Frontier 10K

OUCH!

What the heck was I thinking?!

My husband and I were out on a date night until 2AM the night before the race.  Not smart..but okay..I can deal with that.  I woke up and scrambled to get ready.  Didn't have my normal pre-race breakfast...we were out.  Took some time for me to figure out where I was going. 

When I got there I registered, and got my stuff.

When I headed back to hit the port-a-potty, this was the line:


By the time that I got out of the potty it was 2 minutes till the race started.  I was heading to the starting line when I realized that my hands were too empty.  I had forgotten my water bottle IN the port-a-potty.  I ran back to find it occupied.  So I waited for this gentleman to come out.  I explain what I did and he said he wondered about that.  I grabbed it and ran to the finish line just in time to see them taking off. 

There obviously wasn't very good communication about which race was starting when, because 5K runners started taking off with the 10K runners.  I started out with intervals of 1:15/1:30 run/walk.  That didn't last.  I switched to 1/1:30...but that was too much walking.  So, when I had it in me, I started running 15 seconds before my running interval started.  After a while, I just completely abandoned the intervals and did what I could.

About mile 3, the sun was beating on me and burning my skin.  I just felt really over heated.  I kept hearing "Wells L's" words in my head..."just take it slow....tummy in, good posture!"  That worked pretty well until mile 4. 

OH....MY...LORD!!!!!!!!!

This is about when I started praying for an injury.  Something to take me out of the race.  Something that would save me from the this insanity!  I kept telling myself (sometimes out loud) "You've got this!  You did a 1/2 marathon for Pete sake!"  Yeah, but I trained for that.  It was about at 4.5 mile marker that the unthinkable happened....

Volunteers had left their posts.  I had about 5 people behind me and it had been my goal to keep them there.  They were helping keep my pace.  All of a sudden, the guy in front of me stops and turns around and says "where are those girls going?!"  I turned around and looked.  Sure enough, the group behind me that I was so determined to stay ahead of have turned about a 1/2 mile down the road.  They kept looking at us and the street that they were getting ready to turn on...as if they weren't sure that it was the way.  The guy in front of me says "my wife has done this race before, she must think we were supposed to turn."  This makes total sense know that I think of it.  There weren't any volunteers directing traffic at the last major intersection that I had crossed.  So the guy in front of me and I both turn around and head back.  FAN-FREAKIN'-TASTIC!!!!!!!  I am now in DEAD LAST.  I have NEVER finished last in a race and I was not about to start. 

But...I'm pretty dead on my feat right about now and wouldn't you know it...hills.  Big tall hills.  Thanks.  Awesome.  To top it off, I'm getting scared.  I can't see the group in front of me and there are NO volunteers or police officers around....and I'm running through down town Fort Wayne.  Now I'm fighting tears.  My first race without a partner or cheering squad..and I get lost and last.  So I call the hubs up...choking back tears.  He calms me down and tells me to just push through and catch up with the group in front of me.  This about when a cop pulls up behind me and asks if I'm okay.  I wanted to bawl and just crawl in his car and say "Take me back!"  But I didn't.  I told him I was fine, just upset that there wasn't anyone posted at the last turn to direct us. 

The last mile or so was excruciating!  I walked about the rest of the way.  There was at least 2 more turns missing volunteers and the 6 mile post was no where to be found. 

I didn't finish last...but I DID finish.


I grabbed my food after words and jumped in my car.

(pretty good grub!  A wrap, baked layes, an apple, and water)

It was just a really bad experience for me.  It wasn't necessarily the course, I just wouldn't chose to do it alone.
My time was horrendous...but I didn't quit...and believe me...I WANTED TO!

Ever have a SUCK-TASTIC race?

The 10K approaches!!!!!!

(Cue music) Dum Dum Dumm!!! 

TOMORROW...I'll be running/crawling/walking the Frontier 10K.  My first 10K EVER.  Yikes.  I have butterflies just thinking about it.  SERIOUS butterflies.

Wednesday night our SIT group did some drills and then ran a little less than a mile and a 1/4 (according to walkjogrun.net).  I went home after that and decided to run back to the hospital (been visiting a family member ever day).  So I ran about another mile and a 1/2. 

Got my hair chopped off!  Can't tell that well in this pic, but I'm missing about 8-10 inches.
 Awesome for summer running!


Yesterday, I could feel the effects of the drills in my legs and abs.  Always nice to feel the results of a good workout!  Today, I.AM.SOAR.  I'm doing stretches whenever I can.  Just hope that this doesn't carry over to tomorrow. 

I've layed out my outfit (the absolute cutest one yet!!!) and all my stuff.  I still can't find my pulse watch and it is ticking me off!  Oh well.  I don't know anyone that is doing tomorrow's race, so that has me even more nervous.  It'll be my first race listening to tunes.  I've always had a partner...except my last race I jumped out of the car and took off running without my music.  So this race will be different for me in many ways. 

Doesn't anyone else out there get so nervous about race that you actually feel your stomach turning?!

Isn't this silly?  I did a half marathon for Pete sake!  But...that was 8 months ago...and I trained hard and long for it.  This one...not so much.    :(

I'm having a vision....it's of my future!

Oh dear....

The hurdles of life..

Still fighting a sinus infection.  I skipped the RUN WITH THE KNIGHTS 5K Saturday to rest.  Yesterday I went for a walk.  I did a little over 2 miles.  Not a great distance, but I was picking up a friends child from daycare.  So pushing a stroller and having lungs full of crud made it quite challenging. 
I have my S.I.T. group tomorrow, and we'll be out running this time.  I'm excited for it, but I'll be taking it easy.  I have my first 10K this weekend, and I am in no way prepared for it.  But I know I can go that distance, it just won't be a great time.  Which is okay with me, because my Fort4Fitness time will look all that much better compared to this weekends!  lol  That's my look on it.  My philosophy is that you do what you can do.  The point is that you are out there doing it!  You're not always going to get a PR, so those are the races that you just chalk up to experience and practice that lead to those awesome PR's when you do get them.  Last year was NOT about PR's for me, it was all training for a 1/2 marathon...something that I had on my bucket list and I DID IT!!!  This year, I'm getting out there for my health.  PR's are always a good motivational tool to drive yourself...but are not necessary for me this year.  One day, I'll be fit and fast...running races just for fun and PR's.  :)  One day...

Ever had a day that you wish you could just forget?  That’s what yesterday was like for me.  So many things went wrong….I was physically and emotionally sick.  So today, I’ll be skipping our S.I.T. group so I can go home and rest.  I definitely have a sinus infection, and vomiting might have just been the fact that I had a drink or two when on new meds.  Yeah, I’m really smart huh?  I’m just having one of those days where you want to bury your head in a pillow and let the world drift away.  Yuck….

Yesterday's run with the S.I.T. group went well.  We did the same pace as Saturday's race.  Our ankles were feeling the slope of the river greenway trails. By the end of the run, we definitely felt like we could have gone further.  But our couch wouldn't have that.  So next time, we'll just bump up the speed to 1:15/1:30 intervals and go the same distance. 


You may have seen or heard something about a bunch of trees getting cut down by the Panhandle Pipeline....yeah...that's my neighborhood.  So needless to say, things have been changing and active around our "neck of the woods".  So my husband and I went for a bike ride.  By the end of the evening, I was a sweaty mess and was totally ready for a little R n' R. 


I'd really like to find a jogging stroller this weekend at the city wide garage sale.  I have a little boy that I babysit for twice a week and his daycare isn't far away.  I thought jogging to and from would be a good way to get some miles in.  We'll see.

I got registered for the Fort4Fitness.  It is official, I'm not doing the half marathon...I'll be running the 10K with several others.  I'll be doing it for a PR...which will push me in training.  I've been warned about the Parlor City Trot 1/2, so I'm looking for a 1/2 that is local and on good terrain.  Suggestions?!

So excited for my run with the S.I.T. group tonight!  I saw that a few storm cells were going to be heading through the area, so hopefully we don't get anything crazy that would make us cancel. 

Here's my new favorite addition to my running gear:

The BRITA water bottle! 

I originally bought them for my husband, but decided to try one out.  I got to thinking...how great is this?!  Last year I was out on a long run and stopped at a friends house to fill up.  We used the outdoor garden hose faucet...and all sorts of rust and crud was in it.  It was so bad that I TRIED not to drink it.  With the Brita bottle, you can fill 'er up anywhere and it will be high quality water!  SWEET!!!

On another note....guess who signed up for the DIVA DASH?!?!?!  Yes ma'am...I am registered.  I'm so pumped about it!!  I was devastated I didn't get to go last year.  And then even more so when I heard about how fun it was and all the swag there was.  So this year, I'm in!  And wait until  you see my outfit!!  Oh la la!!!  Can't wait!!!

Saturday was the RUN OVER VIOLENCE 5K.  It was a bombing 46* and windy as all get out.  I must admit, I was unprepared for just how cold it was.  I luckily had brought a hoodie along for after the race.  With 3 layers and ear muffs, I was still cold...so I can't imagine how some of those skinny girls with a T-shirt and wind jacket felt!!

This was my sister-in-law and brother-in-laws first competitive race ever! Yay for them!  My brother-in-law got second in his age group!  He did a 28 minute 5K!  Must be those long legs :).  And my sister-in-law did a 35 minute 5K!  Kudos to both of them!  Due to their speediness, they both missed the rain and sleet.  Lucky them!
  

I am part of a small running group called SPRING INTO TRAINING or S.I.T.  There are classes on racing tips and equipment.  But last Wednesday, we ran in groups according to our pace and style of running.  The 2 girls in my group were a little faster than me, but were sports and matched my pace.  So when I saw them at the race on Saturday, I went up to them and asked what pace they were doing.  That's when they said "Mel needs a partner!".  Wonderful!  I was so excited to have someone to race with!  Come to find out, Mel is in the same running group...we've just managed to miss each other.  I have missed a few training classes and she missed the last one that I actually made it to.  Hooray for new running partners!  That was probably the most I've tried to talk during a race.

We set our intervals for 1/1:30 run/walk.  The course wasn't all flat.  There was one particularly steep hill that absolutely drained us and we opted to walk through an interval to catch our breath.  It's amazing to see how walking through just one interval can put THAT much distance between the you and the people you've kept pace with.  As we were both getting back into the saddle with training, neither one of us was in enough shape to catch back up.  We kept our intervals after that and sprinted in at the finish line.  Did I mention that it sleeted, rained, was windy, hilly, and freezing cold?! 

(Left to right) S.I.T. runner and her girls.  Mel and myself.

Running it in!!!

We finished with a time of 45:10.9!!  A 14:34 minute/mile pace!  SCORE!!!  That's about the same pace I did the Fort4Fit in...and that was my best time ever!!!