United NYC Half Marathon training recap and goal

Hey there!

It certainly has been some time since I updated this little thing on my training but I head to New York in just a day and figured I should turn on this rusty old computer.  When I first started training for the UnitedNYC Half I thought I was update the blog regularly with how my training is going, but honestly, I blame my computer.  My computer is old and slow and a pain to work with.  I need a new one.  I also need a new car, work clothes, a cell phone, to pay off my mortgage, pay off my students loans; so a computer is not high on the priority list.  But running the NYC Half Marathon is :)

Here is how training went. 
For not running consistently for about 8 months before I started training, I think I did a damn good job.  I did miss about 5 workouts here or there which I am not proud of but life gets in the way and that’s the truth.  Some days I had to bring my cats to the vet or I worked late, some days I went home and laid in bed. One time I was at work ready to get changed for work, I took my work pants off to put my running shorts off then put my work pants back on because I was tired and didn’t want to go.  Yup, pathetic but the truth.

Yay, I almost hit a 100 mile month...ALMOST

Most of my runs were pretty decent there were a few I was disappointed with.  I enjoyed the long runs, except for 1.  I am calling that a win!  My tempo miles were not as fast as I would have liked them to be but my body just isn’t there yet.  I did a few strength training day, again, not as many as I would have likes but certainly more than I have done in the past.  I also managed to gain 5-6 pounds because potato chips and watching TV because more important that walking and grading.  My highest weekly mileage was 30 and lowest was 13.5 (FAIL!!)  I managed to be put on steroids twice this training cycle and the first time my paces were so fast I thought I had a PR in me, little did I realize it was just the steroids.

My TNT girls

Who I ran with. 

The first half of the training plan I ran alone for my long runs, they were short enough I didn’t have to put water out and my scheduled allowed me to even get some runs done on a Thursday or a Friday.  Most Sunday recovery runs Behn joined in with me so it was nice to have some time to spend with him.  For the second part I joined Team in Training and was able to run with my girls!  It was a nice change of pace.  

Behn I headed out for 2 miles.  It was in the 50s and this is how different we dress.

What I listened to:

I don’t normally run with music or anything but if it was a long or recovery run I would sometimes pop on serial season two.  If I wanted to get out of my head I would jab out to Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift. 

My tempo runs I didn’t listen to anything except for my heavy uncontrolled breathing (sorry Coach).  

I ran one race while training for the NYC Half.  I ran the Orlando Best Damn Race 10k and really enjoyed it.  This was a peak week for me and my legs were toast.  I managed to go 1:03:29 and was very happy with that.  I secretly wanted to PR or go a little faster but I am OK with that!  My current PR is 1:02: with some change, I forgot already!

So thats how my training went :)

I have a few goals I am going to share.  These are very loose goals because this is my first half marathon in well over a year.  I have no idea where my half fitness is, in terms of racing.  Obviously I would Love a shiny new PR but thats not what I am aiming for.  Besides having fun and running through my favorite place in the World, Times Square, I want to see where my half fitness is.

Finished BDR 10K

Ideally, Here is what I would like to see and here are by A, B, C Goals:

A Goal: 2:15

B Goal 2:18 (This would be a coarse PR, I think)

C Goal - Keeping an 11:00 pace or better and not die :)

How do you determine your goals for race day?

Anyone know of any way to make my Macbook Pro faster?

Im "Racing" Saturday!

I’m Racing Saturday!!!!

 Saturday is going to be my first 5k in well over a year and a half.  I don’t sign up for 5k’s for a reason;, they are hard and they are expensive compared to how many miles you get for the price.

Image taken from website

I have been wanting to do the Airport 5k for a few years now.  The first year I tried to sign up it was sold out and I didn’t registered on time and last year I has my first triathlon to finish J

 My training is certainly not up to par for a 5k this weekend.  Ever since Gasparilla where I busted my butt for 30+ miles I have been worn out both mentally and physically.  During the Sarasota Half I walked 9 of those miles and was miserable.  I had to take a mental and physical break from running.  I am almost ready to get on a normal training plan for the next season. 

 Since Gasparilla I have been adding strength training and the last two weeks I have been going to Orange Theory Fitness where I have been getting about 2.5 miles or so with a run or two thrown in. 

My current PR is a 29:03 and I have no intention of getting close to that this weekend.

 If I can run sub 30, great!

If I can rub a sub 10 pace, great!

If I can finish, great!

 

What are your plans for this weekend?  Any run races coming up?

 

Good Luck to all those racing St. Anthony’s Triathlon J

 

Why I am not happy with a 38 minute Marathon PR

Shouldn't everyone be happy with a 38 minute and 50 second PR for the Marathon?

My friend asked me right after the race if I was still happy about the race and the answer is “NO”.  

It has been just over two weeks since the Best Damn Race Marathon where my time goal was to go sub 5.  If you read my last post you can see I did not reach it and I am very upset about it.  You can read it here.

Giving myself time to think about it I am starting to get over/deal with it.  I am setting new goals to reach and getting ready to train for them.  I am also taking it easy giving my body the appropriate time to recover.  I am still not happy about it nor do I know if I will ever be happy about the outcome of the race.  I am disappointed in myself.

Gifts from my wonderful support!

I wish I knew why I am so upset with missing my goal.  Maybe its the fact I missed it by just over the and a half minutes.  Maybe I feel I could have pushed harder at the end and not given up.  It could also be the fact that I trained for a specific goal and did everything I could have done to reach it and I fell short.  Maybe I am comparing myself to my friends I trained with and expected to do what they did?

I also think this was the first time I trained for a specific goal and did NOT hit the goal.  When I was reflecting on this I couldn’t believe that was true.  Maybe I set my goals too low but I often surprise myself because race day can be so tricky, especially for 26.2 miles.    

When I made my last goals this is how I came up:

Wanted a sub 30 5k- and came out with 29:03

2:15 half and came in at 2:12  *This race was a month earlier than anticipated*

Olympic distance and first triathlon 3:45-4:00 and came in at 3:38 and surpassed my run goal!

15k -I wanted under 1:45 and was surprised to see 1:35:11 at the gate River Run with the bridges!  This was actually a week before my half marathon PR!  

I do see that 38 minutes faster is fabulous and I am thankful for that! Last years marathon was 5:55 when I did the NYC Marathon.  I am so thankful for everyone who put up with me this training cycle.  I am ready to set new goals and reach those in time :)

I also think it is OK to not be OK with a race result..What do you think?

Best Damn Race, Cape Coral Recap

Sitting down to write this recap I am a big bag of emotions.

As I posted the other day, my goals are here:

Sunday I completed my 4th marathon.  Behn and I ran this race together.  It was wonderful :)  I seriously had no idea how it was going to go.  I may have gone off on him before during a long run!  I am so happy we were able to do it together.  He was there for me when I needed him the most!

I ran a 5:03:32

It was a PR of about 38:50 but no, I am not happy about that.  I will blog about that later.

Race Day:

My alarm went off at 5:10 and we were up and getting ready!  We both slept really well.  I Vaselined and glided up, we ate our bananas, packed our bags and we were out of the hotel by 5:45 and on our way to our MARATHON!

Once we arrived we had no problems parking, we walked around a bit, went to the bathroom, and saw Tori.  Once we walked over to the start line things got real!  I saw a bunch of running friends, said our good lucks, got rid of my beautiful throw away gear (Thank you Jamie for the sweatshirt), sang the national anthem and we were off!  The race started right on time!  I was a little nervous actually about starting on time because in races past, and especially an inaugural event things CAN and DO go wrong!  We had no issues at all!.

My goal was to start off a little slower and to stay between the 4:45 and 5:00 pace group.  Should that have been the first sign this race wouldn’t go well?  When we started the 5:00 pace group started out fast!  I wasn’t willing to let my legs go that fast.  I was hoping they were using the going out fast to bank time just in case for later in the race.  We never caught up to them.  I looekd up the pacers finish time and it was 4:50:xx.  In hindsite, should I have started with them?  Would I have burned out even quicker?  I rememebr when we were approaching the mile 4 the second time, we saw the 5 hour pace group and all I wanted was to run with people!

After emailing with my Coach we decided on trying to maintain even splits this race, each mile between 10:55-11:05 not including my warm up miles and my push to the end.

Miles 1-13 were so much fun!  It was great to be on a course with great aid stations and seeing and cheering other runners on!  I loved listening in to other runners chatting with their friends.  During the first mile we saw Chelsea and Jessica, I got rid of my last long sleeve and we said our goodbyes! (They kicked butt by the way).

Mile 12.5 we saw Diana and Jamie with signs and cheering!  I said to Behn, “are those my friends?” and I was so happy to see their faces!  They ran with us and we were telling them about the course. At that point we (I) were feeling strong and confident.  We are about an 11:07 pace or so, according to my watch, 11:12 pace according to the tracker.  EIther way, we were on tack to a sub 5.  I was so happy at that point!  I knew a PR was in reach.

Come mile 17 is where it got hard.  I was able to keep that pace for about the first 17 minutes and then I crashed and burned. The weather got warm, real warm, real quickly!  I started taking salt/electrolyte tabs at the 1:40, 2:40, and about 4 hourish marks.  I took a huma gel avery 4-5 miles.  I took water at every water stop.  After mile 18 I started taking 2 waters at each stop.  I do not think nutrition or hydration was an issue for this race.

I started to see the numbers on my watch get higher (pace) and I started to lose hope.  I tried as much as I could to keep going.  Mile 18 is the first time we took an extended water walk break.  I thought about quitting that early.  At 19 I knew I could still hit my sub 5 goal even if my A goal was out the door at this point.  

20-25 was just a blur.  I remember running, walking, crying.  I wanted to be done but couldn’t push myself to go any faster.  I don’t know if it was my legs, breathing, heat heart rate. I don’t know what caused it.  

Mile 25 we saw Jamie and Diana again with their signs.  They ran us in to mile 26 and then we said our goodbyes and Behn and I finished up.  

We ran in holding hands and laughing, it was simply wonderful!  Beth called something out about us.  Tori and Beth gave us our medals.  (Sorry I didn't stop and chat, I just realized I just kept walking, everything was a blur) Thank you Tori for chasing us down and congratulating us!

Random Thoughts:

This is the get me the hell to the finish line now look

I don’t even remember at what mile we saw Misty but I remember what a smile it brought to my face! 
We saw Emily and her family on our first half of the run! 
The water stops were so energetic!  The half marathon course was great, but to have to do that again, it was mentally challenging!  Behn and I were running by our selves for the second half, no one in site. 
Stephanie yelled for us on her way back to an AMAZING  Half marathon PR! 
The race was very well marked.  The volunteers were amazing! 
I hate how the people trying to get by in their cars gave some of them such trouble.  

I know I am supposed to be so happy and bubbly that I just ran my 4th marathon, but I am not.  I am disappointed in myself that I couldn’t keep pushing to hit my goal that I wanted to bad and know I have in me.  Behn kept asking if we were on pace because he knew how much it meant to me and how much I have trained for this race.  We were certainly on track till about mile 23.  At that point as long as we maintaned 12 min miles we would have come in sub 5.  I couldn't.  I don't know if I mentally gave up and threw in the towel or what happened.

So So SO Happy to be done~

Now it is time for a few week recovery then it is half marathon time, maybe If I am up for it I will even throw in a little triathlon or something this year.

The day ended with ice cream and us being in bed before 8!  

How do you get over a “bad” race or not hitting your goal?

What is your favorite recovery or reward for a hard race?

One more for good measure.. I think the face explains it all

Iron Girl 2013

I cannot believe my last long distance race of the season is less than a week away!  If you have been reading my last few posts, you would see that I am doing Iron Girl Clearwater next Sunday, April 14, 2013.   I originally wasn't going to do this race and was going to have Sarasota Half be my last race but I really wanted to set a new PR since the time I wanted for Sarasota I reached in November.  The Tampa Bay Bloggers were contacted to take part of this women's only event, and I am very excited to do so.  In addition to the half marathon distance, they also have a 5k.  After being contacted by Iron Girl, I knew this wasn't an opportunity to let slip on by.  Iron Girl's mission is "to empower women toward a healthy lifestyle".

I hired Mary back in February to get my to my goal time, I happened to reach that goal a little quicker than expected.  My goal was a 2:15, and wasn't even sure that was possible because of the new course which includes 2 bridges, ran twice each.  In Sarasota, I ran a 2:12:11 with two bridges.  Shortly after Sarasota, my ankles started to bother me, tendinitis.  I have been taking some time to relax and let them heel.  I am not sure the half marathon distance is in the cards or if I should stick to the 5k.  I went out for a short 3 miler and the pain isn't there that much when I run, (yes), but there afterwards.  I certainly do not want it to get worse, but this is also my last run.  The runs feel hard in terms of pace.  Where has my "speed" gone, but I guess that happens when you don't run.   My goal this week is to try and get some runs in to help my legs learn the meaning of running.  I am not sure how that will happen, I have an interview, and two doctors appointments on different days.  Either way, I am looking forward to seeing some great ladies out there.

I love women only races (yes, I love the sight of in shape men with their shirt off running), but the camaraderie of women is great!  Will I see you there?

Which medal will you earn?

I have actually done the Iron Girl Half Marathon the first year they had the half.  I must say, it was one of the hardest halves.  I was not training because I was interning.  All I remember is that I couldn't imagine ever doing another half again if this was my first race.  Right now, besides my leg, I am in the best running shape I have ever been.  I am hoping the heat stays away (it is going to be 80) and the wind is at our back.  I hope my ankles cooperate and have a fabulous race.  Christa and I will run together, but I hope she breaks my PR!!  

Have you done an all women's race?  

What are your tips for running the bridges without training too much on them?

**I was given free entry for this race, all opinions are my own**

Friday Letters

Happy Friday Readers!!!

Are you as excited as I am for this weekend?  This is the first week back after spring break so there is a lot of catching up on and I am beat.  This is also the first weekend I am going to be staying in town in 4 weeks!  I have plenty of exciting plans but nothing beats being home!  Birthday parties, running, and family coming into town, oh my!

As much as my blogging is off and on, Friday Letters are one of my favorite things to do.  So here they are!

Dear Friday, once again, I am so happy you have shown your face.  Every Monday I can't wait for you to come around.  You are seriously my favorite day of the week!  Dear Toes, you have been in pain for the last week since you PR'ed the Sarasota Half marathon.  You need to get your act together so I can continue training for the Irongirl Clearwater Half marathon.  Trader Joes, you rock!  I was able to find such yummies this weekend, they are all gone.  Dear Irongirl clearwater, you were originally my last goal race.  I am very excited I can go into you enjoying you, not worrying about a time and being happy just to be done for the season.  I am ready for a break before NYC Marathon training begins.  Dear Sleep, you are mine this weekend!  Dear 2013, you have been pretty good so far.  I hope it stays that way and I am hoping opening my big mouth doesn't jinx me.  

Gate River Run 15k Recap

As many of you know, I am not the best at doing race reaps, but lucky for you, I am on Spring Break which gives me a few minutes of free time.

Friday after work I went up to Jacksonville to visit one of my best college friends.  I registered for this race probably the day it opened.  I was very excited for this.  Not only would I be doing the race, it was the perfect excuse to see my friend.  We were going to make it a fun weekend with the other half of our crew coming up, but unfortunately, they were unable to make it.  

Friday after work I hit up the expo because Jamie home yet.  I picked up my packet, walked around a bit, shopped some and saw Marcia.  It is so nice to always see her.  It was also her birthday weekend and she killed it with a PR!  She was ma wasn't nning the Donna 26.2 booth where I picked up a pin for Jamie and I to wear in her moms honor.  This is actually how she noticed me along the course.  Luckily, I did not need anything from the expo so I just walked to kill some time.

After the expo, I went to Jamie's, but my stuff down and did a nice little two mile shake out run.  Once Jamie got home, we ran to Target for a few things then waited for her boyfriend to come home.  He just was awarded a promotion so we went out to carbo load and celebrate.  We went to an italian place near their house which was very good.  I am a very picky eater whose stomach cannot handle much before races so I thought our server would murder me, or spit in my food.  All I wanted was plain pasta and grilled chicken with marinara sauce on the side.  I didn't think that was too hard.  Just saying.  We went home and went to bed.  

Get in my belly!

Saturday we were up bright and early.  I knew I would not have time to do my scheduled warm up, per Mary's request, so I woke up a little earlier and got out there.  We met at J's friend, Kerry's house at 7 to head downtown.  It makes me laugh that we met at 7 because I love early races, especially if they start in the dark.  Call me crazy, but I don't like seeing my watch and the pace and if it dark, I can't see the watch.  We all carpooled on over, got stuck in traffic, went to the pottys and went to find our corrals.  This was Jamie's first race and I told her I can run with her, walk with her, or do whatever.  She told me to rock it and run my pace, which is exactly what I did.  See, I am training for this Irongirl Half Marathon so.. I sort of wanted to see what I had in me.  They were in wave 3, I was in wave 2 so we hugged goodbye and wished them luck.

Let me start off by saying, this was not an easy run.  There are two bridges.  One is worse than the other.  The Hart bridge is a terror, a bitch to say nicely, luckily it was at mile 8.. Thinking back, I sort of wish it was at the beginning so I still had energy.

I accidently went into wave one to start.  I had my phone out about to take a picture of the start line and people started walking, I figured I had time and was just being moved forward, I was wrong.  I was in the wrong wave.  I am not complaining.  This was beneficial because I wasn't stressing out.  I just went.  The first few miles flew by.  By mile 1.5 is when the first bridge, the Main Street bridge was up.  The elevation was not bad, the bad part was the grates in the bottom.  It freaked me out, and being from NY where this is normal on the street, I do not like that and always walk around them.  

 I was scared I was running to fast when at the 3 mile marker I was under 30 minutes.  At least that was a new PR for me.  I just kept running.  I sort of had a goal in mind but did not want to commit to it because I wasn't sure if I was going to run with my friend or if the bridges would get the best of me.  This is about where Marcia ran into me, she said HI, and took off!  Who would think there is a hilly course in Florida, but it seems as I always seem to find them.  I sort of figured that besides the bridges, the course would be flat, I was wrong.  Rolling hills, lots of rolling hills.  I just kept treking on.  The course was beautiful when we went by the water and the houses, WOW!  I was consistently holing about a 10  min mile pace, give or take a few seconds.  I was very excited and was hoping not to crash!  Jamie's boyfriend spotted me, gave me a shout and gave me some extra motivation.  My stomach started to cramp and I got nervous.  I knew I just had about a 5k left.  I had a Powergel with me, I wish I would have taken it at about mile 6.5 because at mile  I started to burn out.  I knew I can maintain my pace till I got to the Hart Bridge.  I did just that.  I stopped twice during mile 7, once to get an orange from a spectator, the second to get some water.  You can see my pace dropped there.  Then it was the bridge!!!  I ran that bridge..or so I thought.  You would never know I was running, it looked like walking, felt like walking but the energy was running.  I promise, I was running.  Once to the top, I sprinted down.  I know I had to get in the last kick!  I saw that before I hit the bridge my pace was about a 10, after the bridge.. a little more!  I wanted it down, I was determined to get it down.

And there the finish line was!  I made it, and a shiny new PR!  The last and only time I ran a 15k my time was about 2:04.  I was out of shape!  I wasn't running.  I just said, OK, this is better than doing the Half.  So that is what I did.  This time I was training, and I used this as a training run for Irongirl.

There were certainly some pro's and cons about this race so I will just give you a few of them:

*I loved our names on our bibs!  It is great to hear people call your name out while your running.

*I did not like that there was no Gatorade or anything of that sort on the course.  After we started, it got hot and I think that would have really helped me the last few miles.  

*The line to get the medal at the end, a cluster mess

*Free post race bags of ice and massages

*A beautiful race shirt (I will have to post that) and it fits perfectly!

*hilly course, you tell me..good or bad?

*Great Crowd support!

And I almost forgot.  My official time was 1:35:11.  Just what my Garmin read! Perfect!

Before!

After

 After the race, Ryan got us flowers!  So sweet!  And we headed for a post celebratory lunch at a bar!  It truly was a great weekend with great friends!  I am so glad I was able to do this!

Post Race celebrations!

have you ever done this run?  What were your thoughts?

Did you go into a race and crushed your expectation?

Also, did you enter the lululemon and race entry giveaway yet?

Weekly Workout Recap

First off, let me apologize for not blogging regularly as it is the start of a new semester so life is a little crazy.  Also, whenever I try and blog, my computer/internet likes to act up.

This week was very exciting for me.  I was finally able to get in some runs that I was excited about!  I tried a new running club, went to an old one, and PR'd my 10k by almost 10 minutes.

I currently do not have a training plan so I feel like a chicken with its head cut off in terms of what I am supposed to be doing.  That is my goal for next week, come up with a plan that I can actually commit with for the Sarasota Half Marathon I am running on St. Patty's Day.

The issues I have started having again with running were stomach aches.  I will get into those when I talk about my runs this week.

Tuesday I met up with Michelle and her friend Kelsey at Four Green Fields for their run club.  I have wanted to go to this for years, but never really had the time.  I knew it was too soon to get into speed training, so I made my way over there after work.  I didn't have any particular distance I wanted to go.  I knew Michelle would be going 4.5 so I went the extra .25 out and ended right about 5.17 miles or so. I kept the average pace around 10:45.  I was happy this was so much better than the 3.1 miles I did the week before when it hurt to keep a 11:27 min mile pace.  At about mile 4, my stomach started to hurt.  It hurt bad.  I made it home but had to stop for gas on the way home.  At the gas station, I was hurled over in pain against my car.  I was happy to just make it home at that point.  (From that point on, I was in and out of the bathroom for the next 3 hours, sorry, TMI)  It was a lot of fun!

Thursday I dragged one of my running buddies, Misty out to Fitniche at Wiregrass mall for their weekly 5k.  I have been doing this fun for over two years now, but was stopped when I was training for NY because I had 8-9s on my schedule and we know if I do 3, I wasn't going back out for 6.  It was starting to get cold so I bundled up with as many layers as possible, but cool enough that I wouldn't be uncomfortable.  I started off with Misty but she told me to go ahead.  I am finally learning how to negative split! Yay!!  This averaged a 10:21 pace for 3.1 miles

My colorful warm outfit!

Saturday was the Best Damn Race 10k.  It was a last minute decision, as I signed up the week before.  I was looking at this for a PR and to get more miles in while having fun.  I did both.  I met up with my coach and Misty before hand, we drove over, picked up our stuff, met Elaine and snuggled in the car until it was time to head to the start line.  The course was great, there were some hills, and we all had a great PR day!  I PR'ed by 9 minutes and 51 seconds.  I am so happy about that! I also wish I would have gone just 15 seconds faster and I would have had sub 10's! My official finish time was 1:02:20 with a pace of 10:02.  My last 10k was in September and I finished in 1:12:11.  I will take it!

Thank you Meghan for the picture
Meghan, Meghan, Tori, Me

Me, Misty, Teresa, Elaine

Next weekend I get to participate in the Go Dirty Girl Mud run!!  I am so excited!  It will be my first mud run! 

Linkup your workouts (running, Crossfit, gym days) from this week with me, Kat, and Meghan! 

I want to start more cross training and strength workout soon, what do you do to help your running?

When setting goals, How do know what you are capable of?

I always find that the most challenging part, what are your goals?

  

Women's Half Marathon Race Recap

WHM and NYC Marathon Bibs

I am not really sure how to start with this recap expect for saying I still have a grin on my face.  

I PR'd!  And it wasn't a little PR either!

This weekend I had 29 miles on deck, but if you have been following me, you would know my stomach sometimes likes to cooperate.  Saturday morning, I was up bright and early for my 16 miles.  I was actually very excited to be doing back to back long runs because I am doing Goofy with the Leukemia and Lymphoma society (have you donated yet)?  Unfortunately, it did not pan out as well as I had wished.  I made it 4.5 out before my stomach really began to hurt, I walked back because running made it hurt.  Luckily this time, it was just pain and I wasn't running for a bathroom.  On the way back, my IT band was screaming!  I didn't know what to do!  I was limping and couldn't walk.  I ced and foam rolled at least three times on Saturday.  

Because I still had 9 miles on my legs, I wasn't sure how a half marathon would pan out.  Would I run before or after the race to add more miles, would my stomach hold up.  Should I try to PR, should I run with a pace group?  I really had no idea what Sunday would hold for me.  All I knew what this was going to be a fun run!  After going to the expo and talking to my friends, I was just ready for a good time.  

Sunday Morning came and my alarm was set for 4am.  I quickly threw on my clothes, which included my Team shirt.  I grabbed a bottle of water, a bag of ice so I can ice my bum on the way to the race start.  I decided to get there around 5:30 so I would not have to mess and bother with parking or traffic. When I got there, I met Meghan who picked me up some compression socks because I could not find mine, and I found they actually really work, or it is just my mind. After we met, she was off to run 4 miles BEFORE 13 for a total of 17.5 for the day! She is pretty rock star!  She went for a run, and I quickly ran to the bathroom at the Hilton where my TNT peeps would be. I started my pre run warmup, but knew I was going too fast so I stopped, texted Pete and met my peeps.  I made it a half a mile in less than 5 minutes.  Too quick to me. I was talking to Pete, who was the race coach for the day.  He was actually the one who got me to the finish line of my first half, and helped me PR Sunday my running me in faster than I could imagine.  

GO TEAM!

Story time and being my typical self

After some pictures, we headed to the corrals and was ready to go.  Once I was there, I was peeking around for some friends, but unfortunately, I was unable to find any.  I waited, tried to keep warm, and chatted with some strangers.  At 6:58, the national anthem was sung, and at 7:00 the first wave was out, and we were all on our way.  

This course was beautiful, flat, and fast.

This is actually the only race (besides the Jungle Bell 5k) which I have ran more than once.  That is how much I loved this race the first time.

It runs along the water, beautiful houses, Mirror Lake, through Tropicana Field where the Rays plays, and it is also very spectator friendly which is always helpful.  

Miles 1-3: My body was playing mind games with me.  I started off what I thought would be too fast.  My muscles and body were getting warmed up and I guess I learned that it takes me a few miles to get into the groove.  At mile 1, I looked at my watch and saw a low number. AHH, was going through my head.  I wanted to slow down and not die too quickly.  At around mile 3, the 2:30 pace group caught up to me, and I was thinking about sticking with them.  I had this TOP SECRET goal of 2:30, but didn't plan to hit it until my March half marathon.  I also knew I had my team in training family at mile 3 which kept me going!  I really love having spectators along the course.  

Mile 4-8: Went through snell Isle which was beautiful.  I was able to stay with the pace group, and actually got a little ahead of them.  I didn't want to push to hard and burn out.  That is what I was thinking the whole time.  At about mile 5, I broke off and made my way through the cobbled streets and over to the pier.  It was great seeing Caroline so many times!  At the pier, I ran into my handy dandy Pete!  The wind was bad, but I didn't find it horrendous as most people are talking about.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy, but I also knew it would be at my back soon enough.  Pete and I were talking when the 2:30 pace group came up behind us at mile 8, what this would mean if I stayed with them, etc.  At this point, it was go big or go home.  I chowd down on a powergel and we were off.  At this point I was still feeling pretty good and couldn't believe my pace.

Mile 9-11:  At this point, things were a little rough.  We headed up hill!  I started to fall behind the pace group.  I wanted to walk, I wanted to take a break.  Knowing I could run a marathon, mentally helped me though this.  Knowing I had my AMAZING Run Tampa crew at mile 9.6, allowed me to keep going.  It was so so so nice to see their smiling faces.  Hearing them cheer for "me".  When Tori gave me Yellow gatorade when I needed it instead of the orange (I hate orange flavored stuff).  That it was running is all about.  That is an amazing community.  After that, I was able to catch back up with the pacer, Don, and I felt like a million bucks.  We only had a 5k left.  This mentality doesn't really work for me on a normal basis, but it did today.  I know, just a little further till we hit the trop, were on flat land, and then it is all downhill.  Through the trop, I kept my pace and chatted up with some other ladies. 

Mile 12-13.1:  Yes! Downhill.  I was told we were about a 1 minute to a minute and a half ahead of schedule.  I had this even more secret goal in my head, that by the end of the year, I wanted to run under a 2:28.  (A 2:28 was what my X ran his first race and taunted me with it, yes, that is one of the many reasons we are not together, and couldn't be happier about that!)  I held steady for mile 12, and 13, we were off.  Don gave us permission, if we had it in us, go for it.  Don runs a 1:35 half.  No big deal.   At 12.5, I saw Pete! He was going to run me in, I asked him, he asked me my goal, and we pushed!  At about 12.75, my watched beeped at we were at 13. "F", why aren't we there yet.  He commented how fast I was going, and it helped that he was there to push me!  My body hasn't run that fast in a race.  I followed his lead, I crossed that finish line in under 2:28!

If you look back at my Halloween Halfathon recap, you see my finish time was between 2:35-2:36 and change.  That leaves me with a 9-10 minute PR.  

Here are my splits:

I cannot believe I have not one mile over 12:00, yet along the "slowest" was 11:46.  My fastest was my last mile, which was a first for me.  I hit paces under 11:00 which is a first.

I am extrmemly happy with this run, especially after having 9 miles on my legs the day before.  I really pushed myself.  At points I didn't think I could do it, but knew if I can go a little further, I could.  

Oh, more bling to add!

If you are in Tampa, come join in!
If you cannot, please take a look at my webpage and donate, donate, donate!
Genna's Goofy Fundraising Page

Thank you everyone who had the confidence in me!

How do you get past the mental block of pushing to a goal? 

Also, check out my Stella and Dot trunk show which 20% goes towards my fundraising minimum!