Hello Humidity!

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and the weather fell in line! The Ringing In Hope: A Salute to Our Troops 5K race was humid and sticky, and I threw myself right into it. Yes, the name of the race is really long!

I had run the Lawyers Have Heart 5K just 9 days prior, but the two races were like apples and oranges in terms of course profile and weather. I also brought a different mindset with me to Ringing In Hope: to survive! I wasn't trying to set any kind of course PR, I just wanted to run really hard and see what I could do.

As I mentioned in my last race report, I identified the cause of my sluggishness as the side effects from a new iron supplement. According to my Fitbit, my daily readiness for that day was 15 out of 100, with an elevated resting heart rate and a low HRV. I wasn't getting the sleep I needed and I was feeling like crap because of an overabundance of B vitamins.

I switched to an iron supplement that's iron only, and I started to feel better almost immediately. My Fitbit readiness score for this Memorial day race was 93 out of 100. Huge difference.

Before the Race
Greg and I arrived at the race about 50 minutes before it started. I picked up my bib, pinned it on, and went to the bathroom. It was raining very lightly, which I knew would be welcome once I started racing, but at 64 degrees, it made things a little chilly while I was just standing around. 

I started my warm up on the course. I looked around for my friend Stephanie, who would be running the 10K, but I didn't see her anywhere. Towards the end of my warmup, I spotted my friend Nilani and we shared about five minutes of running together. During this time, I had a caffeinated Maurten gel.

The warm up allowed me to scope out the course. This race has been going on for over 15 years, but the location has changed multiple times. I had run this "Ringing In Hope" race before, but never on this course. I had run this course as a 10K before (just last winter), but the 5K course is totally different. I think only the first mile is the same and then the courses come back together right before the finish line. To clear up any confusion, Ringing In Hope has a December race (5K and 10K) and a Memorial Day race (5K and 10K). 

I won this race on a different course back in 2018. First overall female!

On my personal weather scale, this race gets a 3 out of 10. 64 degrees with dew point of 64. Very muggy. It lightly rained during the warm up and started raining heavily about 20 minutes after we finished. But unfortunately it did not rain while we were running, which I think would have helped cool me off. I was very grateful I hadn't decided to run the 10K!

I decided to wear the Mizuno Hyperwarp Elite. I absolutely LOVE these shoes, but my Achilles tendons don't like them. They have a 3.5mm drop which puts a strain on my Achilles the next day. They always feel great when I wear them, but then I pay for it the following day. I've struggled with insertional Achilles tendinopathy for over 8 years. I love the fit, and the ride. Unlike most carbon fiber racers, they aren't "mushy" and you actually get some ground feel. At the same time, they are also propulsive. 

Mile 1

Mile 1: 6:31
This race has a fast start, and when I ran the 10K last winter, I think my first mile was around 6:30. I didn't look at my watch because I didn't want to feel intimidated by a fast pace. I don't remember too much else about this mile, given that the race was held a week ago and I was already in the pain cave during mile 1!

Mile 2: 7:00
What goes down must come up. Yikes, this is slower than my half marathon pace! But a humid, uphill mile in a 5K can do that to you. My average heart rate for this mile was 174, which according to my recent VO2 max test is Zone 5. Anaerobic. And that was the average for the whole mile! That was my max HR at the end of the previous 5K. I was working hard, that's for sure. 

Mile 3: 6:56
And I never quite recovered from it! Mile 3 had some inclines and declines, but the limiting factor here was that my legs and my body were cooked from mile 2. My heart rate averaged 173 and I was holding on for dear life. 

Final Kick: 5:42 pace
As I approached the finish line, I saw the clock ticking towards 21:00. I really wanted to be under 21:00 and I fought hard for it.

My official time was 20:59

After The Race
After finishing, I met up with Greg and we went back out to the course to watch the 10K finishers come in. The 10K started 10 minutes before the 5K, so there were a mix of 5K and 10K finishers coming in all together. We saw my friend Hannah coming in and then Stephanie. Greg took really amazing photos of both of them!

Final Kick

Then I cooled down for about two miles with Stephanie. Whenever I run a race with Stephanie, she is always so dedicated about doing a cool down. I tend to slack, and if left to my own devices, I only end up running one mile, and sometimes even less. But it goes by much faster with a friend!

The rain started coming down harder and I got a latte from one of the vendors at the finish line festival. While I was waiting for my latte they started the awards, so I missed hearing them call my name. But they waved me over when they saw me approach. I won first place in my age group (40-49) which meant a gift certificate to our local running store. Stephanie also won first place in our age group for the 10K.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I'm really happy with how this race went. Even though my 10K pace on this course last winter was 6:38, I know that the humidity was the limiting factor and I did the best I could. When the weather is a 3 out of 10 on my personal scale vs. a 10 out of 10, you get a faster 10K pace than 5K pace.

I sometimes wonder "could I have run that faster" and the answer is usually yes, because in hindsight you can usually think of areas where you could have executed differently. But in this case, my heart rate data tells the story. I can't even believe I was able to sustain that kind of Zone 5 heart rate for so long.

This race has confirmed my love of the Mizuno Hyperwarp Elite as my favorite carbon fiber racing shoe. I will wear it for the July 4th 5K and pay the price on July 5th! Thankfully, my Achilles only suffered for one day post race and then they started to feel normal again. It really helps to add a heel insert into my daily trainers. Unfortunately, the Mizuno shoes won't accommodate any kind of insert, even when cut down to fit the shoe. My average cadence was 200 steps per minute, which shows that these shoes are a good match for my high cadence style. In the ASICS Metaspeed Edge, my cadence was 197.

It was also nice to feel positive again! As I mentioned in my previous post, I had some negative feelings towards my performance and this time there was not a negative thought to be had. I also felt some redemption from the Lawyers Have Heart 5K. This race had twice the elevation and the weather was worse: same temperature but with a much higher dew point.

I'll continue to orient my training around the 5K distance for the next five weeks, and then it's time to jump back into marathon training. 

Going the Extra Mile

"Going the extra mile" is one of the most popular running cliches/puns out there. Never has it been so applicable to my running career as it was during yesterday's 10K. 

Background
I registered for the Jingle All The Way 15K a few months ago which was scheduled to occur today, Sunday. But as the race drew closer, the weather started looking miserable. Rain, wind, humidity, and warm temps. That's just not fun for me. So on Wednesday I made the decision to pivot and run the Ringing In Hope 10K which was scheduled for Saturday. The Saturday race was forecast to have perfect weather.

I love racing in December. There are so many festive races to choose from and the cold weather suits me. I didn't do too much to prepare for this race. The Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving served as a good workout and a way to "wake up" my legs after the marathon. Aside from that, I did one track workout which was a down ladder of 2000m, 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m - all with 400m recovery jogs. I ran that workout about halfway between the Thanksgiving 5K and yesterday's race.

Before the Race
I decided to try my adidas Adios Pro shoes again. I had abandoned them for the marathon because they felt too big. But with thicker socks for the cooler weather, they worked.

I went back and forth on my outfit a few times, but eventually settled on CW-X capri tights instead of shorts. I feel like compression tights give me a boost of speed so if it's cool enough for them, I wear them.

It was 34 degrees and mostly sunny, rising to about 37 by the end of the race. No wind. Hence we have a 10/10 on my personal race weather scale. I could not have asked for more favorable conditions. 

I arrived at the race 45 minutes before start time, got my bib and went to the bathroom. The race started and finished at a church, and that church was open for the race participants. It was a nice perk to have a warm prep area with real bathrooms!

Before I started my warm up, Greg and I tried to figure out where he would stand to take photos. We quickly looked at a course map and determined a spot that we thought would work. The only reason we had a course map is because my friend Cheryl had run this race last year and shared her Strava data with me. There was no course map on the website. [Edited to add: There are 5K and 10K course maps on the website but the links are not obvious. I am just seeing the maps today and did not see them prior to the race.]

Another thing to note about the map and Greg's position: this race also has a 5K. The finish line is the same for both races. We didn't want him too close to the finish line because I would be weaving through 5K runners at that point. So we also looked at the 5K course to see where they split apart and met up. The 5K course consisted of two out-and-backs in two directions. The 10K course was a large loop. They were only the same at the very beginning and end.

As I said above, I could not find either map on the race website. I had to search for Strava data from last year's runners to locate the 5K map. The 10K started at 9:00am and the 5K started at 9:10. This meant I would be finishing with 5K runners who ran around 30-35 minutes. I wouldn't have to do too much weaving because the courses joined up about 0.2 mile before the finish.

I warmed up for just over 10 minutes and took my Maurten caffeinated gel 5 minutes before race start. I didn't think I was in PR shape but I thought I was in pretty good shape. I decided to target a pace of 6:40 which would be about 30 seconds slower than my PR and I thought that might even be a bit aggressive. But I also decided NOT to look at the Garmin to pace this one. I just like having a neighborhood pace in mind.

Shortly after the start

Miles 1-2
The race started and it wasn't long before I saw Greg snapping photos and videos. He was standing at an intersection where I thought we would be turning left according to the course map. But as I said, I wasn't 100% sure I was aligning the map to reality when looking at it. So when we turned right I was surprised but I didn't think it was wrong. 

It was wrong. We were, in fact, supposed to go left as I originally thought! Nobody realized this until we all found ourselves in a parking lot. There was major confusion. A police officer was there and he didn't know what to tell us - he was not a course marshal. Eventually we realized that we ran the 5K course and had reached the first 5K turn around. We were over half a mile into it at that point. (I later found out that the was actually the second half of the 5K).

The leaders turned around and started running toward the rest of us, so we all turned around. At one point I just stopped and looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. The urge to stop my Garmin was strong, but I did not!

As we were all turning around, we were bunched together tighter than we had been previously, so I found myself running in a pack of 5 women. We were chatting about the situation and realizing that we had run the 5K course. Our attitude was positive and we started making jokes about the situation. I said I was going to stop my Garmin at 6.2 and walk it in! (Just kidding of course). And then we realized we wouldn't really know how long the course would be. 

I saw Greg (again!). I was only supposed to see him twice, but this course mishap meant a bonus sighting of my husband. Silver linings abound!

The amazing thing about this situation was that a pack of 5 women were running together at a relatively small, local 10K. All at a 6:30 pace. I was enjoying the company and not looking at my watch, so when it finally did beep for mile 2, I was shocked to see a 6:24 mile split. I think the pace was probably too fast for all but 1 of us but we kept going with it because it was so fun to be racing in a pack

Miles 3-4
I have run over 200 races of varying sizes and never once have I "raced" in pack of women like this. I should mention that none of us would win the race. The winner would be Perry Shoemaker, an Olympic

Marathon qualifier and holder of all sorts of records at the age of 50+. She was WAY out ahead, but we were all contenders for 2nd, 3rd, and so on. 

It was an entirely different racing experience. The camaraderie and the ability to feed off of each other's energy was amazing. And the fact that we were all sharing this odd experience of a super long 10K made it all the better. We took turns uttering short sentences to keep the vibe strong. 

My Garmin beeped for mile 3 (6:36 pace) and shortly after that the pack begin to spread apart. We went from 5 runners down to 4 down to 3.  We stayed a pack of three for a while longer and then one of the ladies pulled ahead. So then it was me and one other runner. The other runner (Lauren) told me to go with the woman who broke away, but I could not. Shortly after I pulled slightly ahead of Lauren and it seemed like the places might be solidified.

But none of us really knew what we were getting into. What would mile 7 of a 10K feel like? It was anyone's race. Except for Perry - there was no doubt she would win!

Mile 4 clocked in at 6:34. I wasn't keeping track of my pacing and as I type this, I am now realizing that miles 2, 3, and 4 were 6:24, 6:36, and 6:34. That's a FAST 5K right there. As for mile 1 - my data says 6:53 but that includes standing around trying to figure out what was happening.

Miles 5-6
I should note that the course had no mile markers. No course marshals. No directional signage. At one point a car pulled out right in front of me and I had to slow down for it. I have run the Ringing In Hope races many times in the past and the organization has always been excellent. I do not know what happened yesterday but it was certainly well below the standard I expected from them. 

I reasoned that mile 5 was the mile 4 I had studied in the course elevation profile. Which meant it was time for a big long hill. Mile 5 sucked the soul out of me! It had me seriously questioning my life choices. After running a sub 20:30 5K I was now expected to run three more miles, the first of which was a huge hill. Why did I do this to myself!?

The only thing that motivated me was reminding myself that I was not a quitter and the fact that I was in 3rd place. I guess those are pretty strong motivators, as they worked. But at the time it was very hard to stay in it! I still had the 2nd place runner in my sight. The gap between her and me stayed pretty much the same throughout mile 5. My split was 6:55 which was pretty miraculous because I felt like I was slugging by at an 8:00 pace.

Mile 5 or 6, waving to Cheryl.

Mile 6 was a similar story. There was not much respite from the hills, although I knew from the elevation profile that the worst was behind me. It hurt so much. It would have been easy to fall into the thought pattern of resentment. Resenting that this would not be the final mile. That my 10K was derailed by course mis-management. But none of those thoughts popped into my mind. I acknowledged the pain. Embraced the suck. I didn't look at my watch. I stayed focused on the woman ahead of me and reminded myself that the woman behind me could be very close. 

My friend Cheryl was cheering for me and taking photos at some point during this stretch. It was a huge pick-me-up right when I needed it. I was so happy to see her! 

Mile 6 was 6:52. Another surprise because I felt like I had faded to something in the high 7:00's!

Mile 7 and final 0.34:
At this point, I was truly going "the extra mile". Never had that phrase resonated with me so much! Thankfully it was a net downhill and I knew the end HAD to be near. I just wasn't sure how near. In my head I kept wondering when that turn would come. Would this be 7 miles? 7.5 miles? 8 miles? Who knew!? And with no mile markers, the course wasn't giving any hints. 

At this point I did feel like I could have pushed harder. I knew it in the moment, but I had no motivation to go deeper into the pain cave. 

Finally I saw Greg and I knew the finish line was in my reach. Mile 7 was 6:38 and the final 0.34 was a pace of 6:31. I maintained my third place position but the 4th woman was not far behind! Interestingly, the only time I saw a male during this race was during the first mile mix-up. I was either running with the women or running solo for the rest of the race.

After the Race
Our pack of women reunited and instantly started talking about all-things running. Neither of us knew each other but we all lived locally and we were all similarly matched. At least yesterday we were!

I also had the opportunity to talk with Perry, the Olympic trials qualifier and 1st female finisher. Interestingly, she had also been registered for the 15K on Sunday, but switched to this 10K for similar reasons. I had always known about her but had never chatted with her, so it was really amazing to get to know her a bit!

The theme of this race was definitely bonding with other female runners. And honestly that FAR overshadowed the fact that the distance was totally messed up. If anything, the messed up distance was a blessing in disguise because it allowed me throw caution to the wind and run with a fast pack of ladies and embrace the experience. I had been planning on a 15K originally, so I got more bang for my buck with this race! In kilometers, this race was 11.8K.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
As I said above, the local women's running community was the real focus yesterday. From my conversation with Perry to the pack of 5 women to Cheryl taking photos of me in the middle of the race. We all support each other and have a shared love of sport. I'm so grateful to be a part of this. I've found "my place" so to speak and it's exactly where I belong.

Other takeaways and stats:

• My official time was 49:08, which is an average pace of 6:41
• My Garmin logged 7.34 miles or 11.8K
• According to the Jack Daniels VDOT calculator, the 10K equivalent is 41:12, which would have been a small PR for me, despite not believing myself to be in PR shape
• Strava says I ran a 20:17 5K during the race, which is over 10 seconds faster than my Turkey Trot
• My award for 3rd place was a free two-topping Domino's pizza, available for carry-out only
• I am considering this a PR and having PR cake
• Not only is it a PR because it's a new distance, but it also does equate to a 10K PR
• I do not feel robbed of a 10K PR, but I am motivated to go run another one soon
• The course mishap makes for a much more interesting blog post
• I'm not sure how the lead runner was expected to know which way to turn. With no lead biker and no course marshal, there was no way for him to know. Everyone else simply followed him.

For the past two months I have been of the mindset that I am not in the best shape of my life. Today's race proves that wrong. I am in the best shape of my life. And I believe I could have run a faster final mile if I had more motivation. I truly did go "the extra mile" yesterday and I love that I encountered a new challenge and made new friends while doing so.

Ringing in Hope 10K Report: A 2016 Grande Finale!

For the 7th year in a row, Greg and I ran the Ringing In Hope New Year's eve race. This race offers both a 5K and a 10K option, and typically we do the 10K. This year, I'm registered for the Walt Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday, January 7th-- just one week later. I'm also in the thick of marathon training. So, I figured I would simply ask my coach what to do. I sent him the following note a few weeks ago:

"I would like to participate in either the 5K or the 10K, but I don't want it to impact my half marathon. I also don't want it to impact my marathon training, because Myrtle Beach is fast approaching and I know I need to get my long runs up. Can you think of a creative way of incorporating either the 5K or the 10K? Perhaps I could run at a tempo effort, and/or as part of my long run? Maybe the long run can be moved to January 2nd because I don't have to go to work that day? In any event, I'm open to whatever you think is best, given that my top priority is the marathon, followed by the half marathon. This New Year's eve race is more of just a fun thing."

I figured he'd probably tell me to run it as part of my long run, or do the 5K as a tempo. The response I received was not what I expected:

"That’s no problem at all. The 10km will fit in nicely as you’ll get your legs spinning quickly the week before the half marathon. You could run a few miles afterwards also but I’ll think about it more once you get through this week."

So, it was on! I hadn't run a 10K since this race last year, when I ran a 44:18. My PR was from October of last year: 43:56. The good thing about this year's race was that they moved the course to a different location. So even though I had technically run the race six times, I had never run this new course. I had heard good things about this course, which is used for a 5K/10K Turkey Trot as well. I wasn't a fan of the previous course at all, so this change was very welcome.

Most of my gripes about the previous course were resolved, although two minor annoyances still remained. First of all, they placed cones in the middle of the road and forced you to run outside of them, which made it impossible to run the measured tangents. This resulted in a Garmin distance of 6.29. Last year's course measured 6.27. I overhead many runners complaining about the cones and how at the Turkey Trot race, they don't use these cones.

My other complaint was that the 10K runners had to weave around 5K runners for a good portion of the race last year. This year, we only had to weave around slower 5K runners during the last half mile. It was still annoying and made the finish more difficult, but it was an improvement over the previous year's setup.

Race Week: Workout and Goals
On Monday of this week, I ran a set of 4 x 1600m repeats on the track, followed by 3 x 200m. I always run track workouts based on feel and I don't look at my watch until the rep is complete and

I've hit the lap button. My splits were 6:48, 6:43, 6:35, 6:30, 0:40, 0:41, 0:40. My previous fastest 1600m rep time had been 6:38, so during this workout, I ran two miles faster than that. And honestly, it didn't feel all that hard.

This workout made me re-think my goal for the 10K. I had originally hoped to run somewhere in the low 43's, but now I figured I would probably be able to run the race sub-43:00, somewhere around a 6:50-6:52 pace. My revised goal was to run a 42:55 or faster and beat my PR by over a minute.

For the remainder of the week, I only did easy runs so that my legs could recover for today's race. I continued my run streak, which started on December 1. I've now run for 31 days in a row, averaging 7.6 miles a day! That's 234 miles in December.

Before the Race
The race started at 9:00, so I ate half a bagel with peanut butter at 6:30am. I then drank one serving of UCAN at 8:15 as Greg and I were driving to the race. It was 30 degrees, partly cloudy, with winds at about 8 MPH. After much debate, I decided to wear CW-X capri tights and a short-sleeved shirt with arm warmers. I figured I could remove the arm warmers if I got hot. Yes, it is possible to get hot in 30-degree temperatures if the sun is out.

We warmed up for two miles and I decided to ditch the arm warmers before even starting. This ended up being a good decision because I felt comfortable throughout the race in short sleeves, arms exposed.

Miles 1-2
I had studied the course elevation profile and tangents pretty carefully. Even though the cones made it impossible to run the true tangents, I did my best while staying on the correct side of the cones. My plan was to run the first mile at pace of 7:00 because it was a 71ft net elevation gain.

The race started and a bunch of runners flew past me. I didn't let this faze me as I knew I would be passing many of them later in the race. I counted the number of women ahead of me. My friend Rochelle was in first place, and I was pretty sure she would win, and there were 4 other women ahead of me as well. I picked off the first of these women about halfway through the first mile, which put me in 5th place.

Mile 2 was also a net uphill, and my plan was to run this at a pace of 6:57, but I ended up going slightly faster in 6:54. During this mile, I gradually passed the other two women who were ahead of me so that by the end of this mile, I was the third female. I knew there was no chance of passing the second place female, as she looked to be about a full minute ahead of me.

Mile 1: 7:00
Mile 2: 6:54

Miles 3-4
I was relieved to be done with mile 2 because I knew that the next two miles were a net even elevation gain, with some gentle rollers. Now that I had the two slowest miles behind me, I gained the confidence to really turn on the gas. And that's when I started passing some men. Probably about 3-4 of them during this part of the race. I also still had Greg in my sights, although he was way up ahead. I had predicted that Greg would run the race about a minute faster than me, but at this point I could still see him, which was nice.

I pretty much just cruised through these miles. The wind was a little bit of a factor during the third mile, but it wasn't too horrible. I felt really strong and I had a nice pep in my step. I also felt like I had a really good rhythm going in my head. Whenever I looked down at my Garmin, I was shocked to see my paces.

Mile 3: 6:49
Mile 4: 6:40

Miles 5-6.29
At this point, my Garmin was showing an average race pace of 6:50, which was my stretch goal. The exciting thing was that the last two miles were a net downhill, counter-balancing the first two miles which had been net uphill. So I knew at this point I was setup for a huge PR and that I was going to crush my goal.

I excel at downhill running and I actually ran my fastest-ever mile during this race. Kind of crazy to set a one-mile PR during a 10K.

The most challenging part of the entire race came at the very end. The 5K runners merged back onto the course with the 10K runners, and because that race had started 10 minutes later, there were quite a few of these runners, going at about a 10:00 pace. I focused on the man who was running in the 10K about 30 feet ahead of me and tried to follow his path. The course narrowed, 5K runners were all over the place and you really had to pay attention to where you were going. In fact, one of the 5K runners decided he was finished about 10 feet before actually crossing the finish line so he started to walk at that point!

In any event, I knew I was actually close to breaking 42 minutes, so I gave it everything I had and sprinted to the finish.

Mile 5: 6:37
Mile 6: 6:21
Last 0.29: 6:08 pace

My official finish time was 42:09. A PR by 1 minute, 47 seconds! WOW!

My Garmin average pace was 6:43, and according to Strava, my actual 10K time was 41:42. A big difference! Which is why the cone placement irks me so much. 6:21 is the fastest mile I've ever run, and I also set an unofficial 5K PR as well: 20:13. Although I should note that the 20:13 was the second half of the course, which was net downhill. All that being said, my current 5K PR pace is 6:39, and I just ran a 10K at a pace of 6:43.

My medal for winning 3rd place

I was the third overall female finisher, and that came with a $100 prize package of gift certificates. Rochelle, who was the first female finisher, won gift certificates to the same places, so we can all go there together to celebrate!

Up Next: Disney
I'm really looking forward to the Disney World Half Marathon next weekend. I think I will be able to run a solid race, in spite of the possibly unfavorable weather conditions. The last time I ran Disney (in 2013) it was 63 degrees and very humid. It was tough, and the extended forecast shows similar conditions, but I'm mainly going to focus on running a hard effort.

After a difficult summer of being sick with mono, I'm thrilled to end the year on such a high note. I'm looking forward to 2017 and hoping to stay healthy.

Ringing In Hope 10K: Keeping Up With Tradition

Yesterday afternoon, I ran the Ringing in Hope 10K. The inaugural event was held in 2010, and Greg and I have run it every year since it started. Even though I have quite a few issues with how this race is managed, I continue to run it each year to keep up the tradition. Along with the Firecracker 5K and the Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K, it's nice to have races that I run year after year, for both the sake of tradition, and for benchmarking. I'm pleased to say that I have set course PRs in all three races this year!

Ringing in Hope 2014

Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. I may suggest these changes to the race director, but I don't want to come across as ungrateful. I know that managing a race is difficult, and I will continue to participate in this race even if nothing changes.

The time of this race changes almost every year. I think the first year it was at 4:00pm, and then it's moved between morning and afternoon. I think it was 10:00am last year, and this year it was at 1:00pm to accommodate government workers' schedules. But people who work for the federal government (in Washington D.C.) even for a half day, will not be able to drive 30 miles out to Ashburn in time for a 1:00pm start. So, either move the race to 3:00 or 4:00, or keep it in the morning. I personally prefer morning races because it's what I'm used to, but I don't shy away from races that start at odd times. Particularly since I will be running the Boston Marathon in April, which I think starts sometime around 10:00am. My biggest challenge with the later start this year was the warmth. It was 58 degrees and sunny. There were times when I could feel myself baking, and I even ended up with a nice suntan!

The race offers a 5K and a 10K. The 10K course is the same as the 5K course, times 2. The 5K started at 1:00pm, and the 10K started at 1:15pm. This means that the 10K runners have to weave through all the 5K walkers (with their strollers, walking in large groups) and the slower runners starting at mile 2. This requires a lot of additional energy to be expended and prevents runners from running tangents. There'd be some trouble if a 15:00-16:00 5K runner showed up. At 1:16pm, I'm guessing that 10K runners were still moving through the start line, which is also the finish line. I can just imagine a super speedy 5K runner coming toward the finish line, with all the 10K runners lined up.

Speaking of tangents, cones are placed seemingly randomly throughout the course. It's never clear what side of the cones you are supposed to run on. The course is USATF certified without any cones at all, so I just ignore the cones and try to run the tangents. Even still, the course always measures at least 6.27 miles on my Garmin. On the last turn before the finish line, they had a row of cones blocking the path to the finish line. You're supposed to run through the cones (which are meant to block cars) but many people were confused and didn't see the finish line. The only reason I knew to turn right was because I've run this race so many times.

Okay, I'm done griping. My attitude toward this race is that I do it because it's a tradition and it's close to my house. I don't run it for its superior management. I mentally prepare to weave through 5K walkers and I don't let it upset me while I'm running.

In terms of a time goal, I wanted to set a "Garmin PR" by running faster than a 7:02 pace according to my Garmin-- ideally somewhere around 6:55-6:58. Comparing this race to the Boo Run For Life 10K where I set my current PR isn't really apples-to-apples because that race is flat with only one turn, and therefore always comes out to exactly 6.2 miles. This means that I could technically run 6.2 miles faster at the New Year's Eve race than the Boo! race and still not PR according to my official time. I also wanted to beat Greg's PR on this course of 43:20, but I thought that might be a stretch.

I also used this race to experiment with Generation UCAN fuel. I'd ideally like to switch from Honey Stinger gels to UCAN for the marathon, but I need to make sure it works for me. I was introduced to UCAN when I won a huge prize package of it by being McMillan's "Athlete of the Month." I had used it before long runs and it seemed to work well for those. The Honey Stingers are hit or miss-- sometimes my stomach tolerates them, sometimes it doesn't. UCAN is supposed to be the easiest-to-digest source of fuel, and it's supposed to last longer than a gel.  I mixed one packet of the UCAN powder with water and drank it 30 minutes before the start of the race. Greg and I warmed up for about two miles, and then lined up at the start.

Miles 1-2
My original plan was to run the first mile at a pace of around 6:55, but instead I just ran it by feel and logged a 6:47. Even though this mile starts with a huge uphill, there was a significant tailwind, and then there's a downhill afterwards which actually makes the mile a net downhill. After I turned a corner and started mile 2, I found myself running directly into a headwind and I was unable to maintain my speedy starting pace. I instead ran a 6:57, which was more in line with my goal anyway. It was during the second mile that I had to start weaving through the 5K walkers, but I didn't let it bother me.

Miles 3-4
The third mile was tough. The headwind continued and there was a sizable hill to run up, while continuing to dodge 5K walkers, and even those who were running, but then who would suddenly stop to walk. One guy who was running in front of me stopped dead in his tracks to look behind him for his daughter. Sigh. I felt myself losing some major steam, and the race started to get really hard. Mile 3 is supposed to feel really hard in a 10K, but this mile just took a lot of out me. I logged a 7:07, which I thought was pretty good, given the big hill. Mile 4 was a repeat of mile 1. The biggest challenge of this mile was the heat. I was running directly towards the sun, high in the sky, and I felt my energy level waning. Thankfully, there was a tailwind to help push me up the hill again, but I'd pay for it with a headwind later. I ran mile 4 in 7:02.

Miles 5-6
My goal was still attainable by the time I reached mile 5, but I was completely spent. I had zero energy left to fight through the headwind. I poured water over my head to keep cool, but it didn't do much good. I also had worn heavier socks (mistake) and my feet were burning up. Even though I was losing steam, I still managed to pass some runners during this mile, which was encouraging. I logged a 7:13. The sixth mile was pure torture. A woman whom I had passed earlier in the race passed me about halfway through the mile and I tried to keep up with her as best as I could. I even tried to draft off of her. "That's fine if you run ahead of me," I thought. "I'll just run directly behind you and draft." I knew my goal was slipping away from me, but I was mainly focused on just hanging on. That final hill was killer, as it always is, and I was happy to see that I didn't lose too much time going up it. I actually was slower at the beginning of the mile with the headwind than I was at the end of the mile, running up the hill with less of a headwind. That last mile was a 7:22, which is slower than my half marathon pace!

The Finish

Accepting my award- it got cloudy after I was done racing!

After the hill during mile 6 there were a few more turns to get to the finish line. Thankfully, everything was downhill for the last 0.27 miles. The woman in front of me made an incorrect turn, and I almost followed her, thinking it was time to turn. But I quickly realized she had made a mistake so I didn't follow her. People behind me were yelling "go straight." Once again, it really wasn't clear where you were supposed to turn, so some volunteers would have been nice to have at that point. The only reason I didn't follow her was because I had run the course so many times in the past, otherwise, I would have made the same mistake. I continued toward the finish line, and I ran through the confusing cones at a pace of 6:35.

My overall finish time was 44:18 for 6.27 miles, a Garmin pace of 7:05. I was the 4th overall female
finisher, and I won 1st place in my age group. I won a substantial gift certificate to Potomac River Running, which was nice.

I told Greg about the woman who made the wrong turn and I said I felt badly for her--and a little guilty for beating her because of it. But he reminded me that part of racing is knowing the course. It's about more than having physical ability, you also have to have "situational awareness" he said. He told me I beat her fair and square, which I guess is true. But I still feel badly that she made a wrong turn.

The Analysis
Even though I technically didn't meet my goal, I accomplished a lot!

• I ran this race faster than last year by 1:09, and I think it was windier this year, and definitely hotter. 
• I ran very close to my PR pace, on a hiller, hotter and "longer" course.
• I experimented. I tried a new fuel and I tried going out at pace that was faster than my goal (but that felt sustainable), without being afraid to bonk. 
• I avoided making a wrong turn because I knew the course well.
• I won my age group and was the 4th overall female.

I don't have any photos of me actually racing because my personal photographer is now able to race himself! Greg finished in 45:50, which I think is amazing for spending 5 months of last year injured with a broken ankle. 

I definitely plan on running this race again next year-- at whatever time of day it may be! Happy New Year to my blog readers!

Ringing In Hope 10K: A Windy Race Finale

This morning, Greg and I ran our 5th consecutive Ringing In Hope 10K. It's also the 5th year that the race has been put on, so we've never missed one. It's a tradition in our family of two to run this race every New Year's Eve.

I know this course like the back of my hand. Not only do I run this course regularly, but the course is two loops of the same thing, so it's easy to remember.

I had a few goals with this race:

• Stay strong through the wind. Push through it, and don't let it affect my confidence or attitude.
• Be prepared to weave through 5K walkers during the first loop. Don't let this less-than-ideal race setup annoy me.
• Don't waste too much energy on the first big hill, but have the confidence to run it hard.
• Minimize Garmin checks, focus on staying strong and pushing hard.
• Set a course PR by beating 45:57 (from 2012)
• Remember James Reily, my friend and co-worker who passed away a year ago. I raised nearly $500 for cancer research in his memory as part of this race.

Before the Race

Greg and I have this pre-race routine nailed, since we are so familiar with the location, organization,

Greg and I at the start line, 3 rows back.
Photo by Potomac River Running.

etc. We arrived about 35 minutes prior to the race start and warmed up for just over 20 minutes.That left us enough time to go to the bathroom and make final wardrobe adjustments.

It was 31, sunny, and windy. Although the wind did make this race tough, it was forecast to be worse. I wore CW-X compression capri pants, a lightweight long-sleeved shirt, gloves and hand warmers.

Even though I generally like this race, the organization favors the 5K runners. The 5K starts 10 minutes before the 10K, and the 10K course is two laps of the 5K loop. This means that during miles 2 and 3, the 10K runners have to weave through slower 5K walkers and runners. And also at the very end, there are always a few stragglers finishing the 5K at the same time I am finishing the 10K. 

One of the things I am working on is de-sensitizing myself to things I can't control during races, and this is one of them. So I gave myself a goal of not getting annoyed by it and just navigating through the runners to the best of my ability.

Miles 1-3

The race started and I went out at a pace that felt pretty easy. I was feeling good right from the start and optimistic about my performance. The first 3/4 of the first mile is up a long hill. It didn't seem as steep as it had in years past, but it's just long and it's a great place to pass people once you get close to the top. 

Then comes a nice downhill, and then the course starts to roll. After the first mile, I began to focus on the other runners just ahead of me. I was hoping they might "pave the path" for me through the 5K walkers. But eventually I passed them all until I was left with just one other 10K runner. At one point, there was a someone with a stroller and my plan was to run in between the stroller and the cone, but I misjudged how fast the stroller was going and barely made it through the cone/stroller gap without getting hit. I met my goal of not getting mad, I just pressed on and forgot about it.

This course features quite a few turns, and there were some very challenging stretches directly into the headwind. I stayed strong, and reminded myself of how well I did on a recent windy tempo run. 

As the loop finishes, there is another hill. This one isn't quite as long as the one in the beginning, but it's steeper. As with the first hill, this one wasn't as bad as I remembered. I think I must be gaining leg strength from the high mileage and hill workouts. I could definitely feel that my training was kicking in when I powered up that hill.

Mile 1: 7:10

Mile 2: 7:11

Mile 3: 7:20

Miles 4-6

As I made my way up the first hill for the second time, I thought to myself "wow- I worked hard to get here, and now I have to run that whole thing again at the same pace." I tried to rid myself of that thought and see this next lap as just miles 4-6 and not a repeat of what I just did. 

Now that the 5K runners were gone, it was just me and this guy in a bright yellow shirt. We leap-

Photo by Potomac River Running

frogged up the hill, taking turns being in the lead. I think there must have been a tailwind, because when we turned around and ran the other way it was straight into a headwind. At this point, I drafted off of him. He was a good 6-7 inches taller than me and he was running my exact same pace, and it was perfect for drafting. At one point, I felt like I wanted to pass him, and when I made a move to do so, the wind got really intense, so I backed off and just let him shield me from the wind.

We turned and then I got slightly in front of him. The odd thing about this race was that there were no other runners anywhere in sight. I couldn't see anyone in front of me and I didn't hear anyone behind me except for yellow shirt guy. At one point I told myself that the faster I started to race, the more and more likely that there would be fewer people around. I was glad to have yellow shirt guy, because otherwise, there would be literally nobody in sight at all.

As we started the last mile, I got ahead of him, and then I think I lost him completely up that final hill. I didn't look at my Garmin until I was almost at the top, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that my time hadn't slowed. The first half of the mile was into a headwind, and the second half was up a hill, but I felt strong throughout and my pace slowed only slightly. Usually I feel like death up that hill and it was so nice to feel strong and well trained.

Mile 4: 7:12

Mile 5: 7:16

Mile 6: 7:21

The Finish

Mile six closes out at the top of a hill, and then the last bit of the race is downhill to the finish.  I averaged a 6:30 pace for the last 0.3. (This race always measures long because the many turns and weaving). 

My official time was 45:27, which is a course PR by 30 seconds.

I turned around and waited for yellow shirt guy to come in so I could high-five him. He kept me going for a large portion of that race.

I found Greg, who had set a distance PR by 3 seconds! We did a cool down run for about 15 minutes and then headed over to the awards area.

As it turns out, we both won 3rd place in our age groups! We received gift certificates to Potomac River Running. I was the 7th female overall, and it was a pretty competitive field, given how small the race was.

Overall, I am really happy with my performance. It was a somewhat hilly, windy course with quite a few turns and some obstacles. I stayed positive the whole time and I could really tell that I was well trained. I think this race sets me up nicely for my longer races that I have planned in the first part of 2015.

Read the 2013 Ringing In Hope race report.

Windy 10K: A "Process" Race

This afternoon I ran the Ringing In Hope 10K.  I ran this race last year and it was my second-fastest 10K ever (aka a hilly 10K PR). This year, I knew I wasn't going into it as well trained. Last year, I had been

Ringing In Hope 2012

logging 50-mile weeks throughout December, and this year I have averaged in the upper 30's. I would love to be in the same shape now that I was back then, but recovery from back-to-back marathons took awhile so I didn't have time to ramp up like I did last year.

I call this race a "process" race because it wasn't going to be about speed or time. It was going to be about pushing myself, running based on feel (not looking at the Garmin) and finishing strong. I also focused on hydration in the days leading up to the race and nutrition the day of-- which was a challenge for a 1:00pm race. Most importantly, I was running this race for the sake of fun and tradition. Greg and I have been doing this race since it started back in 2010. 

I didn't really know where I was fitness-wise but I was hopeful that I could break 47:00 and fall within a minute of my time from last year.

Before the Race

I kept going back and forth about what to wear. Shorts or capris? The forecast was for 43 degrees and 16 MPH winds, with a "real feel" of 35. If it hadn't been for the wind, I would have gone with shorts. But I didn't want my legs to be too cold and stiff, so I opted for the CW-X capri pants with a short-sleeved Capital Area Runners shirt. 

I looked back at last year's blog to see what I ate and when. This is where keeping a blog really comes in handy! Since I had raced so well last year, I figured I would eat the same thing at the same time. A bagel when I woke up, and then another bagel with peanut butter about 2 hours before the race. Lots of carbs-- maybe too much. But it worked.

Greg and I arrived at the race, picked up our bibs and warmed up. We noticed that the race seemed smaller than in previous years, which was good. The 5K started 10 minutes before the 10K. In all of the email correspondence we received beforehand, the 10K was scheduled to start 15 minutes after the 5K. But they must have realized that this could result in the 5K winner running into a finish line that was packed with 10K starters, since the start line and finish line are the same. In any event, we started 10 minutes after the 5K.

We did a quick warmup, lined up and were running a few minutes later.

Miles 1-2 (7:26, 7:25)

My plan was to not look at my Garmin and race by feel. Since I didn't know what kind of shape I was in and because it was so windy, I didn't want to be married to a particular pace. I know this course like the back of my hand. I knew to expect a long (about 1/2 mile) hill in the first mile and then a fast mile 2. The race started off well, I felt strong and I felt like I was putting forth the appropriate amount of effort. During the second mile, I started running into 5K walkers and joggers. This was annoying, but I knew to expect it. Weaving through small children and walkers was mentally exhausting disrupting to my rhythm, but I did my best to just plow through, keeping my eye on other 10K runners who were going at the same pace as me.

Approaching the finish line

Miles 3-4 (7:44, 7:45)

Mile 3 was tough. This was directly into a headwind and up a hill. Dirt and gravel and stuff came flying at my face and I wasn't wearing sunglasses. It was definitely a physical and mental battle. I knew I was slowing down, but it didn't bother me. I just focused on doing the best I could, knowing that I would soon turn around and not have the strong wind gusts. During the 4th mile, things really thinned out and there were only two other people in my vicinity- both men. Usually I try to pass women in the second half of races as they are my competitors, but there were no women to be seen.

Miles 5-6 (7:26, 7:54, 6:33 pace for the 0.22)

Me and the two guys leap frogged these miles. I kept expecting that they would pull ahead because they were guys, but they didn't. I held my own with them until that last final hill, once again into a headwind. I just couldn't push through it as fast as they could and I let them finish about 5-10 seconds ahead of me. I kept wishing that a mantra would pop into my head like it normally does, but it didn't. I was having a conversation with myself instead, which is fine, but I think I do better if I repeat a mind-numbing mantra over and over. Anyway, the last thing you want at the end of a 10K is a long hill with a 15 MPH headwind. I slowed down, but I stayed strong.

The finish and beyond

In retrospect, I wish I would have looked at my Garmin leading up to the finish line. I was right on the

verge of 47:00 and if I had known that, I think I could have motivated myself to be a few seconds faster. I definitely ran the race as fast as I could until that point, but seeing numbers towards the end of a race always motivates me to pull out every last drop of strength. 

Official finish time was 47:03 (avg. 7:34 pace), which was good for 12th overall female out of 202. I usually win an age group award at this race, but this year my age group was particularly competitive. If I was in my 20's I would have gotten first place, or in my 40's I would have gotten second place. But that's okay- I can't control who shows up and how old they are!

I'm kind of neutral about this race. I am not thrilled, but I am not disappointed. I am satisfied that I ran the best race I could in windy conditions. And it's always fun to keep with traditions. In terms of "process" I did everything right except for maybe I should have peaked at the Garmin at the end. If I can repeat this process when I am better trained and the conditions are more favorable, I know I'll be racing extremely well. I performed to the best of my ability given my preparation (training) and the windy conditions. And that's really all I can ever ask for!

As I look ahead to 2014, I see a lot of question marks. The year feels very uncertain to me for some reason, and I guess I am okay with that. I don't know the extent to which this newish job and long commute will affect my marathon training and how I will be able to balance running, commuting, working, and spending time with Greg. Running used to be front and center in my life and in my mind. And now it's taking up much less space. Supposedly that's a good thing in terms of being more well-rounded and ironically performing better. I guess I'm just adjusting the change.

Happy New Year to my blog readers! I've thankfully had time over the holidays to read some of your blogs, and I hope the continue following them in the future.

Ringing In Summer

On Monday, I ran my 4th Ringing In Hope 10K. Don't be deceived by the number-- this race occurs multiple times per year, and sometimes on different courses.

I typically write a race report within hours of finishing the race so my memory is fresh and that I can have "closure" and move on with my day. In the case of this race, I knew that my report would be overshadowed by feelings of frustration and disappointment, so I waited until I could think more rationally and positively about my performance.

I ran the 5K version of this race last Memorial Day and it was so sweltering hot that I had decided I wouldn't return again. But when the forecast came out for low humidity and relatively cooler temperatures, I changed my mind and decided to go for it. I had also sworn off racing the 10K distance in warm weather (with the exception of Laywers Have Heart-- which I do every year). However, the forecast was for 54 and sunny at the start, 60 at the finish with the sun rising quickly. I thus opted for the 10K thinking that my performance would only be impacted slightly by the heat.

I didn't really have a goal in mind for this race. I ran this exact course on New Year's eve in 45:57 and figured I was probably in similar shape now. I decided not to look at my Garmin and I was just going to run by feel, since that has worked for me in shorter races in the past. I had no idea if the weather would affect me or how much, so I figured that trying to run a certain pace wouldn't be smart-- I would just feel the race.

Before the Race
In the days before the race, I made sure to hydrate well. I drank plenty of water as well as coconut water to make sure I had enough electrolytes. When I ran this 10K back in 2011, I suffered from heat exhaustion and was dizzy/spacey for awhile after the race was over. I theorized that I was drinking enough water, but perhaps not getting enough electrolytes so I since made that a priority.

I dressed in a sports bra, shorts, visor and sunglasses. I knew the sun would be strong, so I wanted to keep it off of my face. When Greg and I arrived to the race, it was actually chilly in the shade, but warm in the sun.  I think if this race had started at 7:00 as opposed to 8:10, things would have been a lot different for me. I wasn't obsessing about the weather, as I used to do, however. I had made a conscious decision to run the 10K instead of the 5K because I thought the weather wouldn't be warm enough to slow me down significantly. I was mentally prepared, physically rested, hydrated and ready to go.

My warmup was just under two miles, and I was feeling great. Afterwards, I met up with my friend Liz, who I had seen just two weeks prior at the Angel Kisses 5K. Liz was running the 5K at this event, too and she told me that they were starting the 5K at 8:00 and the 10K at 8:10. This wasn't advertised anywhere on the website or in information emails, but I figured it wouldn't change things too much and might even be better because I would know who was in my race versus the 5K. I cheered for Liz as she crossed the start line and then chatted with Greg as we waited for my race to start. Greg, who is still recovering from a foot injury, was prepared to take photos of me and hand me a bottle of water at the halfway point.

Mile 1: 7:23 
This race features a long, gradual uphill during the first mile. I always tell myself not to go out too fast on it and to save up for later in the race. I ran up the hill at what felt like a conservative effort for a 10K, and then sped up when it came time for the downhill. I noticed that there weren't very many women ahead of me in the first mile. Maybe 4-5. This worried me in thinking that I had gone out too fast, but everything felt good.

Miles 2-3: 7:41, 7:58
At the end of the first mile and for the entire 2nd and 3rd miles, I was dodging 5K runners. I hadn't thought about this when I learned of the different start times. Typically everyone starts at the same time so I am not passing slower 5K runners/walkers on the first loop. Potentially a few 5K walkers on the second loop, but

The end of mile 3, 5K runners in background

they are all spread out by that point. Instead, I spent my entire 2nd and 3rd miles passing people, yelling "passing" as I ran through very narrow areas of runners. No doubt I was expending extra mental and physical energy here, and it was extremely annoying. There were large families with kids all over the course and nobody was telling the 5K runners to keep to one side or the other. There were several occasions where I just had to plow my way through and yell "sorry" as I brushed against people. It was crowded and I had no other choice. Other 10K runners were doing the same.

The last half of the third mile is a long, gradual uphill. Weaving through people at this point was draining me and at the same time I started to feel really winded and tired out by the heat and sun beating down on me. I had been closely following this one runner since the start of the race, and I watched as she made her way up the hill, keeping my eye on her for motivation and reminding myself of the pace I wanted to be running. When everyone around you is going up a hill at a pace that's 3-4 minutes per mile slower than you, it's hard to stay motivated to run your fastest. Looking at my 7:58 split after the race confirmed that this mile really took its toll on me. For reference, my half marathon pace from Disney last January (which was 60, humid, but no sun) was around 7:50. My Love Rox half marathon pace was even faster in cooler weather.

Finally, I saw Greg at the top of the hill, who handed me a water bottle. I took a few gulps and poured the rest over my head. It felt awesome.

Miles 4-6: 7:53, 7:48, 8:10
It wasn't long before I felt hot again and I was confronted with the same hill from the first loop. Instead of trying to be conservative, I was just trying to survive my way up it, trying to not fall too far behind that woman in the orange shirt who I had in my sight in the first mile. I felt like I was bonking and I was doing my best just to hang on. I was wondering if everyone in the race was feeling this awful but when two women passed me (one during the 4th mile and one during the 5th mile) it didn't seem like they were struggling.

My motivation for the last two miles was just to keep my placing and try to win an Age Group award. I actually caught up to the woman in the orange shirt during the 5th mile and we ran next to each other, but then she got ahead again and I simply couldn't keep up. She looked like she was in my age group, but also sort of looked like a newbie, and I thought that on any other day I could probably easily beat her.

I took some water from a water station and poured it over myself. It felt good, but I was still feeling so exhausted and worn down by the heat. Finally, it was time for that last long uphill. I knew the race would be over soon and I knew I just had to get up the hill and I would be almost done. That other woman was about 10 seconds ahead of me. The woman who passed me in mile 5 was about 20 seconds ahead of me. Liz was cheering for me at the top of the hill and it motivated me to keep giving 100%.

Greg yelled "you're in 7th place" as I was approaching the finish line. I gave it all I had, but I couldn't close the gap between myself and either of the women ahead of me.

After The Race
I felt miserable. I was so exhausted physically and happy that the race was over. Liz and Greg found me and

Liz and me post race

got me a water. I asked Liz how she did and she said she won the 5K. First place! I was so happy for her. I figured I probably won something too, just because Greg said I was 7th overall- not because I considered my time to be competitive.

Liz got her award for winning the 5K and we waited for the 10K results to be posted. I saw that I got 2nd place in my age group with a time of 48:29. The woman ahead of me finished in 48:19- exactly 10 seconds, just as I thought. She took first in the age group.


About 5-10 minutes after I finished, I started seeing black spots and getting dizzy. This happened to me after the Nike Women's half marathon, which was also sunny and warm at the end. This continued off and on for a little bit but eventually went away after spending some time seated in the shade.

I ended up winning a $25 gift certificate to a local running store, which almost covers my race entry. I had mixed emotions about the whole thing. I would have been much happier with second place if the first place winner had been farther ahead of me. But the fact that I was tailing her the entire time and she looked like somewhat of a newbie annoyed me. I was frustrated that the heat sucked so much energy out of me that I wasn't able to trim off 10 seconds from my time.

My average pace was 7:48. By way of comparison, I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April at a pace of 7:37, and that race was windy.

Takeaways
Unfortunately, it took me awhile to be able to focus on the positives from this race. In the hours after the race I felt frustrated and disappointed. Even though I knew I ran the best race I had in me and that I prepared well, it was disheartening to learn how much slower I am in 60 degree, sunny weather. It's not that hot. This kind of weather is perhaps the toughest for me to deal with mentally. If it were 80 degrees, then everyone would have been affected. If it were really windy, then everyone would have been affected. I have others around me to "validate" that the race was tough due to weather. But in this 60-degree sunny weather, it seems like I am the only one affected to such an extent.

I was also disappointed that I couldn't just shake it off and move past it quickly. This is something I've been getting really good at lately-- focusing on the positive and not letting a poor performance get me down. This race was different and it made me realize I need to keep working on staying positive and process-focused.

• I gave 100% effort and there is no way I could have pushed harder.
• Based on my splits, I probably went out too fast. This wouldn't have been too fast for cooler weather- but the first mile was obviously cooler than the last few
• I was the 7th overall female (out of 167) and 2nd in my age group of 30-39. 
• The best way to acclimate to warm weather is to put out a hard effort in warm weather. Hopefully my next hot race this summer will be easier.
• I was good about hydrating in the days before the race and the morning of
• I was happy for my friend and teammate, Liz, to win the 5K race
• I felt really supported by Greg
• Next year, it's back to the 5K!

Ringing In Hope 10K: Strong, Not Clumsy

I ran the Ringing In Hope 10K this afternoon at 1:00pm. Definitely a weird time for a race, but it worked out great.

Ringing In Hope offers a New Year's Eve race and also a summer race. Greg and I have run every New Year's Eve race and summer race since they began in December 2010. We like this race because it's relatively close to our house (20 minutes), the parking is easy, and the course is decent. It's not flat as advertised-- however the hills are manageable because they aren't steep. They are quite long, though.

It was time to put my sports psychology stuff to work. My past few races have all been mono comeback races, so there was no PR on the line. No pressure to perform. Going into today's race, I knew I was in excellent shape but I wanted to keep the same relaxed mindset I had at the Turkey Trot and the Richmond Half Marathon. I wanted to focus on my race strategy as opposed to a time goal. Here are the things I was super focused on in the days leading up to the race:

• Run the first half relaxed, and then really hammer it home in the second half. Note: the course is two loops, so the first 3 miles are the same as the second 3 miles.
• Do not look at the Garmin until after crossing the finish line.
• Instead of looking at the Garmin, focus on running strong, pushing your hardest and trusting that you will run the best race you have in you that day.

So, this race was really all about trusting myself and my ability to pace myself while also pushing hard. Lately, I have been running all of my interval workouts without looking at the Garmin until after I am done with each interval. I've been hitting (and even beating) all of my target paces, so I had every confidence that if I run by feel, I would be able to pace it appropriately. By doing my intervals on the track without looking at the Garmin, I know that it's a more "freeing" way to run. I am focused on getting around the track, looking ahead of me, and focusing on my form. I cannot focus on all of that stuff when I am looking at the Garmin and thinking about that number. 

Usually I consider the Garmin an important part of restraining myself in the beginning of a race and not going out too fast. But today I was going to trust myself. I had no idea what I was capable of, and I didn't want to restrain too much. I also didn't want to have negative thoughts going through my head if my paces weren't as fast as I had hoped for.

I've been told many times over the past few years to try racing without the Garmin. I've actually run some 5Ks that way, and they turned out pretty well. Last May, I ran a 5K on a very hilly course without looking at the Garmin. I knew I was running at my absolute maximum effort. My time wasn't even close to my PR, but I  won my age group and walked away feeling confident that I gave it everything I had. If I had been looking at the Garmin, I think I might have gotten discouraged and let negativity creep in, which is never good during a race. 

This non-Garmin thing was somewhat of a risk. But my sports psychologist is always telling me that I need to "try stuff" and if it doesn't work out, then I need to see it as valuable learning. I was willing to risk going out too fast or poor pacing in order to see if this approach would work. 

So there were many reasons for not using the Garmin. This is not to say that a successful race would cause me never to look at my Garmin again during a race-- I'm not trying to make rules for myself. But it would be nice to have it as a potentially helpful option.

Alright, enough about the Garmin or lack thereof. I had to come up with a fueling strategy for a 1:00pm race. Typically I eat a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast two hours before a race and that works well. But now, I would need to be eating more than once beforehand. I decided I would stick with my bagel and peanut butter at 10:30, so that I would have just over 2 hours to digest it. And then I would also have a bagel (sans PB) for breakfast, as well as a banana, at around 8:00. I also drank plenty of water.

Before the Race

Greg and I arrived at the race and began our warmup with one of our teammates, Cristina. The warmup ended up being 2.5 miles, which was good because it was cold out. 37 and overcast. But after the warmup, I felt hot. I went to my car and changed from my long-sleeved shirt into my singlet. I knew I might be cold, but cold was better than hot. 

During that process, I accidentally left my gloves in the car. There was still about 15 minutes until the race and Greg went to the bathroom, I chatted with my coach, we did some jogging around to stay warm. All of a sudden, I realized I didn't have my gloves. Instead of panicking, I just booked it back to the car. There was only 5 minutes until race start but I knew I could not run this race without gloves. I have reynaud's syndrome and my hands get numb and start to feel frostbitten very easily. I sprinted back to the car, which was almost a quarter mile away. I didn't want to panic about being late to the start, but I did need those gloves. I worried that running so fast just 3 minutes before the start was wasting precious energy, but the gloves were worth it. I did a jog back to the starting line, and arrived just as they were finishing the national anthem. 

Mile 1

Mile 1, Photo Courtesy of G. Buckheit

Greg and I started a little further back in the crowd than I would have liked, especially with lots of kids in front of us. It was a weaving game for most of the first mile, and I tried not to expend too much energy doing so. The first 2/3 of the first mile is uphill. It's a very long hill, but not that steep. I focused on my effort level and not my speed. It's tough to know what pace to start a 10K. Everything of course feels great at the beginning, but you never know how you will feel a few miles into it. 

Miles 2-3

It wasn't until the second mile that I had passed most of the kids and felt like I had my own area to run in. I noticed a teenage kid who was running very sloppily and clumsily. I wondered how I looked. I told myself, "run strong, not clumsy" and that became the mantra that I repeated over and over again for the rest of the race. These mantras just come to me in the middle of races and they are always different! Somewhere in the third mile there was a photographer with a "smile" sign. It was the professional race photographer. I smiled and tried to get a nice photo.

Mile 4

During this mile, I had two women in my sights-- both looked younger than me. One was about 4-5 seconds ahead of me, and the other was about 10 seconds ahead of me. I caught the first one and we were neck-and-neck for awhile. I encouraged her by saying "we got this" but at the end of the forth mile she had fallen behind. The other woman was running really steady and I used her as a bit of a pacer. 

Something that I noticed that was very annoying was the cone placement. I have run this course many times in the past and there never have been cones. They essentially had us running the widest part of the course, so that it was impossible to run the tangents without feeling like we were cheating. In the past, there were never any cones, so I could run the tangents of the neighborhood streets, and the distance ended up being pretty close to 6.2 miles. I kept hearing my Garmin beep well before I passed the mile markers, so based on that, and the fact that the cones prevented us from running the tangents made me suspect that the course would be long. 

Mile 5-6

Running by feel sometimes means closing your eyes!

This was when things really started to hurt and I really had to hang in there. I just kept pushing and pushing at the same effort level and refused to back off.  That last mile seemed to last forever and I kept wondering when that final hill would come because I knew that would mean the end was close.

I passed the photographer with the "smile" sign again. This time I did not smile- I was pushing too hard!

I saw some of my teammates who had finished the 5K during the last mile. They cheered loudly for me and that helped perk me up. The final hill came, it seemed to go on forever, but I powered up it focusing on my form-- strong not clumsy!!! And then there was a nice downhill finish and I really picked up the pace for a very strong final kick. As I approached the finish line, I saw the clock was reading 45:xx. As I crossed it had just turned into 46:00, but since I started a little far back, I was pretty hopeful that I broke 46:00.

After the Race

I saw my teammates and Greg and everyone was all giddy. Most of them had run the 5K, but a few of them had done the 10K. Greg set a new PR of 43:22, which is about a minute faster than his previous PR from the summer. He's getting super fast!

My teammates and I after the race. Can you tell who ran the 10K?

I looked at my Garmin and realized I had averaged a 7:18 pace for the run. This is the exact same pace as my PR from last November when I ran a 45:19.  However, this course was 6.3 miles according to my Garmin (and 6.33 according to Greg's Garmin) so instead of tying my PR, I ended up with a 45:57. I don't want to get hung up on the fact that I could have potentially PRed this race had the course been a true 10K, but it is a little bit frustrating to not "get credit" for the pace you actually ran. It seems that the course was measured properly for the tangents but the new addition of the cones made everyone run really wide.

I was super excited to see my splits and find out how my pacing was after the race. Here's what the Garmin said:

Mile 1: 7:23

Mile 2: 7:17

Mile 3: 7:19

Mile 4: 7:24

Mile 5: 7:07

Mile 6: 7:26

Final 0.3:  6:38 pace

Since this course was 2 laps around the same loop, I find it interesting that I ran the 5th mile 10 seconds faster than the 2nd mile. 

I think I paced this race very well without the Garmin and I'm glad I didn't use it. I was super excited that I ran pretty much the same pace as my PR, only for a little longer and on a hillier course. As suspected, my training over the past two months has put me in excellent shape, and I'm excited to continue the streak of strong, relatively high mileage. I was very process-focused for this race, I didn't have a specific outcome goal in mind although I wanted to break 46. I slept very well in the days leading up to the race and I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

Greg and I stuck around to see if perhaps I won an age group award. It was a decently competitive field with 10-year age groups, so I thought my chances weren't particularly great. However, you never know! I took them a long time to get the results together and it was very cold. I had changed back into my long sleeves and jacket, but I was still freezing in the 36-degree weather. The announcer was rushing through the awards as fast as she could and I caught a glimpse of her paper to see that my name was listed! I won third place for the 30-39 age group with a time of 45:57. I was so excited about this. It was kind of anti-climatic claiming the award since they were rushing through them and so few people were left, but I was happy I stayed to get my $15 gift certificate.

Edit: I just looked at the results and it seems they gave me the award in error. I was actually 4th place. I hope they give whoever they left out their proper award!

End of Year Totals

No December 31 blog would be complete with my end-of-year running stats. Considering I had mono this year, which took me out for about three months, I think I fared pretty well mileage-wise. November and December were definitely my strongest months and I hope to carry the trend into 2013.

Total Miles Run: 1,584

Average Training Pace: 9:00/mi

Total Miles for December: 217.3

PRs: Just 1 PR this year. 10-mile PR in April at 1:15:52

Could have had a 10K PR today without those darn cones, but we won't go there. . . 

Happy New Year to all my blog readers. Wishing you healthy and happy running in 2013!

Racing hurts.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Young