My first marathon!

As I've discussed before, all of my summer and fall training was to get me ready for the Dallas Marathon on December 8.  Well, the bad news is that my 2013 marathon goal didn't come to fruition the way I planned.  The good news is that I did still manage to accomplish it but I had to get a little creative to do it.

The Thursday night before the race several inches of freezing rain and sleet fell across the Metroplex.  The plummeting temperatures turned the rain and sleet into ice and the area into a giant ice rink.  With the race scheduled for Sunday morning and temps forecasted to stay well below freezing into the next week, the race organizers made the (correct) decision on Friday afternoon to cancel the Marathon.

I had "only" been training for 18 weeks but I had been planning for that race for well over a year.  In fact, pretty much as soon as I found out in May 2012 that I was pregnant and thus, not going to be racing that winter, I was determined that the 2013 Dallas Marathon would be my first marathon.  During just about every training run I thought about how it would feel to see that mile 26 signpost, send the triumphant "here I come!" text to let Kevin know to expect me, to see my family at the finish line and hear the excitement in Daniel's voice as he cheered for me.  I'm happy to do my training runs by myself but races are a fun chance to enjoy running with thousands of other people, feel the adrenaline and nervousness of thousands of people waiting for the start gun to go off, enjoy being cheered on by thousands of strangers and read the funny and inspiring signs.  Now none of that was going to happen.

I was extremely disappointed but determined to put all that training to use and earn my first marathon medal in 2013, the year my daughter was born.  So I took to the internet to see what other races might be a possibility and found a small marathon happening in Dallas the next weekend called Whine Not Another Marathon.  With a 50-runner limit it wasn't the big "event race" I wanted, and an 8-loop course around Bachmann Lake wasn't the same as a race through all the scenic parts of Dallas, but it was 26.2 miles long.

After a second taper week, race morning dawned early and I quickly dressed, got ready, and headed to the race site.  It was cold and very windy that morning and I got there early enough to park right next to the start line (one benefit of it being a small race) so I waited in my car till it was time to line up.  Another benefit of it being a small loop course was that I didn't have to worry too much about what to wear  I knew it would be easy to shed or add layers as I warmed up or got colder.  I wore shorts and a tech tee (maroon, "Run Aggieland"), calf sleeves and a cap as my base layer and started out with a pullover, gloves, and ear warmer headband.

The course was 8 loops around the lake plus a short out and back at the end.  Each loop took us past the start line, the refreshment table, and the porta-potties and a handful of volunteers.  Other than those features it was basically a training run with a few other people around.

Lap one went easily and I felt light.  I wore 4:15 and 4:30 pace tats since I wasn't quite sure what pace I'd be able to hold.  My first few miles I was hitting my splits on the lower end of that and felt great.  After lap one I shed the pullover and gloves as I was warming up and the wind hadn't yet gotten strong.

With any long run I use mental tricks to keep myself motivated and this was no differerent.  I used laps as my measuring stick rather than miles because 8 laps sounded less intimidating than 26 miles.  After the first lap I said, ok that was easy, I can do that 7 more times.  After 2 laps, I'm a quarter of the way done and after 3 laps it was 3 down, 5 to go.  4 down was almost halfway, and so on.

I think for any long run the mental aspect is as important as the physical.  I've done 8 half marathons now and aside from one with knee pain (note: endurance events good, blood donation good, endurance event a week after blood donation, bad), the hardest race was one where I wasn't mentally prepared and all I could think was how hot it was and "are we there yet?".  I used to dedicate each mile of a race to a different person/group to give me focal points.  This fall during all those long training runs I realized I didn't really need that "crutch" anymore because I could just run for hours without really having to consciously focus and I could just think about anything or nothing.  A big race can provide a lot of distraction and encouragement through the fan support, fellow runners and entertainment but this race had none of that to help me along.  The good news was that it turned out I didn't need it, and for that I'm certain I have all those hours of training runs to thank.  

I did dedicate one lap though.  The race was on December 14, the anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, and there was a national moment of silence at 9:30ET, so at the start of the 3rd lap at 8:30ish I turned off my music and recited the morning prayer liturgy to myself, naming by name as many of the Sandy Hook victims I could recall.  I also wore a "WWDD" bracelet that day in honor of Daniel Barden, whose family talked about his sense of adventure and how he loved running even at his young age.

Mile after mile, lap after lap, the scenery never changed.  Every 3 miles I'd refill my water bottle or grab some Gatorade (and special thanks to the awesome volunteers and one fellow Texag-er in particular who came out when I posted about the race) and every 40ish minutes I'd take in either a GU gel or bag of Sport Beans.  Occasionally I'd be running alongside another runner but 99% of the time it was just me putting one foot in front of the other, again and again and again.

Physically I did reasonably well.  I started feeling a hot spot on the ball of my right foot around halfway in and my legs started to feel rubbery around mile 18 or so but other than those mild discomorts nothing really hurt.  Holding the pace became increasingly difficult and my pace steadily slowed as the miles progressed but I think that was somewhat mental as the monotony of an 8 loop course with no crowd support, scenery, or borrowed enthusiasm from fellow racers set in.  Nutrition-wise everything went well too as I managed to successfully walk that line of not letting the tank get empty or assaulting my GI tract with too much at once.

As the morning went on the wind really picked up and it began to feel much colder.  Somewhere around lap 6 I put my gloves back on.  I never had taken off the headband and now I was glad to have it.  I debated putting the pullover back on but decided against it because 1) it would take too long and 2) I wanted my Run Aggieland shirt for my finisher picture because priorities, right?

At mile 20 I called Kevin to tell him I was about an hour out and he and the kids left the house to come meet me at the finish line.  As I was about halfway through my final lap he texted that they were at the finish line.  Knowing that every step brought me closer to my cheering section brought a little extra spring to my step.  After completing my 8th lap I passed by them and headed out for the out and back which was just starting a 9th lap and running to a turnaround point.  The return leg of it was nice as runners heading out for their next laps congratulated me and cheered me on.

I had told Kevin that since it was such a small race, if there wasn't another runner right behind me then I wanted Daniel to join me as I crossed the finish line. I had meant for him to get Daniel out of the stroller and run across with me but we had a miscommunication and Daniel was still in the stroller so, with him cheering "run faster Mommy!" I pushed his stroller across the finish line.  4:41 and 26.2 miles after I'd departed the start line early that morning, I was a marathoner.

Being such a small race, there was no official photographer so I don't have a picture of my finish.  The only picture I have of the event at all is this one of me and Daniel afterward.  Between the calf sleeves and ear warmers you can see that fashion was really a major consideration for me ;)

Edit: the day after I posted this the race uploaded some pictures.  Here's one of me on the course:

So when all was said and done I did achieve my goal of becoming a marathoner during 2013 and fully living up to my "run a household, run a business, run a marathon" mantra.  I would have loved for the Dallas Marathon to happen but I'm certain this race was much harder than Dallas would have been, so knowing I could do 26.2 under these conditions sends me into my future marathons with a huge confidence boost.  If I can run 26.2 miles with minimal support, a boring loop course, and no crowd support, how much faster can I be with a fully supported race through a scenic route with thousands of other runners and huge crowd support?  I'll get my chance to find out soon enough.

This race showed I had the mental aspect of the marathon under control.  It would have been easy to fixate on how cold it was, how boring it was, how this wasn't what I originally signed up for, the total lack of crowd support, etc, but I didn't.  I was able to stay just focused enough to mind my pace without fixating and turning it into 4 hours of "are we there yet?"  And while I didn't get the "big race" crowd experience, the 3 most important people were there at the finish line and I got to not only see them but include Daniel in my finish in a way I couldn't have at a big race.

In another month and a half I'll get to try to improve on my time and get the big race marathon experience in the Cowtown Marathon.  It should be a fun morning with more than 10,000 racers, tens of thousands of fans, a scenic course that hits all the scenic spots in Fort Worth, and mile markers, aid stands, and a huge afterparty with food, drinks, and entertainment.  The Whine Not race showed I don't need all of that to run 26.2 miles, but it'll sure be fun to have it.

Between now and then I'll have 2 more smaller races to report on: the Jingle Bell Run just before Christmas and the Bold in the Cold 15k I'm doing this Saturday.

Jingle Bell 5k

After my marathon I expected to be sore for awhile but really by a few days after I felt pretty good.  I think I could have run the week after just fine but my allergies were bugging me and I didn't want to get sick for the holidays so I figured I had earned the right to play the "I just ran a marathon" card and sleep in for a week!  And so it was that my first run post-marathon was a 5k.

The Jingle Bell Run is a fairly big 5k through the Design District near downtown Dallas that begins and ends at the Hilton Anatole hotel.  I ran it in 2011 and liked it so I decided it made a good way to close out my 2013 season as well.

Having spent all summer and fall focusing on the marathon my emphasis was on going long rather than fast.  In fact the last speedwork I had done was back in spring 2012, 18 months and a baby ago. Between that and having just run a marathon I went in with no real expectation on finish time but with the intention to run as fast as I could and push hard the whole way.  My previous PR was 23:01 so I was hoping for sub-25:00.

Last time I lined up too far back and got stuck behind some walkers, strollers, and people with dogs.  For such a short race I didn't want to waste time doing that so I lined up near the front.  The horn sounded and we were off.

During long runs I try to look at my watch every few minutes to stay on pace but otherwise not focus much on it so it's an adjustment on short races like this to have to be more mindful.  Basically any time I caught myself feeling comfortable I'd speed up.  To me actually racing a 5k is challenging because it's such a short distance that I push a hard pace.  For a half marathon I settle into a mindful but comfortable pace; I could carry on a short conversation at that pace.  My 5k pace wouldn't allow for much conversation.

I finished in 24:04, which is among my top 3 5k finishes.  I didn't expect to PR so I was pleasantly surprised to be that fast (I know, it's not competitive fast, but fast for me!).  This spring after Cowtown I plan to focus on shorter distances and do a lot of speedwork, and it's encouraging to see that all those long miles in 2013 should have me well prepared for that.  It was a satisfying way to finish 2013.

Yesterday I kicked off my 2014 season...details later.

Allstate 13.1 Half Marathon

I'm a few months late getting around to this-that's what going so long without racing gets me.  Anywho, with the Dallas Marathon marked in my calendar in bright red the rest of my fall calendar was about getting myself to the start line as prepared as possible.  With that in mind I looked for a local half marathon to serve as a tune-up race to help me figure out a realistic pace for the actual marathon.  The Allstate race fit the bill and had the bonus of covering some of the same territory that Dallas would so I thought it would be a good preview.

While this was my 8th half marathon it was different in 2 ways: it was no longer tied for my longest run ever and, because it was a training run during marathon season, I wasn't set up to peak for it at all.  I had run an 18 mile run the previous Saturday and a 5 miler as recently as the Thursday before.  And unfortunately this was about the point in my fall training that I learned an uncomfortable truth: the lightweight running shoes I wear for most races and love for shorter distances were ill-suited to the long runs I was doing this fall and the cumulative mileage of the heavier weeks.  During the previous weekend's 18 miler I had begun to feel extensor tendonitis in my left foot/ankle and plantar fasciitis in my right.  I hoped some KT tape on the sore spots would get me through the race okay, and I knew they weren't true "injuries" I was risking aggravating, but I was mindful that this race wasn't the end goal and didn't want to overdo it and go into December hurting.

With all of that in mind I didn't shoot for a PR but looked for a finish around 1:55.  If I could make that and feel good doing it I'd feel confident that a sub-4:00 marathon finish was a realistic possibility.  If not, I'd know to readjust my expectations.

The first few miles felt okay but by about mile 5 the plantar fasciitis was bothering me a little and the tape was coming a little loose (which, incidentally, is how I discovered that KT tape loses its stickiness after a year) so I had to stop and pull it off.  The next few miles were okay but around mile 8 the top of my left foot where it meets my ankle began to feel really sore and swollen.  I stopped to check and there was no swelling and my laces weren't particularly tight though it felt like they were.  I pushed through then got a painful stitch in my side that persisted on and off for the last few miles.  I wasn't particularly concerned about my time so I walked for a stretch to try to clear the stitch.  It sort of worked.  Oh, and my tummy and I weren't agreeing too well with each other either as nutrition just wasn't sitting well.

All that to say, I finished in a little under 2 hours but felt pretty rough for much of the race.  But it served a good purpose as it gave me some good information for the marathon.  I knew I couldn't realistically expect to hold my originally planned pace so I adjusted my goal range to 4:15-4:30 (which still proved a bit optimistic, but that's another post).  I also realized I needed new shoes and fortunately I was still far enough out from race day to have time to get new kicks and break them in.  And I learned that I needed a few tweaks to my pre and during-race nutrition.  

So while it won't go down as one of my best or favorite races I'm glad I did it.  I'm certain it helped me get to December and the start line of my marathon in better shape and better prepared than I'd have been otherwise, so while the feedback was more constructive than reassuring it served its purpose.  Assuming I'm marathon training again next fall I'll probably look to do it again as a good training race.

I owe my post-marathon write-up and I won't wait as long to do that one.  I've got a lot of analysis that will probably be really boring to anyone else (sorry) but helpful to me when I training for my next one.  And as of today, I also owe a 5k writeup too.  More to come!

Getting back out there

So my last post on this blog was last August.  At the time I was early in my 2nd trimester of pregnancy and becoming increasingly limited in my physical activities.  This February I welcomed a healthy, beautiful baby girl (and in contrast to my son's 37-hour birth marathon, her birth was more of a 10k clocking in at only about 6 hours).  

A few weeks later I used the adapter to attach my daughter's carseat to my BOB stroller and we started doing short, slow runs around the neighborhood.  For the first few months I took it easy and just focused on getting out there and feeling good.  I was just glad to be out and moving again, even if I was slow.

At 10 weeks postpartum I did my first race since summer 2012, a 5k on the trail right by my house.  Going into it I really didn't know what to expect but set a goal of a sub-30 minute finish...and achieved it with almost a full minute to spare.  Much to my surprise, this was good for 3rd in my age group.  I know that says more about the field than it does about me but, well, I bet none of the people I beat had just had a baby 10 weeks earlier ;)

I felt fine during the race itself but was really sore for days after.  Sore after a 3 mile run...it was humbling for the gal who not so long ago was knocking out a half-marathon every few weeks.

On the first day of registration I signed myself up for the Dallas Marathon this December.  2 years ago when I signed up for the half marathon distance of its predecessor, the Dallas White Rock Marathon, I remember feeling a surge of excitement when I hit the "submit" button and made it real.  At the time I had never run more than 5 miles but I had confidence I could train for 13.1.  But this year, while my newborn slept at the other end of the house, I signed up for the full 26.2 even though it's fully twice as long as my furthest run to date.  Not only that, I predicted a sub-4:14 finish and am hoping to be in position for a sub-4:00 finish.

My official marathon training plan doesn't start till early August but I knew that I needed some base miles before I would be ready to train 4-5 days a week.  So since late June I've been doing a "spring training" plan to bridge that gap.  Tuesdays-Thursdays I run 2-3 miles/day and do a weekend "long" run of 6 miles or less.  It's been tough sledding in the Texas heat but I keep reminding myself that every mile logged in the heat of summer counts extra when the fall rolls around.  The marathon may only be 26.2 miles but those are just the last ones.  There are hundreds of training miles to bank along the way and every run now brings me a little closer to that finish line.

Maybe it's just the "cold front" that has brought 70 degree temps this week but this has been the first week post-baby that I have felt like I was running strong.  Not that I'm fast, but I feel like my legs are back and my lungs are getting there.  I ran 4 mornings in a row and felt great doing it.  I've still got a lot of work to do but I have 4 1/2 months to do it.  I have full confidence that this December I will become a marathoner!

Vibha Dream Mile 10k, aka Waterloo

Last weekend I participated in the Vibha Dream Mile 10k.  I say "participated" rather than ran, because I discovered shortly into the race that I had reached that point in this pregnancy where the limiting factor is not my legs or my lungs or my energy level, but my bladder.  It's a good thing it was an out and back course, because that meant I passed the 2 porta-potties along the trail on the way out and on the way back.  Yes, I had to stop 4 times over 6.2 miles.  By the end I was walking except when a bathroom was within sight.  Amazingly, I wasn't the absolute last finisher, but suffice to say I was not competitive in the least.  Obviously at this stage of the game pace isn't really my concern, but having to stop all the time is no fun.  So, I went out to get a maternity support belt that should hold my growing belly in place, minimize the jostling and, hopefully, keep running for awhile.  This baby and I already have a sprint tri, half mary, 15k, 5k, and 10k under our belts, and my hope is to log many more miles together while I'm a human jogging stroller if I can!

The Human Jogging Stroller series

Running for two
I did 2 races in June, the Playtri Festival sprint triathlon and, the following weekend, the Wounded Warrior half marathon.  Both were practically right in my backyard, as they started in Las Colinas just a few miles from the house.  They had something else in common too: I was running (and swimming and biking) with a baby on board!  Yes, I'm expecting baby #2 early next year so every time I run now, I'm a human jogging stroller carrying the little one along for the ride.

I had signed up for those races months ago, when Honey Badger (our nickname for the little one) wasn't in the picture yet.  Since I was very early in the pregnancy for last month's events, I really wasn't feeling any pregnancy symptoms and saw no reason not to do the events as planned.  I exercised as much as I could throughout my first pregnancy and feel certain it played a role in helping to keep me and baby healthy throughout.  I did, however, resolve to be conservative with my speed, err on the side of caution when it came to staying hydrated and taking in nutrition, and take walk breaks liberally as needed.

It's kind of a hard mindset adjustment to make.  Being an athlete necessarily involves learning to be comfortable with discomfort and pushing past it.  The brain is conservative and likes to send warning signals when, sometimes, we can still safely go further and faster-like a gas tank that reads near empty when it could really go another 50 miles.  So, to become a runner one learns to distinguish pain from mere discomfort, and to (carefully) push through discomfort, until one day you realize that today's "easy" pace is faster than your "race" pace of just a few months ago.  All fine and good, and part of improving as a runner.

But now, when that little voice in my head says "you're getting tired," "you want to stop," or "time to walk," I can't just dismiss it.  Because maybe it's my brain being overprotective, or maybe it's my brain saying "this might not be good for the passenger on board."  Research seems clear that for women in good health with low-risk pregnancies, exercise is not only not harmful, but actually beneficial.  However, I also have to remember that my new overriding fitness goal is getting my baby and myself to our delivery date as healthy as possible, so I'm not shooting for PRs these days and will be more inclined to cut a run or bike ride short if I'm feeling tired.

So, having said all that, here's what my little one and I have been up to:

Playtri Sprint triathlon
I did this event in 2008 and 2009 so it was nice to return after a 2-year hiatus this year.  After the Tri for Humanity sprint in late April I knew my run leg would be solid but I needed to improve my swim and bike legs and, easiest of all, get faster on the transitions. 

Easy enough plan to determine, but it turned out not to be so easy to follow.  My bike frame cracked in the TFH sprint and long story short, I finally got a replacement frame under warranty but it took them weeks to get it to me-weeks I should have been out riding but wasn't.  I rode the stationary bike at the gym a few times, but I'm just not an indoor cardio person.  The silver lining though is that it was just the reason I needed to finally get a tri bike like I'd wanted, so I trekked out to the Aggie-owned Tri Shop in Plano and got set up on a sweet Orbea tri bike.  I only got a few rides on it before the race but that was enough to make me comfortable taking it on race day.

I did, however, get some more swim practice under my belt and every session I'd do at least 3 reps of 500 meters at a time.  I knew the swim distance would look really long in the open water so I thought it would be reassuring to know I swim that far without stopping in every practice swim. 

For transition practice, I laid out a mock transition area outside the garage and practiced running in from the "swim," putting on my bike gear and running out.  I practiced it over and over, changing the order or layout, until I was consistently fast.  Then I did the same with T2, the bike to run transition.  On race morning I laid out my transition area with everything in its ideal place just as I'd practiced it.

Race morning dawned warm but pleasant enough for June.  The international (Olympic) distance race started an hour and change before the sprint, but since we had to get our stuff into transition before their race started that meant I had about an hour and a half to kill before my race.  I'm not fond of dead time on race mornings-who wants to get up at 5:30 on a weekend just to sit around and wait?  But eventually it was time for my wave to get in the water.

Swim
The bullhorn sounded and we were off.  I was reminded, again, that no amount of laps swum in the pool can truly prepare you for an open water start.  You can't see in the water, you don't know how deep it is, and oh yeah, there are dozens of other swimmers around you, running into you (it's not like there are lane markers to keep everyone in a straight line) and hitting and kicking as everyone tries to make their way toward the first buoy.  Partially because of all the contact, and partly to help with sighting, I found myself going to breaststroke sooner and more often than I had planned.  All told, I wasn't as fast as I'd hoped on the swim, but I was still faster than I'd been before.  Before my next triathlon, I want to do some open water swim practice that more closely simulates race conditions.  I'm slow enough that I'd improve significantly just from more pool time, but at some point if I really want to turn this from a weakness to a strength, I'm going to need to embrace the open water aspect.

T1
After a decent but not awesome swim, a nice solid T1 was just what I needed to feel better about the race.  And here, the practice really paid off.  I ran over to my bike and without hesitation sat down to put on my shoes and Garmin, then stood up and put on helmet, sunglasses and gloves (I know some people skip the gloves on a short race like this, but hey, it only takes a second and it's not like I was going to podium anyway), then grabbed the bike and headed out.  Really, I don't know why I've never really practiced transitions before.  Just 15 minutes of practice shaved off better than half my T1 time.  What a great return on that small investment of time!

Bike
This was my first race on my new tri bike, and wow, what a difference.  I averaged around 20mph and didn't feel like I was having to really push to do that.  In fact, I was going fast enough to have a new problem-I was passing so many people I felt like it would be easier to stay in the left lane than have to keep ducking back to the right (as etiquette and triathlon rules dictate) then moving back out to pass again.  I'm not a slow cyclist, but this isn't a problem I'm used to having.  Despite only a handful of practice rides in between I managed to get 2-3mph faster between the TFH race in late April and this spring in early June-I credit the magical new bike!

T2
After a fast (for me) bike leg, I dismounted and wheeled my bike back to the rack.  I did T2 just as I had in practice and again, those few minutes of practice paid off.  I headed out on the run feeling pretty good.

Run
Under normal circumstances, this would be where I'd push it, but the warm weather and the baby on board led me to play it a little more conservatively.  I ended up finishing in around 25 minutes-respectable, but a few minutes off what I could have done at my best.  As it turns out, had I dropped the hammer here I would have taken 3rd in my age group...oh well, next time!

It was a fun event and I've got my sights set on being back in shape to do it again next June.  I won't be anywhere close to peak shape, but I think I'll be able to complete it-and the prospect of being cheered on by BOTH my children at the finish line is a fun one!

Wounded Warrior Half Marathon
This was my second race on the Campion Trail, aka my home trail where I do all my long runs.  I knew I wasn't going to be fast, so I just tried to have fun and stay cool and hydrated.  The highlight of the race was being cheered on by Kevin and Daniel at the halfway point.  I don't usually have crowd support mid-race so it was fun to look forward to that.

I still wasn't really feeling pregnant at this point, but I did take it fairly easy and felt good the whole way.  I certainly wasn't showing by then (and for that matter, at nearly 15 weeks now, I'm still not), but I did wear a sign announcing my little passenger:

Too Hot to Handle 15k
In mid-July I did the Too Hot to Handle 15k at White Rock Lake.  I had signed up for this months ago but closer to time debated dropping down to the 5k distance instead to limit my time out in the heat.  But, when we had a bit of a "cold front" that weekend that brought morning temps in the 70s and 80s I decided to stick with the longer distance.  I set out determined to run as was comfortable but walk as needed and to drink plenty of fluids.  I did pretty well given that, averaging around 10:30/mile.  Most importantly, I felt good and had fun.  Afterwards I ran into 2 friends of mine, Danny and Phil, who had both raced too.  It was fun to catch up with them.  Phil and his wife Lisa recently got into running and are now hooked, and he mentioned another 5k coming up that they were planning to do, the Glow Run.  He mentioned that he was hoping to finish with a sub-30 minute 5k time so I told him that if I was still able to hold a 9:30ish pace by then, I'd pace him.

Glow Run "5k"
I did a test run the week before and finished a little under 30 minutes, so I told Phil I should be good to go for pacing.  However, once we got out on the course we discovered that they had set the turnaround point way too early, so it wound up being only a hair over 2 miles.  There was no announcement beforehand about the change or a reason for it.  Worse, they were out of water at the finish line-unacceptable for any event but especially for a sold-out event in August.  I can appreciate that it's easier to criticize an event than to put one on, but having run in so many well-organized events I know a poorly organized one when I see it, and wasn't shy about saying as much on the event's Facebook page.  Judging from the responses, it seems I wasn't the only one who felt cheated by the experience.  Given that I was pregnant and not gunning for a PR it was easier to write it off than it would have been under other circumstances, but I felt bad for Phil missing his chance to get his 5k PR.  Despite the event not being what it should have been, it was fun to see Phil and Lisa and to run a race with a friend.  I'm usually a lone wolf, and fine with that, but it was a fun change of pace and nice chance to catch up with old friends.

So, at 15 weeks gestation, Honey Badger has a sprint tri, half marathon, 15k, and "5k" under his/her belt.  Do they make "My fetus can outrun your fetus" stickers? ;)

3 race reports in one: the ugly, the good, and the very good

It's been a busy few weeks for me: a half marathon one weekend, a 5k the next, and a 10k the next.  I've got a weekend "off" then I have a sprint tri, a half, and then my first obstacle race, then about a month of nothing planned.  I knew this would be a busy stretch and it has been.  I've enjoyed it but with the temps rising I'm looking forward to a bit of a break.

Heels and Hills Half
2 weeks ago I did the Heels and Hills half marathon. It's a women-focused race on the Campion Trail, where I do all my long runs, so I was looking forward to the chance to race on my home turf.  For a number of reasons though, it wasn't a great race for me.

For starters, it was hot.  I knew going in that the heat might slow me down, but I still went in with hopes of reaching that elusive 1:50 finish.  Also, as would be become painfully clear as the day progressed, I was not really mentally prepared for this race.  This was partly because of an event outside my control-Kevin had knee surgery to reconstruct a torn ACL just a few days earlier, and taking care of both him and Daniel took its toll, even with my mom there to help.  But it was also my own fault-I hadn't really taken the time to think about and anticipate this race, lulled to complacency by having done so many other races and knowing this course so well.  I would pay for that as the day unfolded.

Backing up a bit, it was nice to have a short, familiar drive to the race start area in downtown Las Colinas, a mere 2 miles away.  But once I got there I found a long line for the port-a-potties.  Really, you thought 15 potties was enough for several hundred women?  The line took so long, in fact, that I missed the start of the race and by the time I got to the start line the 3:00 pace group was headed out.  Not wanting to get stuck behind slower runners I did a fast first mile to catch myself up to the 1:55 group.  I can't think that fast start did me many favors as the day went on.  Right from the start, I had deviated from my plan.  Further complicating things was that I was having issues getting my Garmin started as I rushed from the start line.  I knew my time was a few minutes off because of that but couldn't know how far off I was.  I just guessed 4 minutes to be conservative and added those moments as I looked at my elapsed time.

The day quickly turned warm and try as I might, I realized I couldn't hold my goal pace.  The 2:00 pace group overtook me and I struggled to get back in front of them.  And I found it hard to focus on anything besides how hot it was.  This was where the lack of mental prep hurt.  Without something else to focus on, I spent too much time focusing on discomfort, and just like being on a treadmill staring at the numbers, thinking about the heat just made the run feel hotter and longer.

Long story short, I finished in 2:04 and change, well off my goal pace and PR, but not terrible considering the heat.  But, I believe with better mental focus and a smarter start I could have managed a sub-2:00 time.  I'll get the chance to test that theory out in a few weeks: the Wounded Warrior Half is on the same course.  Between now and then I'll also invest in a Fuel Belt.  My 10 oz handheld flask works great for short races and cooler temp halfs, but I was having to stop at every single water station to refill, which sort of defeats the purpose of a handheld.  So, we'll see if a better hydration strategy and better prep result in a better hot half.

Run Like A Mother 5k
A few months ago I was searching active.com for races to do and came across this race.  A women-only race on Mother's Day morning?  What's not to like about that?  I'm sure most moms looked at Mother's Day as a chance to sleep in and be pampered, but there were 217 of us for whom it was a great day to race with our families there to cheer us on.

When I made my schedule for the late spring months I planned around trying to peak for this race.  I had done well enough in 5ks before when they were training races that I decided to throw in more speedwork and see how fast I could be if I focused on the shorter distance.  I felt pretty good going into the day and set a target of 23 minutes.

I took my spot in the first few rows and got off to a pretty fast start.  As we pulled away from the start line and approached the trail I saw just two women in front of me.  I passed both within the first mile, and realized I couldn't see any other racers in front of me.  It seemed surprising that I might be in the lead-I'm fast enough to compete for age group awards, but there are definitely faster runners, and usually you can count on there being at least one or two speed demons who can knock out a sub-20 5k.  But, without knowing if I was in the lead or not, I stuck to my plan of going as hard and fast as I could manage.

After the halfway point turnaround I could tell there was another runner right behind me.  She never made a move to pass but I could hear her behind me and see her shadow.  A racer with more experience frontrunning might have run through a bag of tactics to either lose her or wear her out...having never faced this issue before I wasn't sure what I should do, so I decided to just go as fast as I could and try to finish strong.  I had a feeling that she'd pass me at the very end.  Even expecting it though, I still couldn't prevent it.  With about a tenth of a mile to go I saw her sprint ahead.  I sped to a sprint myself to try to catch her but ended up finishing in 23:01, a second and change behind her and my goal. 

Oh well, I thought, I still got second.  Then Kevin told me that the winner had finished a few minutes ahead of us (she shot right out to the front in the first hundred yards, and I never saw her again), so I had actually finished third.

On the one hand, it was disappointing to come so close to my goal finish time and a 2nd place finish.  But on the other hand, 216 other women ran this race, and I finished ahead of 214 of them!  It feels like one that got away, but I'm still happy with a 3rd overall finish.  And I earned myself a new PR by over a minute. I'm still convinced I can get faster, but I'm happy with my 23 minute time. First and foremost I race against myself, but in hotter temps PRs get harder to come by so I use pole position as another measure.

I'm also happy with the nice award bag I won which included, among other things, a $100 gift certificate to a local store which sells designer clothes.  That means my first pair of designer jeans are in my future.

Triumph Over Pain 10k
This past Saturday I did my first 10k since January after claiming a free race entry from Active.com Advantage (note: the Advantage membership pays for itself).  The race was in the Craig Ranch area of McKinney, a northeastern suburb of Dallas.  I showed up hoping to break 50 minutes, or better yet, 48 minutes, but given the 9:45am start time in late May, I knew that was unlikely.  So, I hoped to at least beat my 52:20 PR.

The 10k race started at the same time and the first half used the same course as a 5k.  I lined up right in the front row, intending to stay in the lead.  As we started I noted how many women passed me.  Within the first mile 2 or 3 women passed me, but I didn't know if they were doing the 5k or 10k.  I finished the first mile around 7:50, but couldn't get below 8:30 the rest of the way.  Still, I had no one close behind, and just a handful ahead of me, so I decided to hold a strong but maintainable pace for the middle miles with the intention to speed up in the final mile.

As I passed the 5k finish line I could only see a few guys way ahead of me, but couldn't see any women ahead and just one within a minute of me.  I figured I was either the lead woman or the leader was so far out I'd never catch her, so I resolved to hold whatever position I had.  I looked back periodically to see if the woman closest behind was gaining on me but she never closed the gap.

As I closed in on the final turn I found the energy for a decent kick to finish strong at 53 minutes and change.  I hadn't met any of my time goals but I felt fairly certain I had at least placed in my age group.  So, I was quite pleased when the results were posted and I saw that I was not only the 7th overall finisher, but the 1st female finisher!  Not only did I outrun all the other women, but I "chicked" most of the guys too.  And while I wish I had PR'd, I'm happy that despite it being twice as hot as January, it only took me an extra minute and a half to finish.  I feel confident a much faster 10k would be possible in cooler temps but I'll have to wait awhile to find out.  I think it could be a competitive distance for me though.

One swag bag and one trophy later, I have to say the last 3 weeks went pretty well.