Hermes 10 Miler - April 25, 2009

Hermes 10 Miler April 25, 2009
Sunny and about 80 degrees

Stats:

Overall: #751 out of 961
Females 30 to 34: #63 out of 86

1st 5 miles: 49:19 9:52 pace
2nd 5 miles: 55:03 11:01 pace

Total time: 1:44:23 10:26 pace

My watch mile splits:
1 9:59
2 9:55
3 9:36
4 9:40
5 10:07
6 10:53
7 11:00
8 10:53
9 11:32
10 10:46

Not exactly what I hoped for in this 10 miler.
Last fall I ran a 10 miler in 1:36. 9:40 pace.

I was hot, and I felt ready to be done by mile 5.
I sure hope this 1/2 marathon in three weeks goes much better.
I'd like to keep a better pace for the 1/2, than I did at the 10 miler.

Rich Vojitek Memorial 5k run - April 18, 2009

Yesterday I drove up to Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights for a 5k race. The weather was beautiful - sunny, clear, warm, and not too hot. Since I'm training for a 1/2 marathon next month, I needed to run more than just a 5k. So, my plan was to run 3 miles both before AND after the race, to get in 9 miles for the day. Well, I had a little trouble finding the starting line, so I didn't arrive quite as early as I had planned. My pre-race run ended up being only 2 1/2 miles, but I felt pretty good, even with a little blister on my left arch and a little cramp in my right arch. After the warm up run I found my brother and we headed to the starting line. The course began slighly downhill, but overall was very flat. According to their mile markers, I ran mile one in 8:35, mile two in 10:11, and the last mile and a tenth in 9:03 for a total time of ~27:50. The second mile marker had to be in the wrong place! There's no way I slowed up that much! Several people made the same comment at the finish line. We also heard that the overall finish was a bit more than a 5k, too. Oh well. It was a good hard run, and I was happy with my time, even if it was off. I didn't place, but the girl who was 3rd in my age group passed me somewhere around mile 2 1/2. So, I'm guessing I was 4th in my age group. My brother was 3rd in his age group and won a nice rock / award. :-) I did win a $10 gift card to a restaurant in the drawing after the race - which is great since the entry for this race was only $13. After the awards I did go for another run, but with everyone leaving, my motivation was down, and I only went one more mile instead of the 3 in my plans. My day ended with a total of 6 1/2 miles, which is a little short of the 9 miles I had planned to run, but oh well. Next Saturday I'll be running the Hermes 10 Miler at Edgewater Park in Cleveland.

CTC Indoor Tri - March 29, 2009

I didn't get a chance to write a race report last week because after the tri I was busy cleaning the house and packing for a trip to Vegas. I'm back home in snowy Ohio and finally getting caught up with house work, so I figured it's time for an update.
I had previously volunteered at an indoor tri, but never competed in one. So, this was a first for me. This indoor tri consisted of 20 minutes swimming in a pool, 20 minutes of spinning on a "spin" bike, and then 20 minutes of running around the indoor track, all at Case. (CWRU) About 18 to 20 people competed in the tri, and we went in two heats. I jumped in lane one of the first heat. I typically swim sets of 500m in about 10 minutes, so I figured I would go about 1000m (or 40 lengths.) Sure enough, I went 40 lengths, plus about 1/2 of another, so they rounded up to 41. Since we were using spinning bikes, the bike portion didn't really count for distance, but a CTC guy kept us working hard by coaching us through a workout for the 20 minutes. Down on the 200m indoor track, I knew I would be getting lapped by some of the speedy runners, but it was nice not being on a treadmill. I ran about 2.34 miles in 20 minutes, which is around a 8:32 min. per mile pace. Not bad for me. I didn't set any big goals for the day, but just wanted to get in a good workout in the company of other great triathletes.
I received a certificate for being the first female in my age group (30-39), but I think that's because Elizabeth (also in my age group) placed in the top 3 overall. :-)
My next big race is coming up April 25 when I'll run the Hermes 10 Miler.

St. Malachi 5 miler - March 14, 2009

My first "race" report of 2009! I can't really call it a race for me, because this was the first time in 3 months that I ran over 4 miles. After the 3 1/2 weeks of NO running in late Jan. and early Feb, I very slowly increased my running so I could avoid any knee problems. So far, so good. Anyhow, I arrived to the race early so I could help with set-up, but didn't really do much "helping" besides carring a table. My stomach wasn't very happy, either from the dinner the night before, getting up early, and / or nerves, but that's pretty normal for me these days. It was nice to hang out with some other CTCers before the race, and put a face to some of their names. Then I found my brother and sister-in-law who were running, too. We got to chat a bit, and then I spotted an old friend from HS, Eric Norton. I hadn't seen him since the fall of '93, so we were able to catch up some, too. Well, a few minutes before race time, we headed to the starting line. It was a cool morning, but there was beautiful sunshine, and it ended up being a great day to run. I was worried about not wearing enough warm clothes (I can never decide how many layers to wear on a cold day...), but I made a good choice with just my under armour and CTC tank top. The race itself was pretty uneventful for me. I was of course taking it easy, so even though mile one was downhill, I ran it in 9:20. Mile two took me 9:40. I didn't like crossing all the bridges with just metal grates across them. I should have headed over to the sidewalk like some others did! Mile 3 had a long gradual uphill, so I went around 9:58. The slight downhill on mile 4 gave me some confidence, plus I was feeling really good and warmed up, so I ran faster and had a 9:03. I was worried about the hill at the end, so I slowed up a bit and ran the last mile in about 9:59. My official time for the 5 miles was 48:00.41. Not close to a PR, but I was just happy that my knee didn't give up on me. :-) I didn't run at all yesterday, but I did go 3 miles today, and still feel okay. I'm going to keep doing my knee exercises, visiting the chiropractor, and building up my milage slowly. Hopefully that will keep me in good shape and on track for the 1/2 marathon in May. Before then, I might do the CTC Indoor Tri later this month and a 5k and the Hermes 10 miler next month.

I miss running

It has now been three weeks since my last run. All I have been doing is swimming, ab / core work, and physical therapy for my right knee. On the day of my last run my knee felt sore, especially when walking down the stairs, but when I got to the gym, I thought I'd give a few minutes of running a try. I felt fine while running, so I continued to run for half an hour, and then I jumped on a bike for another half an hour. When I began to head down the stairs to leave, I could barely handle the pain of each right step. So, for several days all I did was rest and ice. Eventually I was given some physical therapy exercises from some friends, and now I'm spending as much time as I can doing those. As of today, I feel fine going up and down the stairs here at home, but I'm scared to run and have the pain all come back. I'm not sure when to try running again. I'll probably start by seeing how some biking goes next week. My concern at the moment is being ready for the only race I've actually already signed up to do this year - the Cleveland 1/2 which is only 13 weeks away now. I kind of wish I hadn't been so eager to save money and sign up so early. Hopefully I can start training again soon and be ready to race!

Getting Started

Former race blogs used to be posted on MySpace, but I've decided to use this site to post all of my future training and race blogs.
So far I am only signed up to particpate in one race for 2009, The Cleveland 1/2 Marathon, but many more will be added to my calendar in the coming weeks.