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Posts tagged ‘10K’

Mar 13

Still training

I hitting a two races in two weekend time of month starting this Saturday.

I have a trail 10K with a nasty elevation climb on Saturday. On March 25, I’m running the Oakland Half Marathon.

I ran two eight-mile runs on the treadmill this weekend.

I was supposed to run outside tonight, but that didn’t happen. I wish it did.

Now I’m staring down this forecast:

Yikes.

Earlier today it said rain through Sunday.

That kind of makes my 10K, with its already scary terrain, a little more so. Wet weather. Mud.

Oh boy.

This should be fun.

I’m running a six-miler on Wednesday. Then taper until Saturday morning.

All next week is taper for the half marathon.

Then, officially, I start marathon training again. I want to be stronger for the June marathon. But I also know my limitations for training. I’m not 100 percent sure I can do it. I’m not 100 percent sure of my training plan, which includes 18 and 21 mile races.  No more half marathons until July, though.

I’m hoping to push hard at Oakland.

But I need to get through the wet weather of this week. And weekend.

Jan 30

First race of 2012: Coyote Hills 10K

Yesterday I found my way back to the trails. And running. And fitness in general for all that’s worth.

I purposely waited until the end of the month to sign up for a race. I wanted to. Badly. But I couldn’t. I was still tired. I’d gained some holiday weight. I wasn’t feeling as if I was in “racing shape.” The marathon had took its toll. And every time I stepped on the treadmill I thought about the fact that in six months, I’d have to do it all over again.

That actually motivated me.  I want to have a better performance in my next marathon. I need to. I feel as if I need to work toward that. So I am.

The work toward it started on Saturday with the Brazen Coyote Hills 10K.

This was a new race in 2010. I’ve now done it two years in a row.

I woke up Saturday with a bit of a stomachache. I was tired. My legs weren’t really feeling it. But I started making my way through the process of getting up and getting dressed. When I put on my new Mizuno pants and Nike wool long-sleeved shirt, I felt like a runner again. My first thought: “Well, that only took two months.”

We ventured to Fremont where we were among the first to arrive. I know this because it was only at four cars in front of us they started diverting people back to the overflow parking. Thomas dropped me off at the mouth of Coyote Hills Regional Park and I walked/ran in.

I felt like running. It was a good warm up. So I ran.

I immediately headed over and picked up my race number/tech shirt (I always pay for the upgrade)/goodie bag from the booth.

The race shirt was more awesome this year than last. I really liked the design. Brazen has been selling sweatshirts lately and getting the shirt kind of made me wished I had bought one. I realized only after I picked my shirt and other items up that Thomas may not make it to the start line. I figured I’d have to use bag check. I actually trust and appreciate Brazen bag check. The volunteers are ALWAYS top notch. And I often don’t worry about my stuff while I run with them.

I figured I’d bag check and not worry.

I had a great view while I put on my number.

I’m not kidding, Coyote Hills is beautiful. It’s also slightly desolate. I like that we run along the shore with the Dumbarton Bridge in the background.

My run started out incredibly well. But I became so inconsistent at the end.

I’m not sure if it was the fact that the minor stomachache caused me to not eat. Or that maybe my legs were tired. But I just didn’t seem to want to move forward. I had a lot of starts and stops. I kept pushing forward and kept slowing down.

My hope was to finish somewhere around 1:07. I would have too if the last mile or so hadn’t taken so much out of me. I even walked near the end, which I never do. I was just tired.

My official time: 1:09:17.

My splits were not as consistent as I wanted them to be either, but all but one stayed under the 12-minute mark. Good, but I’d like to stay under 11-minute miles when I race this year. I can hope, right?

Mile 1: 10:17

Mile 2: 10:38

Mile 3: 10:44

Mile 4: 11:20

Mile 5: 12:03

Mile 6: 11:24

Mile .29: 3:08

I want to run faster this year. I really do. I’m adding speedwork into my treadmill runs. I’m trying to trim down, despite the fact it seems I am gaining weight because swimming is finally paying off.

I know I should be extremely happy. I did better than last year when my time was 1:09:57. It was an incremental improvement, but still an improvement.

But I felt off. I was handed my beautiful medal and immediately went and drank four cups of water.

I immediately felt faint after the race. I figured it was the heat. But I went to bag check, grabbed my stuff, went to the bathroom and told Thomas I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to stay. I didn’t feel good.

We waited about 20-minutes for the shuttle to the parking lot. Then walked to the car.

By the time we started moving, I felt like I was going to throw up. I was also hungry. And tired.

I felt horrible. By the time we made it halfway home, I felt so horrible I couldn’t sit still. Thomas bought me a Gatorade. I felt better after that. We stopped to eat when we got back to Tracy and, after a salad and pulled-pork sandwich at a local diner, I started to feel better.

The point? I was running on an extremely empty stomach. By the time I got to mile four of my 10K, I was out of energy. It killed my run.

I have to say that I’m still figuring out this fueling/running thing. Every time I think I get it down, something like this happens. Lessons learned not to be repeated next time, I suppose.

Dec 31

1 Comment

Brazen bookends

I ran my second 10K on Jan. 2. It had a huge hill. I vowed to NEVER, EVER do it again. That day, though, I fell in love with the racing company.

Despite the fact that I had another runner grab my back and nearly pull me down (nice running etiquette lady) and there was mud everywhere, I managed to finish in 1:34:18. I literally got to the finish line, ate only half of an It’s It and told my husband to take me home. Brazen Racing, though, found a place in my heart.

The race director and his wife are good people. They are prompt in replying to email. They are responsive to every question. They make each and every racer feel as if they are a winner. I’m not kidding. This race was the first race I’d ever received a finisher’s medal at. I ran a 10K and got a beautiful medal (pictured above, left).

But I hated the run. With a passion.

I put the Lake Chabot route, with it’s 600+ rise in elevation over one mile, on my “no go” list.

Then midway through the fall I decided to run a half marathon on New Year’s Eve, which put me out of consideration for any Brazen New Year’s runs. Unfortunately, the half was canceled.

I haven’t been in top shape to run over the past month. I was told to expect that as a first-time marathoner. Confession: My legs were thrashed for three weeks post marathon. I’m just getting my running form and want to run back. I knew Brazen was offering back to back days of racing. I also knew that after the past year of putting down an average of $70 a race, I didn’t want to do two back to back right after Christmas (I forgot I had a credit from the race I couldn’t do in August because of the strained Achilles).

So I hemmed and hawed about signing up for even one. Finally I saw on the Brazen Facebook page that there were only 41 spots left for the 10K on New Year’s Eve. I signed up.

I knew what I was in for.

Yep. All uphill between mile two and three. And it burned.

And so it began.

Mile 1: 10:48 — Oh hey legs, remember when I told you we’d never do this again? Apparently I lied, don’t worry, let’s just get going.

Mile 2: 12:54 — Where did the hills come from? I’m not even warmed up yet. Oh and a backup at the single-file bridge. “This is totally going to mess up my time!” said one woman. Eh, whatever.

I don’t even look like I’m running here. Plus, there’s pain on my face already. To be fair, I don’t even remember this photo being shot, but it was before the bridge, so somewhere going into mile two.

Mile 3: 18:57 — OH. MY. GOD. WHY. AM. I. DOING. THIS? Yes, I said that over and over again. I’m surprised it didn’t take me longer.

Mile 4: 13:22 — Uphill continues, congestion at aid station. Lots of people finally turning around.

Mile 5: 12:12 — Down, down, down. I’m being careful because I don’t want to topple to my death.

Mile 6: 12:33 — Keep it classy rolling hills, make me work for it. My legs are completely dead at this point. I just want to see the finish line. COME ON FINISH LINE.

Mile .36: 9:49 — Seriously? Why did this take so long? What was I doing? I have no explanation for my slowness here. I was whipped.

Chip time: 1:24:04

I was more than 10 minutes faster than my previous time. Go me. Seriously. That is awesome.

Cross the finish line, grab five cups of water. I’m not kidding. I run 10Ks without my Amphipod bottles. I didn’t even have my iFitness belt. I was crazy thirsty.

I was handed my medal with an old man on it, part of the “out with the old, in with the new theme” and was done. I had no cell phone reception to call the fine gentleman I call my husband.

Instead, I ran into this fine group of folks.

The Mountain House Runners were out in force at this event. (Though I’m pretty sure we missed one or two here?) I live in Tracy, but run out in Mountain House more than I do in my own city limits. I like it better out there. And these folks are really nice. I’m glad they haven’t kicked me out or anything for living in Tracy.

Corey let me borrow his phone. Thomas didn’t answer. But we could send texts. He was actually still waiting for me on the trail. He thought I was slower than I had been. I finally found him.

I think that’s his excited face. He’s really thrilled to be up at the crack of dawn waiting for me to finish a run. He does because he loves me. Plus I’m really at driving with other people. I always freak out a little bit. Then have to go to the bathroom. It’s just better if he takes me.

Brazen is also hosting New Year’s Day races. I’m not heading back. I like my 2011 Brazen bookends, as I call them. Plus I’ve learned enough about this racing company to know I always want to spend a couple extra bucks getting an awesome tech shirt.

When I finished the race, I thought I’d finished my 20th race this year. Turns out I forgot about my Turkey Trot 10K PR. Oops. The last Brazen race of the year marks my 21st run of the year. And because it’s Dec. 31, I figured I should tally it all out in this blog post as well before the New Year happens.

Total miles: 930

5Ks: 1

5-miler: 1

10Ks: 9

12K: 1

Half marathons: 7

Marathon: 1

Team events: 1

All for a total of 21 races.

I started out 2011 with hopes of running a half marathon. Running a full 26.2 was never on the agenda. I’m glad, too. I think I would have psyched myself out a bit too much.

So, with that knowledge I make no projections for my running in 2012. I hope to make it over 1,000 miles this year. I ran probably closer to 400-500 in 2010, so this year’s progress is huge. I also want to get back on track for losing some weight. I need to eat better. I need to cross train. And, at some point, I’m planning a sprint triathlon.

We’ll see how far the feet take me next year.

Nov 30

Turkey Trot 10K PR

It’s fair to say I struggle with the 10K distance. I think that’s one of the reasons I “got over” it pretty quickly. I’m pretty sure at this point I’ve run more half marathons as I have 10Ks. Or, at least, they are pretty close. I’m not a fan of the 6.2, though.

I think it’s because I always felt as if I was starting to “warm up” at the end of the run. 5Ks have a tendency to be fast. I’ve never ran a 5K over 30 minutes. That’s a quick run. I’m out and done,

10Ks are more of a struggle. When I ran a couple, I suddenly realized that the difference between 6.2 miles and 10 miles (a nice training distance for the half marathon) was pretty insignificant. It’s not surprising it took me 11-months to move from 5Ks to 10Ks, but only five months to more up to half marathons.

The marathon distance is still daunting. Even after a 20-mile run, it’s intimidating. I’m ridiculously scared of my first marathon this weekend, no kidding.

The point is I struggle with getting going, getting comfortable and then stopping. My joints thank me. My legs do too. But my mind tells me to keep going.

I ran my first 10K on Thanksgiving Day 2010. I finished in 1:03:18.

And my PR stuck for a year. I tried to regain the momentum. I tried to push harder. But the truth was, my 10K experience quickly moved to trails for something more challenging. I’ve really only run two “flat and fast” ones. My second fastest was somewhere around 1:05, which was because I had a bathroom break mid-run. I couldn’t avoid it.

So I had low hopes going into the Thanksgiving run in Stockton. The Run Against Hunger attracts a diverse range of people. Most compete in the 5K. Only about 200 do the 10K. I did the 5K in 2008 before I took running as seriously as I do now.

I was nearly thinking about now going to the run. Big Sur hadn’t gone as planned. I was tired. My stomach hurt.

And yet, Thomas dropped me off and I started the run.

One mile in, I couldn’t tell how I’d do. In fact, I didn’t look at my Garmin until I hit the turnaround point to repeat the course. By then the field thins out tremendously.

Mile 1: 10:02

Mile 2: 10:03

Mile 3: 10:01

I was feeling good. I started to see the field way ahead of me. That doesn’t bother me anymore really. People will finish before me. People will finish after me. I walked through a water station.

Mile 4: 10:15 — Still feeling good, but still not too sure about this run.

Mile 5: 10:40 — A stomach cramp got me at about mile 5.5. I slowed but stayed steady.

Mile 6: 10:07 — Looked at the Garmin here and realized I could come in under my time from last year if I pushed. So I pushed. It’s easier to push in a 10K than it is in a half marathon. So much easier.

Mile .19: 1.41 — I ran the tangents good on this course, definitely. I don’t typically come in under, but I hugged close everywhere.

Final time: 1:02:52

An incremental PR, but still a PR.

I was pretty stoked about this, despite the fact that I had to wait until Monday for official times to be posted. (This company often doesn’t have streaming results. And we didn’t have chip timing this year. We did last year. I have a feeling I would have shaved some seconds off with chip timing.)

It was a good run. I felt good.

Oh and it had started raining at some point during the last half of the run. Not even a big deal, outside of the fact that I finished with my glasses on my head. I’m going to run the marathon in contacts I think.

I’m happy this race happened. It redeemed two not too great race performances – Nike Women’s Half and Big Sur – but scared at the same time too. I usually run good, then bad, then good. I’m hoping a good 10K doesn’t translate into a bad marathon.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, four days and counting.

 

Nov 28

It’s official

I PRed at my Turkey Trot last week. The writing is small, yes. I was waiting to write my race review until the results. And I totally PRed!

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