10K results!

Yesterday was the last race in the winter cross country series and I did better than I thought I would. I ran 6.2 miles in 57:50, which is a 9:18 pace. I didn't think I was going to do very well at all for numerous reasons. One being that I really haven't ran that much at all in two weeks and I've only done over 6 miles maybe 8-9 times. I also did not get a lot of sleep the night before because of a soccer tournament and we had a game at 8am and I shivered in the cold for two hours. I was worried about my achilles and it was WAY windy on the course. I just did not have a good feeling at all.

Considering all that, I did better in this race that I did in the 5 and 8K races. I was not properly dressed for this race at all! I wore pants and a pullover because the start was so cold and by the time the race was over I was sweating like crazy. I was way too hot running that race and there was nothing I could do about it. I need to learn that for long races even though you start freezing, you'll warm up quick. The wind was whipping around the course yesterday, so I think I could have gone a bit faster if not for that. My achilles held up okay - it's really sore today, but I have no more races until the half marathon, so I'm going to get this thing better and get back to training for that.

Overall, I'm pleased. A 9:18 pace for 6.2 miles for me is respectable. I'm hoping to run the half marathon in a 9:00/mile pace. I'll post pictures as soon as they are up!

Stanky Creek 8k++ Pics

These are the pictures of the creek that we had to jump at the very end of the race. Luckily it did not rain too much during the week, so the creek was fairly small!

5K pics

The 5K pictures were just released at memphisrunners.com, so that is why this post is out of order, plus I did not have this blog when the 5K took place! The wonderful people at memphis runners have volunteers at every race and there are always men there with cameras to capture the events. The 5K race took place at the Lakeland trails, which have some great elevation changes - the best in Memphis.

Going back to what I said in my last post about mentally preparing myself on race day - I need to learn how to do it! The weather was pretty good for this race - it was sunny, but extremely, extremely cold. I started off pretty fast, following Drew, as you can see in the picture below, and I was feeling fine for the first 12 minutes or so.





As we got further into the forest and starting the quick elevation changes, things went downhill for me. About 15 minutes into it, I got an AWFUL stitch in my side! I don't know if it was the cold air, the adrenaline, the elevation changes, or what, but I could not stand up straight. It was probably all of those things combined. I had to stop and walk twice! Needless to say I was a bit aggravated because I know I am in shape - I run three miles or more with no problem often and there I was race day, bending over with a stitch. The last picture I am about to cross the finish and you can't really tell, but my left hand was trying to hold my side.

I still got second for my age group and once the stitch went away, I felt fine. I'm new to this sport and I'm learning things about it and myself everyday. I need race day mentality!!!

8++K

The 8(+) K of the winter cross country series was Sunday and I placed third in my age group! I waited until today to post at school so I could load pictures as I posted.



The race. We got loads of sleep Saturday night, so I was fully rested on Sunday. I had an early breakfast and an early lunch of mac and cheese. I'm not a big fan of these races being at 2pm because I don't want to eat too much, yet I don't want to starve. We left around one so we could get there early and have a decent warmup. The weather was unbelievable on Sunday - lots of sun, but not too hot. I'm just glad the weather wasn't like it was all week - EXTREMELY cold!

My plan for this race was to start off fairly conservative - not up with the fast cross country guys, but not all the way in the back. This being my fourth race ever, I'm still trying to figure out how to strategize on race days. I started conservative, then I picked up my pace as I went. My goal was to run the course at around a nine minute pace. I felt good starting - my heel was aching some and it continued to stretch/ache through the entire race. I did not get the gosh awful stitch in my side that I got in the 5K so that was a plus, but I felt as though I could get one at any minute. I think I need to mentally prepare myself better on race days - I get excited, the adrenaline pumps, and I get all out of whack and I end up performing worse in the race than I do in my training runs.

There are no mile markers on these courses, so throughout the race I was not sure of my pace, and I was not sure when I should push and when I shouldn't. For the most part, I ran alone. I passed a few people here and there, but other than that it was just me and the trail. The race ends with a creek crossing and I'll try to post a picture of that later. I crossed the finish line at 49:33, which is not as fast as I would like. The pace ended up being around a 9:43 mile, which I am not happy with at all. I have trained with Drew on those same trails going for upwards of 7-9 miles very close to a 9 minute mile pace, which reinforces my belief that I need to better prepared mentally for these races. I am still in second place overall in my age group with the last race on Sunday (10K). My achilles was way sore after the race, so this week I will probably bike and stretch a lot to get ready for Sunday.

Why I Run?

When I tell people I am training for a half-marathon they give me skeptical looks. When I tell people I just ran 4 or 5 or 8 miles they look at me like I'm crazy. When people see me running on the track, at Shelby Farms, or anywhere else, they just shake their heads. All of these people eventually ask me why I do this. Why do I put my body through such pain? I do these things because I was born an athlete and I will die an athlete and I love competition. I love setting goals and reaching them. I love pushing my body to it's limit and beyond.

I was born an athlete, but more specifically I was born a soccer player. I played competitve soccer my whole life - from age 4 through high school and even division one soccer. I love every aspect of soccer - the smell of leather cleats, the smell of the grass, the feel of the ball, playing under lights, celebrating goals, savoring victories, being a part of a team, and I love the competition. I loved training for seasons - the 120s, the miles, the sprints, the weights. I loved pushing my body to be as efficient as it could be for soccer. But my playing days ended my sophomore year in college when I hurt my hips. I was forced to retire my cleats and that is when I started to see the other aspect of the game in coaching. So I started coaching at age 20 and here I am ten years later going strong. I still love every aspect of the game, but I miss getting my own body in shape for soccer. But the thing is, I didn't realized I missed it until last September.

As I mentioned in my previous post, my husband is an avid runner. He has run numerous 5ks, a half marathon, and a full marathon. I did not run from age 20 until last year. My husband and I are, however, hikers. We planned a big fall break trip to the Smoky Mountains and he convinced me to do some light running to prepare for it. I always make it on hikes, albeit much slower than he would like. So I agreed to run about 1-2 miles every other day. Once the fall break trip was over, he suggested that I train for a 5k in December that was on the same day as his full marathon. Relunctantly I agreed and I have not stopped running since. I forgot for almost ten years that I loved the feeling of pushing my body to its limits and beyond.

I ran the 5k in December and did fairly well and then my husband and I decided we would run the Nashville half marathon in April and I've been training for it since the 5k. I'm up to running 20-30 miles a week now and I love every minute of it. I love the solitude, I love the pain, I love the outdoors, and I love the competition. The competition in running is not only external, it's also internal. I try to up my mileage every week, I try to beat times, and when I'm out on a long run, my mind competes with my body that is telling me to stop. And yes, I love the races. We've been running in the Memphis Runners Winter Cross Country Series and I've gotten second in my age group in the 3k and 5k so far.

So that is why I run. I always have been and always will be an athlete who thrives on competition.