HH5k and Rotary 5k Race Recaps!

I am SUPER behind on these... what can I say, will make these as quick and painless as possible!

August 11 I ran the Huntertown Heritage Days Charger 5k - this race is typically a part of a local festival but this year there was an error in planning and it ended up being the weekend after the festival.  The 5k is run as a fundraiser for a local high school's track team.  Its a simple course through town - a loop that incorporates both pavement and gravel.  The race was well organized and everyone was very friendly.

I won't bore you with too many details, suffice it to say I did really well until I hit the gravel.  I am NOT used to it and I just didn't feel like I could get a good grip and keep my feet under me.  I still did fairly well, don't get me wrong - but I wasn't able to PR like I had hoped.  I managed to finish with a time of 24:06 and came in 2nd in my age group.

Just starting off

Source

After the 5k, they had a kids fun mile run, and while it wasn't super organized I was super impressed with the kindness of the track team kids there.  The kids had to run 5 loops to total a mile and my daughter just wasn't having a good day but every loop they cheered for the kids and even though she was a full lap behind everyone they stayed there and cheered her on the whole time - SUPER thankful for them, they made her day.  We would definitely do this race in the future, there aren't alot of perks, but everyone was friendly and its pretty inexpensive so to me that makes it a winner!

All those teens in the background (plus more) had been lined up to cheer for the kids!

Then, August 18 I ran the Anthony Wayne Rotary 5k at Shoaff Park.  This race benefits the Rotary as they work to eradicate polio.  The course is simple, two loops around the golf course.  Each loop includes a short, semi-steep uphill at the start and a nice slight downhill to end.  Again, I won't bore you with a bunch of race details but suffice it to say I ran this entire race at a hard pace.  I felt like I was dying, I had a target in mind ahead of me and I just couldn't keep up so I pushed and pushed as hard as I could.  I refused to give up even when it got hard.  At the end of one lap I was able to snag some water (thank goodness, I needed it).  That second uphill slowed me down more than I would have liked but I just kept pushing the best that I could.  

During the whole race I was doing math in my head... I had hopes of getting a PR, so with each mile split I was trying to see if it was still within reach.  Needless to say, I am no good at math while running so I had no clue, so I just ran as fast as my lungs would let me. (I say lungs, because my legs were fine!) As I neared the finish line I was elated to see that I could indeed PR so I pushed as hard as I could to cross that finish line - I ended up finishing in 23:29.7 - a 14 second PR!  I was so happy that I PRed that I couldn't be disappointed in taking 3rd place in my age group instead of 2nd.   It was a good day, and I am happy that I finally PRed the 5k this year - now its time to focus on marathon training! 

So fast my skin can't keep up! hah

Almost done!

3rd in my age group

These kids are EVERYTHING to me

Crazy Mom on the Loose!

So, first off, I apologize to all of you guys - in addition to my normal large amount of pictures that I include in a race recap, you have even more because I was that crazy Mom this weekend - snapping away tons and tons of pictures.  Natalie ran her first "real" race and I couldn't be more proud of her.

So, lets start with that shall we?  She did one other "fun dash" but I don't really count it.  This however, was a real race - or they called it a fun run..... but, 1 mile and they had a clock so I call it a race even though there wasn't chip timing.  Unfortunately she has been sick since she started preschool a few weeks back, but she was really excited to do the race.  Her dad "ran" with her pushing the stroller- I truly believe she might have run a bit faster if I had been running with her, but either way she had fun and that's what matters.  She was the absolute last one to finish but she was a trooper - and even better, Dr. Mark continued to circle back to run the kids in.  It was great that they didn't give up on her even though she finished way after the other kids.   Although, she told me she doesn't want to run a mile again! haha!   But, she was proud - she told me she told her classmates and teachers about it at circle time today! Maybe there is hope she will catch the running bug yet?

Can you tell how excited I was for her?

Thumbs up - she's ready!

Pufferbelly "cheer" before the run

Just starting out! 

Running strong at the beginning

Dr. Mark running her in - great guy!

Natalie crossing the finish line

Seriously, SO proud!

This was such a fun race for the kids - $3 and each kid got a participant ribbon as they crossed the finish line.   And I am including this one last picture of Natalie,because I am sure we can all relate to how she is feeling in this picture.  You can just read her thoughts... doesn't she look "so over" running here?  Go glad hubby got this one while she was running.

Okay, now that we have that part out of the way... lets get to my race recap, shall we?   I decided to do this race because it supports the Fort Wayne Trails - and I can't WAIT until they get them done, especially the ones on the north side of town!  The second annual Pufferbelly 5k was held at Solomon Farm Park. The organizers did a great job putting it together.  They had several musicians there playing  music before and after the race as well as some fabulous post race food: pizza from 800 degrees, donuts, chips, cookies, gatorade, water, and Starbucks coffee.  The organizers and volunteers were all very friendly, they even had an area set up for the kids to play some games.  It was much more of a family event than any of the other races I have done.  Such a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. 

I went into this race telling myself I shouldn't push too hard.  I mean, I am running a half marathon in less than a week - of course I should take it easy.  I didn't want to risk injuring myself or tiring myself out too much.  I was planning to line up somewhere in the middle of the pack but no one was wanting to be at the front so I sucked it up and took my place up front.  

Yep, screwing with my phone while running! 

As per usual, I went out faster than I wanted to, and burned out towards the end.  I honestly don't remember much about the run - I was just focused on running as strong as I could but listening to my body to make sure I didn't push too hard.  I ended up being the 3rd female to finish but came in 2nd in my age group.  If it had been the "usual" age groups I would have taken first.  My age group at this race was 20-29 versus the usual 25-29.  The girl who took first (in the pink shirt in the above picture) was 20.  So close!!  My official time was 24:11.5 - quite a bit slower than last week, but still better than my previous PR, so I am happy with it. Came in 16th of 90 overall.  

 And a few pictures of me finishing... 

I swear - I wasn't pushing my way across the finish line.  At least, I don't think I was... I hope?
I am going to claim bad camera angle!

ETA: Anyone have any last minute helpful hints for me regarding my half marathon this weekend? AHHHH, can't believe its so soon!

New 5k PR!

I need to post about my long run yet this weekend, but this is far more interesting.  I ran the Defenders Dash this morning here in town.  I went into today's run with no plans to PR, I wanted to run a strong but cautious race and knew that the course had some decent hills.  I told Tommy that I was hoping to finish at about 25:30 or 26:00 - that would have been considered a success for me.

Instead:  I finished in 23:43.7 - 7:36 min/mile - holy crap where did that speed come from?!?!

FIRST IN MY AGE GROUP!

4th woman to finish

13th person overall to finish (of 127ish?)

I ran this race in honor of my dad, who served our country for roughly 20 years in the US ARMY.  I honestly think he will be a soldier at heart for life though.  Since retiring, he has been doing contract work for the military.   This race was called the Defenders Dash.  It was done in memory of  September 11th.   You could purchase signs for people you wished to honor and all proceeds will go to a charity to help those in the military.  I decided to buy a sign in honor of my dad. It was neat to run the beginning and end of the race and to see all of the signs of those who have served or are currently serving in the military, fire department, police department, etc. At the right is a picture of me and my baby girl with the sign.


I lined up at the beginning of the pack because I noticed there weren't mats to start the timing chips so I knew that I would lose time if I didn't start right at the front.  I went out too fast and I knew it, but no matter how much I told myself I needed to slow down I hated feeling people pass me.  So, I kept it up as long as I could. The first mile felt easy especially given the pace I was running at.  At one point I passed an older gentleman and he looked over and said "there goes #4 and #5... woman #3 is up there... go get her."  This was extremely motivational for me, so I pulled ahead of the other girl I was running with and set my sights on woman #3.

I feel like I look fierce here - does that make me cocky?

However, the hills on Covington were less than friendly and I was feeling like I was going to die by the time I hit Homestead.  But, seeing my time at the halfway mark kept me moving forward.  Instead of walking (which I wanted to badly), I put my head down and tried to keep moving my legs as fast as I could.  I wanted that PR, I could taste it!  Woman #3 was getting further and further ahead of me but I didn't have anything left to give so I just kept plugging along.  Seriously, I was SO glad to see the corner of Aboite and Covington - I tried to put it into high gear.  Not that high gear was as fast as usual by this point, but I pushed as fast as I could and even "skirted" a guy right before I crossed the finish line!  I loved that they had it set up to run under an American flag to finish!

As mentioned above - I placed first in my age group. I had won overall female once before but wasn't proud of that run and it was such a small race, so this "win" meant alot more to me. Sorry that means you guys have to suffer through more pictures! hah

As per usual, my elevation/pace chart and splits are below.  I was disappointed by the fact that these splits were exactly the opposite of negative splits, but I can't be too mad given my slowest mile was still sub 8:00.  Unfortunately though, it wasn't the race plan I had in my mind - hopefully I will be able to hold back at the beginning for Fort 4 Fitness.

And now, miscellaneous pictures from the race.  But first, I need to give credit to my Mom, Lora, over at Notes from the Scrapbooklady for creating the image that I used on my shirt for this race.  She actually created the image to cut with her new cutting machine, but I decided after seeing it that it would make the perfect addition to my race ensemble so I borrowed it and made a t-shirt transfer out of it.  She is way more crafty than I will ever be, so definitely check her out if you are the crafty type! 

Last but not least, I feel like it is absolutely necessary that I review the race since it was the first year they held this race.  I have to say that the race was very well organized.  It took less than 2 minutes to pick up my packet and goody bag.  They also had race day registration (with plenty of t-shirts).  I was also able to buy the sign for my dad this morning, took all of 2-3 minutes to do that.  All of the volunteers were very friendly.  The race did start a few minutes late, but that doesn't bother me at all.  They had the military guys blocking off the streets which us which was neat.  In addition they played the National Anthem before the race which I have never seen before, I LOVED that!  And last but not least, they played "Eye of the Tiger" just as we started the race which was a great motivator for me... that song always makes me run faster!

 There was a water station and a clock stationed halfway through the race.  They had PLENTY of water, gatorade and food at the end of the race - they never ran out, which I hear can happen frequently. They had bananas, mini bagels and peanut butter, and these really yummy nature valley granola thins (they had peanut butter and chocolate varieties, I tried the peanut butter but I am sure the chocolate are equally fantastic).

Last but not least, let's talk about the race swag.  The t-shirt is a lovely women's cut tech tee.  The color is a very light grey - I might have made it darker grey because it almost looks like dingy white, but I LOVE the shirt anyways.  In addition, we got back sacks, they are super high quality camo fabric and even have the race logo printed on them - score.  And of course there were the usual papers for future races, etc.  But, the best part?  (Or at least per hubby...) There was  a whole package of 10 cookies in the swag bag - made by a local bakery - Ellison's bakery. The flavor was apple raisan, they were soft and smelled phenomenal.  Hubby said they were awesome!

I would DEFINITELY recommend this race to everyone I know - they announced at the race that the 2nd annual Defenders Dash will take place September 8, 2012 - so if you local to the Fort Wayne area keep your eyes open for registration for this race for an awesome cause!   If I can fit it on my schedule I will be there!

ETA:  "I'm famous!"   Well, not really, but the local news station covered the race and one of the pictures they used has me in it! Check it out.

So, I knew my time from the PCT was around 1:36.  The official results were posted today and seeing the results I see why they only awarded first place in the 10 mile race.  In most age categories there were only one maybe two people!  The race didn't seem that small since there were three different races going off at once!

official time: 1:35:54.1
Pace: 9:35 min/mile
Age Group: 2 of 5
Overall: 37 of 65

I am hoping to run a bit better at my first half marathon.   But, I have come to terms with the fact that my initial goal is out the window.  Really, my goal is to make sure I finish.  I would love to finish with no walk break, but if I have to walk I am going to try not to beat myself up about it.  I just have to think back to January when I made my resolutions for the year.  I wanted to run ONE 5k and walk a half marathon.  I have FAR exceeded those goals so far this year.. so, if I have to walk a bit.. ITS OKAY!

Race Count so far this Year:
5k: 6
4.5mile: 1
10k: 1
10mile: 1
Obstacle Course 5k: 1

Happy Tuesday everyone, I am off to the craft store to buy decorations for my daughter's bag for her first day of school tomorrow!!