a tale of two races

So, last Sunday was my 10K goal race. The race all this speed and hill training has been leading up to. The 55-minute goal that I thought was a bit too ambitions.

Anyway ... I lined up race morning thinking that while it'd be awesome to see a 55 on that clock, I'd be happy just to set a new PR. And even happier to break 57 minutes. My 10K PR was 57:26.

I started off running with a friend from our training team. While she's naturally faster than me, her training was a little lacking. She decided she'd rather aim for my goal time than hers.

The first mile was a little slow, at 9:21. It was crowed, and we placed ourselves back a little too far in the pack. We had a bit of ground to make up if we were going to come close to that goal!

It got better.

2. 8:58
3. 9:10
4. 8:58
5. 8:55

I was feeling good. Kind of like in my last half marathon, when I started speeding up in the second half. I started pulling away from my running buddy after the fourth mile, and kept going strong.

My fastest mile was the last, at 8:40. Whoa! I gave everything I had left and ran the last .22 (well, that's what my Garmin tracked) in 1:41, a 7:30 pace.

It unfortunately wasn't a chip race, though. Garmin time is a little more solidly in my goal range at 55:45 ... apparently I didn't quite start with the clock. Official time is 55:57. But I say it still counts!

I'm now even more excited to see what I can do in my 5Ks this summer.

And actually I ran one yesterday. It was the graduation race for the club's 5K training class, and they had pace groups that anybody could join.

Excellent! I decided that even though it was a bit too fast for me, I would try to start with the 8:30 pacer.

Only she started out REALLY fast. If my Garmin's current pace reading was correct, we were at times over a minute-per-mile too fast. I gave up running with her, and just tried to keep her in sight.

She was at least 20 feet ahead of me as I passed the one-mile mark. The volunteers called out my time at 8:13. My mile alert beeped a few steps later at 8:22. That might be the fastest mile I've ever run, other than a couple of one-mile track races.

Mile two was a little harder, with a bridge and some gravel trails. I finished that mile in 8:51.

I was really hoping to be able to beat my best 5K (27:19 -- I won't count the 25:55 when the course was only 2.9), and I really wanted to break 27. I was in good shape.

And then, just as I took a turn after mile two, I was hit with the worst side stitch. I can usually run through them, but I had to stop to walk for a few steps. I grabbed my side and tried to keep running.

It wasn't getting better. My speed slowed. But after running over the bridge again, it finally went away. Unfortunately, it took nearly the entire third mile. I finished that up in 9:53. Ugh.

I was able to pick it up to a 7:46 pace for the final stretch, finishing in 27:48. Even though it was a little disappointing, it's really not a bad time for me -- it's my third fastest. If you don't count that 25:55.

They posted age-graded results, and I finished 10th out of 57. Overall 75th out of 438. Yes, it was a women's only race, and they had runners and walkers ... but I'll take it!

weekly winners: waterfront

June 21-27, 2009

It's been a busy week. I have a lot to write about, but I think it's going to have to wait. I'm exhausted. I'm predicting an early bedtime tonight!

For now, I'm just going to share some of my favorite photos from the week. All were taken on or near the water. I love living in Annapolis!

On Friday night, the Chorale had its annual fundraiser boat cruise. I volunteer to help checking in guests and whatever else they might need with set-up/clean-up, so I get to ride for free. We were lucky to miss the storms, but got just enough of the aftermath to make things interesting!

And on Saturday, we went to a graduation party at a yacht club. Beautiful day, and beautiful views!

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weekly winners: nearly nothing

June 14-20, 2009

Sorry I don't have much for today, folks. It seems I didn't pick up my camera all week until yesterday, when visiting my six-week-old nephew. Since he's not my kid, I don't want to post photos of him online. But I think it's OK to share his new sneakers!

He's still a bit too small for them, so they barely stay on. At least they'll fit for a little while!

I'm sure the other Weekly Winners participants have had a more productive week. Check them out at SarcasticMom.com!

not so fast?

Since my concert schedule caused me to miss two speed workouts, I decided to make one of them up on Thursday.

I was worried about the weather. We could hear thunder when we got home, and the radar map made it look like a small storm system was moving through our area. But I still wanted to get my speed work in.

I did the math and wrote up a chart so I could match the mileage with my usual 400 meter sprints with a 200 meter recovery. I went up to 12 400s, but doubted I could make it that long on the treadmill! And just as I was ready to start, I checked the weather again.

The storm had moved on! So I hit the track instead. I wasn't sure how many I'd do. I missed the 18x400 and 20x400 workouts, but I didn't want to do that many. I wanted to do at least eight. And, well, I'm kind of an overachiever.

After a 15-minute warm-up, I was ready to go. I was still working with a 2:02 goal.

1. 1:59
2. 1:59
3. 2:03
4. 2:02
5. 2:02
6. 2:02
7. 2:06 -- huh, getting a little sluggish
8. 2:09 --ugh
9. 2:03 -- that's better
10. 2:00
11. 2:04
12. 2:06 -- maybe it's just not my day
13. 2:08
14. 2:09
15. 2:05
16. 2:02

Yeah ... not so good. Maybe it was the week and a half break from the track? Or was it my yoga class earlier that day -- while I always have yoga the same day as my runs, it seemed like a hard (but good!) workout. I don't know. I just wasn't too thrilled with this run!

But things have picked up since then.

On Saturday, I ran a 10K. This was a warm-up for our goal race -- what all this speed and hill training has been working up to.

I knew this race was hilly, and I wasn't expecting to be able to do it at my 55-minute goal. (I think I would have a hard time with that on a flat course!) I would have loved just to break 57. I didn't do either. But I was still happy with my race.

It was overcast at the start, and humid. I positioned myself where I thought was the middle of the pack, and we were off. Very early on, I got the feeling this was going to be a tough race. I looked down at my watch. Oops, 8:03 pace. That's why! I slowed it down and finished the first mile in 8:47.

Mile two clocked in at 9:11, mile three at 9:27. Sure I was slowing down, but I was OK with that. Wow, there were a lot more hills than I was expecting!

Miles four and five were pretty rough. Both were 9:43. Somewhere in here, I was starting to think a sub-60 10K was a better goal!

But it got better. Mile six, 9:15. And I clocked the last .18 (says Garmin) in a mere 1:23. Why yes, it was a slight downhill finish :)

Final time: 57:31. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was only five seconds slower than my PR. (Note to self: always know what your PR is before trying to beat it.)

I had a good time, and received what is possibly the ugliest race shirt ever:

It makes me laugh. And is likely going straight to the donation pile!

And now I'm going to bring us back to the track. We're no longer doing ridiculous numbers of 400s. We're sticking to just eight, but trying to pick them up a little bit.

For my pace group, our coach suggested a few seconds faster than our previous 2:02, that we should go for sub 2:00. I didn't expect to go quite this fast -- or be able to maintain it! But here it is ...

1. 1:52 (I thought "too fast!" when I saw the time)
2. 1:51
3. 1:51
4. 1:50
5. 1:43 (WTF? That's a 7-minute pace. I double-checked to make sure I didn't end the lap too soon. Nope. Right on at .25 mile)
6. 1:47
7. 1:49 (Before finishing this lap, I was feeling sluggish. Apparently not so much ...)
   
8. 1:47

Huh. I really don't know where that came from. We'll see how close I get to my goal on Sunday!

weekly winners: nine inch nails and scenes from the garden

June 7-13, 2009

Last week, I took a lot of concert photos, too -- which you can see over here. I'm only going to include one of those in this week's 'Winners,' taken at the Nine Inch Nails show.

And now I bring you to my garden ...

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three shows in three days

This week and last have been jam-packed with live music!

The madness began Sunday with a matinee performance by Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3. This show was in town, so we walked down to our favorite local venue and grabbed some lunch before the show.

We were seated in the front row, directly in front of Peter Buck. That was pretty amazing -- I've been an R.E.M. fan forever so it was great hearing a little extra guitar through his monitor.

Loved the show, and got to briefly meet Robyn and Peter after the show. Too bad Robyn wouldn't pose with us -- he said Peter was the photo guy -- but we got albums signed to add to our collection.

Monday night we headed up to Merriweather Post Pavilion to see The Decemberists. They were playing their latest album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety.

But first up, we had a few openers. Andrew Bird was always on the bill. But a late addition was none other than Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3!

Robyn asked his "young nephew Colin" to join him on stage ...

How great to see them again!

Next up was Andrew Bird. I'm not really a fan, I just know a few songs from the radio. But he was pretty good.

Finally, The Decemberists took the stage. And well, at least for the first three quarters of the show, we knew exactly what to expect. And it was fantastic!

They took a quick break and played a few more songs after finishing Hazards, right up until the venue's 11 p.m. curfew. What a great show!

But there's always room for more, right?

Tuesday night we returned to Merriweather to see Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction.

Our seats were pretty far back ... and due to the nature of the show, we pretty much had to stand for both performances. But it was a great show, and a lot of fun!

I haven't really followed any NIN albums released since the late 90s ... but they always put on a good show. And they played all my old favorites!

Admittedly, I was never a huge Jane's Addiction fan. The husband was, I just never got past the hits. But I liked them, and they played them all!

Phew! We're done with shows for a few days, but it won't be for too long. At least I think the rest of our summer shows are a bit more spaced out!

weekly winners

May 31 - June 6, 2009

I went into DC yesterday to run in the Race for the Cure 5K. It's difficult to run because there are so many runners and walkers -- something like 50,000. And a lot of the walkers didn't follow directions and started with the runners. There was a separate start line, and they were supposed to start 15 minutes after the runners. But I crossed the start line and there were already people walking, holding signs, etc.

So it was a little extra workout from your usual 5K, zig-zagging around walkers and slower runners, trying to find a good pace. I was happy that I managed to finish just over 29 minutes (I think -- official results not posted but I had my Garmin.) At least it was a chip race this year. In the past it wasn't. My clock time was somewhere around 37 minutes!

I got into the city really early. I was expecting to have to wait for a train, and for crowds. But I walked into the Metro station and right onto a train, and it left just a couple minutes later. I was meeting some coworkers for a team photo at 7:30, but I got there around 6:40. Plenty of time to find a port-o-pot (no lines!), pick up my donation voucher, and wander around. (They offered incentives to solicit donations. I procrastinated and didn't get any donations until race week. I reached my goal before race day, but I didn't get my voucher emailed to me.)

Anyway, that killed a little time. But I still had to wait for my coworkers. Fortunately, we were meeting at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden so I could entertain myself.

Eventually it was time to meet up. Folks gradually arrived, and we took a few photos. Then it was time to wait for the start!

Only the opening ceremony kept going, and speakers kept coming up. We just wanted to run! They ended up starting about 30 minutes late.

But it was a really good time. The event was very well organized. There were great vendor freebies at the finish, and the race had plenty of snacks and drinks available. I was impressed!

Also this week ...

I've got some lazy cats.

And finally, I took this at the Cracker show last week, while waiting for the encore:

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relays, ultras, and tris - oh my!

Hmm, guess what we're talking about over at the Runners' Lounge today?

This week, Take it and Run Thursday is focusing on the not-so-traditional running events ... mainly triathlons, relays, and ultra marathons.

I think it's pretty safe to say I'll never run an ultra marathon. Yes, I was once known to say I'd never run a full marathon. And somehow, that happened. But I'm pretty sure I won't change my mind on this one.

However, I apparently am willing run a half marathon one day and a full marathon the next. This is probably as close as I'm willing to get!

I'm currently training for my second sprint triathlon, Iron Girl, at the end of August. I had such a great time last year that I can't wait to do it again.

I've only been to the pool a few times so far (I didn't mean to slack all fall and winter ... ), but I'm already swimming longer without a break than I ever did last summer, other than race day. I've got a new bike, too, so hopefully I can get comfortable going a bit faster!

I can certainly see myself moving up to Olympic-distance triathlons -- Iron Girl's swim is pretty long for a sprint, so it wouldn't be that bad of a jump. While I'm not signing up anytime soon, a Half Ironman probably wouldn't be out of the question. But I think I have to draw the line at a full Ironman!

Now onto relays ... this is definitely something on my to-do list!

Back in April, I almost joined my friend's team for the American Odyssey Relay. A few members of her team had dropped out, and she send out an email looking for replacements. TWO WEEKS before the event!

Even without any special training, I was actually considering it. I had kept my mileage up after my March half marathon and April 10-mile race, so it wouldn't have been too bad.

But the race was the week after my vacation, and started on a Friday. I would have had to take another day off work at a time when I was seriously overbooked. I just couldn't afford to miss another day.

And yes, I would rather go into something like this with a little practice running more than once a day!

I'm sure it will happen. Maybe even later this year ... some friends are currently considering the DC Ragnar Relay in September. Sounds like fun!