Derby Festival miniMarathon Review

Yay! We made it to the weekend!

 It's been such a long week and I've been exhausted. Last weekend was the half marathon and then on Monday I donated blood, so I've been wiped out. I've done a lot of resting this week and not a lot of running, but I think I've earned it. :)

I haven't reviewed the Derby miniMarathon yet, probably cause I've been I'm bed by 8:30 every night this week. Ha! I'm so old. Now that I have some time and I'm feeling awake, I'll fill you in on the details.

This is the second time I've run this race. It was actually my first half marathon in 2012. The Derby Festival has either a half or full marathon option and caps at 18,000 runners. I personally really like big races. That's why I chose Chicago as my first full marathon, so I could run with over 40,000 of my closest friends.

Like usual, I set out all my race gear the night before and loaded up the car so we could just get up and run out the door. The race started at 7:30am in Louisville, KY. I opted to stay at home and not get a hotel simply to save money, but that meant getting up really early since Louisville is just over an hour away and I wanted to be there and parked by 5:30am. I don't like being late, it gives me major anxiety and after my troubles with parking at Run the Bluegrass, I wasn't taking any chances. So, my alarm was set for 3:45am and we pulled out of the driveway at 4:15am. Everything worked out perfectly, and I was able to relax and eat my breakfast when we got there. 

At 7:00, we met our fellow Team Beef members near the starting line. This is my third season running for Team Beef and it's been a great experience.

"The Kentucky Team Beef is a team of athletes focused on living healthy lifestyles by combining physical activity and a nutrient-rich diet full of lean meats, whole grains,fruits, vegetables, and low-fat and non-fat dairy. Made up of athletes from all over Kentucky, they believe in the nutritional benefits of lean beef and its vital role fueling their training."

After the group picture and taking a few early morning selfies, I got into my starting corral, D. 

The corrals were really full, and there was loads of excitement, waiting for the start. The only thing I didn't like, was that there were no speakers near us, so we couldn't hear when the race started or what was going on at the front. 

Earlier in the week, I had been thinking about what my goal for this race would be. Months ago, I had dreamed of a PR of 2:20:00. After, a car accident and missing some training due to illness, I knew that 2:20:00 was not going to happen and neither was matching my current PR of 2:25:25. So my goal for the day was to have fun and enjoy the course. I thought maybe in the back of my mind that I could get under 2:30:00, but I wasn't sure. You just never know what kind of race you're going to have until you actually get into it.

So, the race started and I tried to settle in to a comfortable pace. It took a couple miles before I felt like I had my legs under me, but once I got warmed up, everything felt great! Plus, there was so much to see, so it was easy to distract myself from any discomfort.

The weather was awesome! I couldn't state that enough! I never felt too cold or too hot and as you can see, clear skies for miles!

Mile 8 is my favorite part of this course. It takes you through the infield of Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby!

The miles flew by and before I knew it, I was in the homestretch. I kept checking my watch and tried to push the pace for the last 3 miles.  I walked through all the water stops, mostly because they were very congested, but I didn't have to walk at any other point. Finally, I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:29:04 and mile 13 was my fastest mile of the day! I didn't make my original time goal, but I did accomplish a different PR. This is the first half marathon that I have not had to stop to use a porta potty! Woo hoo! And...it's the first race where I ended up with a black toenail, but nobody wants to hear about that.

Crossing the finish line of both, Run the Bluegrass and the Derby Festival mimMarathon, meant that I completed the Kentucky Half Classic. For this accomplishment, I earned a third medal.

Here they are all together.

This spring has been very busy, but lots of fun. I am so blessed for the opportunities that I've had this year. I love running and I can't wait to run more!

I hope you all enjoy this beautiful weekend!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Yesterday, I ran the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon, but more on that later. Today I want to celebrate the resurrection of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you all have a wonderful day full of faith and love.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia.

Run the Bluegrass Review Part 2

I suppose I ought to finish my race review. It's only been a week. Ha. So here we go.

Saturday morning came sooner than I would have liked, but since I had my race gear all laid out, I was ready pretty quickly. The weather forecast was questionable so I was struggling with long sleeves vs. short sleeves and shorts vs. capris. I ended up going with short sleeves and a shorts simply because I knew it was going to rain and I didn't want anything to weigh me down.

The race begins and ends at Keeneland Racecourse which is about 15 minutes away from my house. So I left at 7:40, since the Pace Team was planning on meeting for a picture at 8:15 and then head to the start at 8:30. I figured I'd be there in plenty of time, even though only one of the entrance gates was open. Well, I was wrong! I sat in a long line of traffic outside Keeneland from 7:55 to 8:40! The whole time I was so anxious. I hate being late! Plus, I missed the group picture and was late to the starting line.

Once I got set up and met with the other 2:45 pacer, E, I was ready to go. Waiting at the start it was so windy. I immediately began to regret my short sleeve choice, but it was too late to make any changes so I had to go with it. We were in Wave 6, so after the first 5 Waves started, it was finally our turn. I was just thankful to get moving so we could warm up! We planned to alternate carrying our 2:45 sign which worked out really well. Like I said it was really windy and it was tough to hang on to the sign for too long. As we were pacing for a 2:45:00 finish, our average pace was to be 12:35 minutes per mile. The second half of the course is much more challenging than the first, so we planned to run 12:00/mile for the first 5 miles so we could walk up some of the hills through miles 9-11.


We followed our plan just about perfectly and got to the 5 mile mark averaging a 12:00/mile. At mile 6, silly me stopped to use a porta potty, while E continued on. I told her I'd catch up, but I soon realized that was not the best idea. I ended up being 2 minutes or so behind her. This is the part where the course begins its rolling hills. Trying to catch someone while running hills is not the easiest thing in the world, but I had to do it somehow. It took me nearly 2 miles to find her and there was a moment when I just wanted to give up while running up a steep hill. I was afraid that by running hard this early in the race, I'd have nothing left at the end, but I kept going anyway. I ran into a friend and asked if she'd seen my Pacer. I found out that she was close by so I kept moving forward. I had to run hard up the hills and run even harder on the downhills, but I finally caught her. I was so relieved! I found her just in time to get to the toughest part of the course.

Fortunately we'd planned on walking up the toughest hills and we'd banked a few minutes so I was able to really catch my breath. The last few miles felt so easy and it was a nice way to finish the race. We were in no hurry and had an "easy" last couple of miles where we averaged 13:00/mile. We got to the finish line in 2:45:47. Only 47 seconds off! I had been so nervous, but everything went so well. 

I was thankful for having a pacing partner, since it was nice to have someone keep me on track and also have someone to chat with.

Crossing the finish! All smiles!

Close up of the medal! Beautiful! The horse is Zenyatta. Her career record is 20-1. The race t-shirt and medal's ribbon colors are based off of her jockey's silks.

Everything went well except for the fact that mother nature did not cooperate. This was easily the worst conditions I have ever raced in. The first couple miles there was no rain, just wind. It started raining more around miles 4-5 and then continued through the rest of the day. The wind was bitter cold at 12mph and it was raining sideways some of the time. The temperature at the start of the race was 50 degrees, by the time we finished it was 40 degrees with a "feels like" temp of 36!  Lots of people were running in ponchos and trash bags, but since we had special Pace Team shirts, we couldn't have those covered up. We got soaked! By the time we finished, I was freezing! My wrists hurt a lot and my fingers didn't work; they were like claws. I had to use my teeth to open my chocolate milk and banana. The post race party was moved indoors, but it was still freezing. I would have just left, but I felt compelled to stay for the awards and to see if the race director needed anything from the Pace Leaders. I wandered around a little while trying  to get my hands working again. I found the free massage tables and ended up getting one, hoping that this would loosen me up a little bit. Once the awards were over I couldn't wait to get out of there and get into a warm shower and dry clothes. I got to my car, put on dry clothes, and blasted the heater. I sat in the driver's seat and I just broke down and cried; partly because I was so cold for so long and partly because I was so relieved that it was over. All the questioning of my ability, all the doubts I had, "was I ready, had I trained enough?" they were all over. I had done it. I made it to the finish line.


The race was mentally and physically challenging, but the rewards were sweet! Each Pace Team Leader received an authentic bourbon barrel top that was refinished and engraved with the race logo! It's probably the coolest thing I will ever get for running. Even though the conditions were not great and the course is super challenging I would do everything over in a heart beat. In fact, I've already registered for 2015! Mother Nature owes us big time!

My next half marathon (Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon) is in less than two weeks! I'm so excited and I hope I'll be ready. I know I'm not going to PR (2:25:25), but I'm shooting for 2:30:00 or under. I'm feeling a little more confident now that the first race is over, so we shall see how the last two weeks of training goes. 

Happy Sunday friends! Have a great week!

Run the Bluegrass Review Part 1

First and foremost, how about them Badgers!? They earned a spot in the Final Four with a 1 point win over Arizona in OT last night! I still can't believe it! It's so exciting!

                                                              Source

It has been such a busy week and I have so much to tell you! I guess I'll start at the beginning. In January, I was asked to fill in as a Pace Leader for the 2:45:00 Pace Group. You can read about that here. Our first job as Pacers was to attend a meeting on Wednesday night. We all met the race director at the start line and discussed the Start Line logistics and how the Wave Start was going to work. So there was 7 Waves and each would start 2 minutes after each other. So in other words, Wave 1 went off at 9:00am am, Wave 2 went off at 9:02am, Wave 3 at 9:04 and so on. Afterwards, we made our Pacer signs that we'd be carrying throughout the race. We were also given some pace bands to wear during the race which came in very handy!  The volunteer meeting was at the same time and it was kind of neat to get a different perspective of what all goes into hosting a big event. So many details, big and small, come into play.




Here's my sign...my free hand is not so appealing, but you get the idea. I like stencils. I'm not an artist. Sorry I'm not sorry.

The Expo began on Thursday and so did job number 2 for the Pacers. Each of us had to take a 3 hour shift at the Pacers table to answer questions and to introduce ourselves to the runners. I took a slot on Friday afternoon. It was really neat to meet people as they were coming in to pick up their racing packets and answer any questions they had.

Once I got home Friday night, I laid out all my gear and tried to relax.

The weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate, so I wasn't quite sure what I was going to wear, so I set out a few options. Long sleeve, short sleeve? Shorts or Capris? Decisions, decisions.

I'd been so nervous about being a Pace Leader, relaxing was no easy task. In training for this race, I had a lot of setbacks. First off, the Polar Vortex made running outside a challenge. Plus, I was in a car accident and was sick for almost two full weeks. I missed a few long runs and mid week runs, which just made me even more nervous. Was I really ready for this? I felt good about my last long run, but this is an exceptionally tough course, and the weather conditions were not going to help me in any way. Would I be a good leader? What if I couldn't deliver my projected pace time? What if I let a bunch of people down? What if this, what if that? All my questions and concerns would be answered in the morning. Sleep would not come easy, but I knew that I would give it my all out on the course.

Since I'm still wiped out from the race, and I'm watching some Elite 8 games, I'm going to cut this review into 2 parts.

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone has a great week!

First Day of Spring, International Happiness Day, and a Birthday!

Its here! It's finally here! The First Day of Spring! This winter weather has been driving me crazy. I love running outside, but with all the ice and snow I just couldn't bring myself to get outside. Ok enough of that. Spring is officially here and I am so excited!! Today is also International Happiness Day, whatever that means. I guess it just means it's a good day to be happy. And I'm happy because someone special is having a birthday today...ME!

I started this special day with a run of course! The best present to myself that I could think of.

The schedule called for 5 miles, but I didn't have enough time. I ended up running 3.4 miles to celebrate my 34th birthday.

 

I ended up having Chinese food for dinner. Yummy! And this little guy was my dinner date!

Liam says, "Happy Birthday mommy! That means I love you!". Awe, he just melts my heart!

Since it's almost bed time, we are watching one of out new favorite movies. Frozen! I love this movie!

Great day! Oh, and the Badgers won in their first game of the NCAA tournament! When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all!

What are you happy for today?

Oh Spring, Where are You?

With Run the Bluegrass less than two weeks away, it's definitely crunch time!

The last couple of weeks have been less than spectacular. The weather has been crummy and I've been sick. Being sick put me out of commission for almost two full weeks. I was able to crank out 5 miles last weekend, but it was completely miserable since I struggled to breath the entire time. Now that I'm feeling better, I think everything is back on track. I may have to say good bye to the shiny PR that I was hoping for at the Derby mini in April, but I've got five weeks to train, so we'll see how it goes. 

Anyway, I had 9 miles on the schedule this morning and I was really nervous about making it the whole way. The weather forecast had me nervous too, calling for sleet, freezing rain, and more snow. When will it ever be spring!? Ahh! I can't stand this weather! Go away Polar Vortex!

Fortunately, I finished my run before the precipitation started, but it was really windy! That snowman has the right idea...stay inside and watch the crazies running outside...oh wait that's me, a crazy person! But you already knew that, so it's all good.

Remember how I said I was nervous about running 9 miles? Well, I felt really good so I ran 10! Actually, I ran about 10.25 miles, because I paused my watch while waiting to cross the street and forgot to start it right away. Fail! I'm a total numbers geek, so there is no way I could have finished with my watch saying 9.xx miles, so I had to add on a little extra to make it an even 10.

After being sick, this was a BIG confidence booster for Run the Bluegrass. 

One more week of training, and then it's race week! Yippee! I can't wait! As a pacer, there's lots of exciting things coming up before the race that I'm totally looking forward to! The only thing is, I need to come with a creative saying for my 2:45:00 pacer sign that I'll be carrying. The biggest problem is that I'm not creative in any sense of the word. So if you've got any ideas, give me a shout out! Is it weird that I'm more worried about making this sign than I am the actual race? My sources say yes. Oh well, that's how I roll.

What would you put on your pacer sign?

Happy Sunday!

I Missed a Week of Training, So What!?

Last Saturday, I ran 8 miles. I wasn't really feeling the best, but I figured it just was because I had donated blood a week earlier. It wasn't until Sunday that I realized I had the plague. Enter in fever, chills, hot flashes and lungs full of crap. So now it's supposed to be my long run day and here I am parked on the couch with a box of tissues and a cup of coffee catching up on The Walking Dead. I'm not going to lie, it's really making me anxious that I haven't run or excercised in a whole week, but I know rest is the best thing for me right now and I also know that missing a run here and there isn't going to kill me either. Hopefully, I'll be back in action soon. 

So, what have I been doing since I haven't been running. Oh, I've been thinking about running, reading about running, looking at races I can sign up for and wishing that I was running. I think that about covers it. 

Actually, I've finally signed up for a 5k. I won a free entry for the Run for the Nun 5k in May.

There's another race I'm thinking about doing in June. It's called the Bourbon Derby. There's a 5k, 10 mile and 1/2 marathon option. The 10 mile and 1/2 courses travel through two local horse farms, which is totally awesome because the farms in this area are amazing! I just don't know if I can keep training through June, plus if it's real hot, the end of the race could be miserable. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but it sounds fun!

Ha! See what I mean, I can't stop thinking about running. I'll spare you from any more rambling and daydreaming for now.

I'll leave you with some running humor.

Have a great weekend friends!