Racing past 2012
I know I have been neglecting my blog and I know I promised to do better in 2012, but this time I mean it!
So as far as running and fitness went, I did pretty well this past year. One of my biggest goals was to do a 5K race every month in 2012. I may not have done one every month but I more than made up for it by doing more than one race in other months.
The first 5K race I did was in January 2012, the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. My goal for this race was to take it easy since I was running a Half marathon the next day. But of course once I got out there my competitive spirit took control and I ended up running a personal best in that race. I went from a 34:33 from my first race to a 31:43. Shave almost 3 minutes off my first 5K time. I was ecstatic. After that I sent a goal to run a 5K race every month in 2012. For the most part I did it. There were some months where I didn't run a 5K but made it up in the following month when I ran two in one month.
In September I ran my first 10K race. This race was in Atlanta and was part of the BGR "Drive to End Hunger" 5K/10K race. What a fabulous time I had in Atlanta! Had a great time at the conference and the race! The hills on the course were killer but I've learned that I like the 10K distance race. In a 5K, even though it's 3 miles, it feels more like a sprint to me. The 6 miles in a 10K race I didn't feel like I had to sprint so much which was a good thing. I committed the first no-no of race day. Never try or use anything new!! I made the mistake of buying some new insoles for my running shoes and tried them for the first time at the race. After mile 2 I developed this knot under the ball of my left foot. I had to stop twice to massage the knot out. And despite that and the biggest hill I ever saw at mile 5, I finished under my desired time. I wanted to finish before an hour and ten minutes. My official time was 1:09:44. Beat it by 16 seconds! I really sprinted that last .1 of a mile! LOL!
Then in October my husband challenged me to a 5K race. Pffft... as if! I guess I should have taken pity on him but I was in it to win it! And that I did! My time was around 31:17. It was a small race so not only did I beat my husband I placed second in my age group! Yay me! And a friend of mine running her first race came in third in our age group! So proud of her! But I was proud of my husband too. He did really well for his first 5K race.
But after that race I wanted to accomplish a new goal before the year was over. I wanted to run a 5K race under 30 minutes! Also known as a Sub-30. I spent the whole month of November working on it. I had it all planned out. I was going to run the Turkey Trot again on Thanksgiving Day, which was my first ever 5K race and I wanted that to commemorate my entire year of running. I was all set that day to smash the sub-30. But that day was a like a comedy of errors. First that morning it was freezing! Temperature was hovering around the 50 degree mark. And yes to us Floridians that is COLD! Had to add some layers to keep warm. The next thing was when I got to the race I made the mistake of opening the hatch in the back of my car. The arm latch had been giving me problems for months but that day it decided to pop right off and lodge itself into a space where the taillight goes. All that meant I couldn't close the trunk to my car!!!!! UGH! I called my husband and he was like "so you're coming home??" I was like hell no. I have a race to run. So that whole scenario was messing with my head. All I could think about was someone breaking into my car. So that meant I had to hurry up and run to finish!
So anyway long story short I didn't make my goal. I was close, 30:20, but yet so far. Talk about disappointment.
I had one more chance. December 15th was my final 5K race for the year. And I was determined!! A friend of mine who used to run cross-country/track in high school gave me pointers. He gave me a plan to follow for everyday of the week. Even when I didn't feel like doing it, I committed myself to the plan. Even if it meant after a long day of working, coming home, making dinner, giving my son a bath and finally heading out at 9pm to run 4 miles, that's what I did and boy did it pay off.
Finally December 15th arrived and the Ultimate 5K/Quarter marathon was on! One thing I liked about this race( other than being on South Beach Miami) that I haven't seen at other 5Ks is that this one had pace groups. So whatever your desired time was you could run with that group. For this race they had a 28:00 minute group and a 30:00 minute group. Since I wanted to finish under 30 minutes I ran with the 28 minute group and just hoped that the 30 minute group never passed me.
It wasn't long after the start that the 28 minute people left me in the dust. My friend who was faster than me kept making sure I was keeping up with them but there was no way I was going to keep up with that pace. They were running around a 8-9 minute mile. I was more a 9:10-9:20 minute mile. They went ahead of me and I just tried to tune into my music, control my breathing and stay relaxed.
I'm not going to lie, it was TOUGH, but I still felt good. Didn't feel like I was losing my wind or anything. After about mile 2 I looked back and saw the 30 minute pace group coming up on my rear. I said "Oh crap" and picked up my pace. I was huffing and puffing down the straight way to the finish line. I crossed the finish line smashing my expectations! I was going to be content with coming in at 29:59. I didn't care as long as it was under 30 minutes. But my official time was 29:13!!!! I couldn't believe how close I was to finishing under 29 minutes! I was soooo happy! And another thing about this race was that we got a certificate with our times on it!
So now we are in 2013 and from the minute the clock struck midnight I knew this year was going to take me on a journey! And so far it hasn't failed. I ran my first half marathon of the year already. Well my only half of the year since I only do one a year then go into semi-retirement. I need some new goals for this year. I do have a 5K coming up at the end of March. As far as fitness goals go, I may need shift things around. I will share more in my next post!
Happy New Year!
So as far as running and fitness went, I did pretty well this past year. One of my biggest goals was to do a 5K race every month in 2012. I may not have done one every month but I more than made up for it by doing more than one race in other months.
The first 5K race I did was in January 2012, the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. My goal for this race was to take it easy since I was running a Half marathon the next day. But of course once I got out there my competitive spirit took control and I ended up running a personal best in that race. I went from a 34:33 from my first race to a 31:43. Shave almost 3 minutes off my first 5K time. I was ecstatic. After that I sent a goal to run a 5K race every month in 2012. For the most part I did it. There were some months where I didn't run a 5K but made it up in the following month when I ran two in one month.
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| BGR Atlanta conference |
In September I ran my first 10K race. This race was in Atlanta and was part of the BGR "Drive to End Hunger" 5K/10K race. What a fabulous time I had in Atlanta! Had a great time at the conference and the race! The hills on the course were killer but I've learned that I like the 10K distance race. In a 5K, even though it's 3 miles, it feels more like a sprint to me. The 6 miles in a 10K race I didn't feel like I had to sprint so much which was a good thing. I committed the first no-no of race day. Never try or use anything new!! I made the mistake of buying some new insoles for my running shoes and tried them for the first time at the race. After mile 2 I developed this knot under the ball of my left foot. I had to stop twice to massage the knot out. And despite that and the biggest hill I ever saw at mile 5, I finished under my desired time. I wanted to finish before an hour and ten minutes. My official time was 1:09:44. Beat it by 16 seconds! I really sprinted that last .1 of a mile! LOL!
 |
| 2nd and 3rd place winners! |
But after that race I wanted to accomplish a new goal before the year was over. I wanted to run a 5K race under 30 minutes! Also known as a Sub-30. I spent the whole month of November working on it. I had it all planned out. I was going to run the Turkey Trot again on Thanksgiving Day, which was my first ever 5K race and I wanted that to commemorate my entire year of running. I was all set that day to smash the sub-30. But that day was a like a comedy of errors. First that morning it was freezing! Temperature was hovering around the 50 degree mark. And yes to us Floridians that is COLD! Had to add some layers to keep warm. The next thing was when I got to the race I made the mistake of opening the hatch in the back of my car. The arm latch had been giving me problems for months but that day it decided to pop right off and lodge itself into a space where the taillight goes. All that meant I couldn't close the trunk to my car!!!!! UGH! I called my husband and he was like "so you're coming home??" I was like hell no. I have a race to run. So that whole scenario was messing with my head. All I could think about was someone breaking into my car. So that meant I had to hurry up and run to finish!
So anyway long story short I didn't make my goal. I was close, 30:20, but yet so far. Talk about disappointment.
I had one more chance. December 15th was my final 5K race for the year. And I was determined!! A friend of mine who used to run cross-country/track in high school gave me pointers. He gave me a plan to follow for everyday of the week. Even when I didn't feel like doing it, I committed myself to the plan. Even if it meant after a long day of working, coming home, making dinner, giving my son a bath and finally heading out at 9pm to run 4 miles, that's what I did and boy did it pay off.
Finally December 15th arrived and the Ultimate 5K/Quarter marathon was on! One thing I liked about this race( other than being on South Beach Miami) that I haven't seen at other 5Ks is that this one had pace groups. So whatever your desired time was you could run with that group. For this race they had a 28:00 minute group and a 30:00 minute group. Since I wanted to finish under 30 minutes I ran with the 28 minute group and just hoped that the 30 minute group never passed me.
It wasn't long after the start that the 28 minute people left me in the dust. My friend who was faster than me kept making sure I was keeping up with them but there was no way I was going to keep up with that pace. They were running around a 8-9 minute mile. I was more a 9:10-9:20 minute mile. They went ahead of me and I just tried to tune into my music, control my breathing and stay relaxed.
I'm not going to lie, it was TOUGH, but I still felt good. Didn't feel like I was losing my wind or anything. After about mile 2 I looked back and saw the 30 minute pace group coming up on my rear. I said "Oh crap" and picked up my pace. I was huffing and puffing down the straight way to the finish line. I crossed the finish line smashing my expectations! I was going to be content with coming in at 29:59. I didn't care as long as it was under 30 minutes. But my official time was 29:13!!!! I couldn't believe how close I was to finishing under 29 minutes! I was soooo happy! And another thing about this race was that we got a certificate with our times on it! So now we are in 2013 and from the minute the clock struck midnight I knew this year was going to take me on a journey! And so far it hasn't failed. I ran my first half marathon of the year already. Well my only half of the year since I only do one a year then go into semi-retirement. I need some new goals for this year. I do have a 5K coming up at the end of March. As far as fitness goals go, I may need shift things around. I will share more in my next post!
Happy New Year!
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