having a giveaway and I'm posting about it everywhere because I want to win!  hahaha!  Check it out! http://bit.ly/bHjBQj

El Scorcho 25k

Why yes, that is a post-race beer at 3:00 am

This is a race that starts at midnight in Ft. Worth.  It's a 5k loop that is a mix of concrete path, grass, gravel and trail.  I LOVED IT!!!  The best part about a loop?  You get to run by your friends at the finish line 5 times.  Courtney was there because Rob and Kris were running so that made it extra special for me to get to see her every loop.  I ran with Kelly the first three loops and just kept a nice, comfortable pace.  Our pace was averaging about a 9:30 mile but with my two bathroom stops and refilling of bottles, the overall time is about 10:23 minute miles.  The good news is that I ran 50 miles last week.  I haven't hit that sort of running mileage since training for the Lake Tahoe Marathon in 2002.  I had done 2 hours on Friday, ran 3 Saturday morning, the 25k Saturday night and then 3 again Sunday.  Except for Friday when my legs were dead, I felt awesome every run.  I could beat myself up about my 10 min miles but in regard to TransRockies, it's really important I focus on how quickly I'm recovering.   That will be the key to me getting out there everyday even when I think I'm too tired.  

I highly recommend this race.  It was really well organized, the aid station was great, and the crowd support was even better.  The Cowtown Marathon had an awesome aid station where they handed out cold paper towels.  That was the best part of every loop!!  The weather was actually not too bad, humid and hot Texas style, but with no sun, it felt comfortable.  

This weekend Diana and I are traveling to Bossier City, LA for the River Cities Triathlon.  I'm incredibly under-trained for the swim and bike but I should do good on the run!  After that I'll have one more hard week and weekend of running then it's time to taper for TransRockies!