Race Recapping: 15Ks in 2014

Raise you hand if you have ever heard of a 15K race before??? {Crickets....crickets...crickets...}  Yeah, me neither. It is certainly different, not a very common race, but a nice distance to challenge yourself even further.  For some, it will take more than an hour, probably closer to 90 minutes or more.  And it can be considered a training race and stepping stone for those pondering a half-marathon in their future.  That is how I came upon this distance, and I am excited that I did!

In training up for the St. Jude's Country Music Marathon, I decided to also become a St Jude Hero.  A hero is a runner who also fund raises for St Jude, and I was very fortunate to have generous friends and family to contribute to this worthy cause.  As such, the team I was running with (WSIX), gifted me a race entry to Nashville's Hot Chocolate 15K race. It was a great day, VERY cold at the beginning of the race, but of course that wears off as you start running. I PRed the race!!! Not hard when it is the first race of that particular distance. :)  My total time was 1:47:14, which is pretty respectable.  I was hoping for a 1:45, but close enough, right?

Crossing the finish line

The second 15K was later in the year as a part of my motivation to keep running longer distances.  It was a beautiful, sunny day for September.  I have previously run part of the course, in fact I had just run it the month before in the "It's Just a 10K race", so I knew part of the course going through Shelby Bottom's Park in Nashville.  But to be honest, this is a race I would never encourage anyone to do.  It is flat, but also very, very boring.  There are no crowds to cheer you on, part of the course you are sharing a part with public bike riders, and there is no one to welcome you at the finish line after running for fun for two hours.  I can check the box for keeping up with my race-a-month for 2014, but never, ever again running this race.  Sad, isn't it?? I really like racing, challenging and racing against myself.  I would encourage anyone to race as a way to test their baseline, and later to measure how they are progressing, and what they need to work on to improve. (I am better at giving advice, as compared to taking my own).  But if you are reading this, and thinking of participating in this race, run away!

Race Recapping: 10Ks in 2014

I like 5Ks races. They are short, sweet and you can get your 30 minutes (plus or minus a few minutes) of exercising done on a Saturday morning, usually before 8am. But I am a fan of the longer distance racing, because for me and my body it takes at least 30 minutes to really get warmed up. By the time I hit the 30 minute mark, my body has figured out the pace to run and breathe at....and the race is over.  So in 2014 I signed up for some longer distance races as well, to keep me motivated in running and to not give up after my first half-marathon.

I started my 10K races with the Love your Heart 10K in February. I ran the 5k in 2013, so this year I wanted to challenge myself to the longer race.  The weather is 2013 was freezing cold, I think I wore every piece of running gear I owned at the time and I was still cold! 2014 proved to be a drastically different year.  There was a freak heat wave in February, and I ran the race in capris and a long sleeve t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Finishing time: 1:10:02, which took 3 minutes off my previous 10K time. Yeah!!! A new PR!

What a great motivator these runners were, helping us the last 200 yards!

The next month was the St. Patrick's Day Kegs & Eggs, run the day before St. Patrick's Day (which fell on a Monday). Winter in Nashville is not too bad, so the cold was only minimal, but add a drizzle to it, and it makes for a pretty chilly day.  The race was either a 5K or 10K, so the longer distance runners had to run the same route twice.  The only problem was there was a pretty big hill at the beginning, but I attacked it so well, that once again I had a new PR--1:05:50!! I had taken a total of 8 minutes off my worst time over the course of 6 months! I was feeling pretty good about the rest of my upcoming races!


My husband, the Army Officer, ran in high school and later on the college cross country team.  So he is a great role model for me and my running habit. But he is not much of a "racer" so I was really excited to get him to join me for a the Beyond the Battlefield 10K. In fact, he received 2nd place in his age group! How awesome is that?!?? But enough about him, this blog is about me. :)  It was hot (when is it not, in Nashville in May?), and I still finished a respectable 1:06:11. No new PR, but under 1:10, so I'll take it.

My last 10K for 2014 was in August, and it was one of the worst races to take.  It was hot, humid, and the race course had very little water.  I can understand that on a typical day, but this was 72-degrees and 88% humidity at 7am.  Glad I had my own water, but more is always better. Because of that, I ran a pretty bad time: 1:12:23. My worst 10K of the year. And it was done, over with, I can learn from it about what I need to do better, and move on to the next race.

Race Recapping: 5Ks in 2014

Blogging. Running. Writing the great American novel.  All things that people may have on their daily or weekly "to do list". All things that seem to get pushed aside when this other little thing called LIFE gets in the way. I seem to lose steam on this blog when life does in the way. That and it is so hard to write something posed to the great unknown, not knowing if anyone is going to read it.  Maybe I should treat this blog as my online diary, writing for myself, and if someone else opens the diary....well, have at it!!!

A lot has changed since my last entry. The year of 2014 was my year of running a race very month. It seems like that is one goal that runners will have at least once in their lifetime. It might come right at the beginning of their running life, or maybe towards the end when they need one more HURRAH before hanging up their sneakers.

Things have gone crazy in our household, and running 1 race a month like I did in 2014 was absolutely CRAZY!!!! So in order to catch up you to the present day, I'll write several compressed entries, instead of telling you about every.single.race (because runners would never do that, right???)

This entry I'll tell you about my 5Ks.  I briefly commented briefly on the January 5K that I ran in 2014, and then took some time to run other distances.  Seriously, it is hard to find longer distances to run in Nashville in the summer. No one wants to lace up at 7am for anything longer than 3.1 miles when it is already 75 degrees and 88% humidity.  But I ran the inaugural Run of 9-1-1 5K, which was a benefit for the police. Starting out I was not a fan of the course, because the starting line was on an incline.  But what goes up must come down. So the finish line is also downhill!!! To date it is my best 5K with a final time of 31:49, so close to the 30-minute mark!!! I hope to break that 30-minute marker some day.....

Next up where the July 4th Firecracker 5K, which was the third time I have run that particular race.  My first time (2010) I clocked a 33:24, which I was really proud of at the time because that was my very first race ever! The next time I ran it was in 2013, right before formal training for my first half marathon, and on that particular day it was POURING rain---one of those rains where everything on you is drenched. I think it took my shoes two days to dry out (this was before I realized the magic of stuffing your shoes with newspaper). Anyway, that 2013 time was 37:16. YIKES!! So when I ran the race in 2014, I was really happy to have clocked a time of 32:25, my best time on that course!! Not as good as the race the month before, but still a "win" in my book.

My final two 5K races for 2014 happened in November and December. Both were cold, with the November race colder than what it should have been! I was going to run the 10K, but on race day (which is when I registered), I opted for the 5K.  No need to stay out there any longer than needed. In fact, I remember my toes being so cold that it took 1.8 miles of running to finally feel them again! November's Culminator 5K was clocked at 34:24, and December's Cause for Claws 5K was a little faster at 33:38.

So now that you are caught up on my 5K races, it's time for you to lace up your shoes, run a race, and beat my time!

Love Your Heart 10k race

For the second year now, the Blanchfield Army Community Hospital (BACH) has sponsored a "Love Your Heart 5k/10k" race here at Ft. Campbell.  February is Heart Awareness Month, so the name of the race is very appropriate. One of the main goals of the race is just to get people out of the house and acitve on the course. The particiaptes can be walking their first 5k, or their 50th. Everyone on the course is celebrated.

A few friends and I ran the course last year. They ran the 10k, and since I was returning to running I participated in the 5k. For 2013 the weather was horrible. It was FREEZING cold, very gloomy overcast kind of day. I had on ear warmers, gloves, long sleeve shirt, coat and tights and it took all three miles of my race to warm up!

See, don't we LOOK cold?!?!

This year the hospital made a few adjustments. The place was changed so more people could find it (thus making the course flatter) and the starting time was pushed back. Both had their pros and cons. Since the race started at 0930, I dressed in capris and a long sleeve shirt for the anticipated 42-degree weather. Yeah.....I should have dressed a little lighter. I told my husband that if I had been alone, I would have taken my shirt off, it was that hot!! I think my Garmin showed a temperature of 52-degrees. Very un-February like.

The race was pretty good, but there could have been bigger water stops for this warm weather race. I loved how flat the course was, as there was only one small hill we had to conquer, and I beat it! In fact, I passed several people on that hill, and did not see them for the rest of the race. 

I am pretty satisfied with my results. My last 10k race was Labor Day and I ran that in 1:13:26. My Garmin today gave me a final time of 1:10:02. I was TWO SECONDS slower than what I wanted to me! GRRR!!! But I also took 3 minutes off my time! YEAH BUDDY!! Maybe those speed workouts are truly working.

 

These guys would finish the last hundredish yards with 

almost every person in the 10k. What an awesome 

morale booster it was to run with them!

Looking back

For most people, they do not like to look back in their past. They might have experienced some tragic event, or had a heart broken. But for me, I look back over this past year and smile at the gains that I have made in my fitness journey.

Last January 31st I registered for the Women's Half-Marathon in Nashville. I was not a serious runner at that point. Running three miles was considered my "long run". But I signed up for the race before I could chicken out, and in the summer trained with Fleet Feet Nashville to help me achieve my goal. Not only have I check off "run a half-marathon" but my confidence in running has taken off as well. Here is a list of accomplishments I have done over the past twelve months.

• Run a 10K--first one
• Registered for another 10K, instead of the shorter 5K that is offered
• Run a 5K PR (took three years, but hey....better late than never)
• Registered for a 15K--first one
• Registered for my second half-marathon
• Started running speed workouts....and found out I LIKE them!

This might seen like a short list, but taken into account the small amount of time it has occurred over, and I am pretty proud and excited about it. I still have no desire to run a full marathon, but I do see more half-marathons in my future.

Weight on Wednesday--02/05/2014

Another Wednesday, another weigh in.  I do weight myself during the week as well, but I don't put those numbers on paper. I feel that would be TOO many numbers, so I decided to only "officially" track myself once a week.  Good thing, because the day after the Super Bowl was not pretty!
So here are the numbers:

1/29/2014  ---2/5/2014 Weight 149 148 Fat 35.9 36.3 BMI 24 23.9

Not exactly the best with my body fat percentage going up, but life is always about improvement and learning what to do.

I also started taking my body measurements, because as we all know, I can still weight 148 pounds, but if muscle is denser than fat, I will be skinner in inches and the scale will not budge.  On that front, I do have some good news!

	1/22/2014	2/5/2014
Bust	37 1/2	36 3/4
Chest	31 7/8	30 3/4
Waist	35 1/8	34 1/8
Midway	36	34 3/4
Hips	39 1/2	39 1/2
Knee-Left	16 1/8	16 5/8
Knee-Right	16 1/2	16 3/8

I do believe some of these numbers are pretty spectacular! Losing 3/4" off my bust in two weeks? Heck yeah! And losing 1" off my waist? I'll take it! Or rather...not take it. So while my weight is staying the same, it seems that some parts of me are slimmer. I can tell you that I dug out a pair of shorts that are a size 6, and they fit! I have not worn them in three years at least, probably more like four years. But by golly, I am going to keep working out, and will stay in those shorts all summer long! (And when I say "they fit", that translates into "they zip up and I can sit in them, but losing a few more inches would make them look a lot better.")

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Pump....YOU UP!

I recently started going to the gym to lift some weighs. But I realize that I am a follower. A homework completer. I don't necessarily need a personal trainer to get me through each workout, just one to create a workout for me. And while I have a list of exercises in my workout book, trying to decide what to do each day is just not my thing. My head starts to swim, and I usually just "phone in" the workout.

At the gym I go to the most often, I saw an advertisement for bodybuilding.com.  I had no idea what exactly it was, but decided to check it out while watching mindless tv one day.  It was pretty interesting, and had a place where you could click through and decide which plan you wanted to follow. You enter stats like your weight, what is your final goal (transformation for me), how long you have been consistently lifting weights, what kind of body you would like to have, and come up with an end date for your goal.  I chose to have a swimsuit model's body. HAHA!  That will probably NEVER happen, but it was the option with the most body fat at 20%, which is the most realistic for me.

Yesterday, February 2nd, was Day One for me. And I can tell you that after the workout, my triceps hurt more than they have hurt in years! Even though I am not directly reporting in to a personal coach,  I am logging in my workouts and that makes me want to push myself a little bit more.  But the workout felt great, and I am very excited to have a roadmap to this adventure.

Day One was 3 sets of 12 reps for each of the exercises:

• Wide Pushups--on my knees
• Dumbbell bench press--done with 10 pound dumbbells
• Cable Pec Fly--finished with 16 2/3 pounds on each side
• Narrow Pushups--on my knees
• Overhead Tricpet Dumbbell Extensions--done with a 10 pound dumbbell
• Tricep Pushdowns--finished with 60 pounds

That last one was really exciting for me, because I started my first set on 40 pounds, and for the next two sets did it on 60 pounds! Holy cow, my arms will crush you! :)

Seriously, after two days on this program, the "newness" has not set in, and I am eager to go to the gym each day to do this workout. While it is not running related, my ultimate goal of losing inches and body fat will hopefully help in my running adventures with a faster time, and more enthusiastic athlete.