May in Review

A nice easy run with the neighborhood girls on Saturday morning brought May to a close for me.

Bright shoes on a Saturday morning!

May 2014 Stats
97.5-- running miles
2- walking miles
13-- biking miles
0-- elliptical miles
0-- kettlebell workouts
0-- stair workouts
0-- fitness app workout
0-- upper body weight fitness workouts
0--  leg weight fitness workouts
1/3--  monthly fitness challenge workout
0-- Assorted cross training exercises workouts
112.15-- total miles

Current 2014 Stats
425.54-- running miles
22.16-- walking miles
13-- biking miles
4.1--  elliptical miles
8-- kettlebell workouts
6-- stair workouts
1--  fitness app workout
1--  Assorted cross training exercises workout
3--  upper body weight fitness workouts
1--  leg weight fitness workouts
1  1/3--  monthly fitness challenge workout
464.80-- total miles

2014 Mission check-in

Mission #1: Make an effort to eat more fruits and vegetables.
Action Plan: Always have fruits and vegetables cleaned, cut up, and ready for consumption.
Action Plan: Choose healthier options when snacking.
Mission #1 was not the best in the month of May.  I was full of poor eating habits while marathon training and sadly have the 15 extra pounds to prove it.  I am making a very serious effort to get this back on the right track.  So far so good for June (yes I realize it is only the second day of June...baby steps)

Mission #2: Accept and embrace that my best is good enough.
Action Plan: Stop comparing myself to others and compare myself to the person I was yesterday.
Action Plan: Define my own success and measure it by what I am able to do.
Mission #2 is still where it needs to be!  I'm only competeting against myself!

Mission #3: Run 1400 miles in 2014.
Action Plan: Run.
Action Plan: Run some more.
Mission #3 is slow and steady.  97.5 miles run in May (974.46 miles to go).
Mission #4: Run happy.
Action Plan: Run training runs and races with friends as often as I can.
Action Plan: Listen to my heart and not the beeps on my Garmin.
Action Plan: Be thankful that I have been blessed with a healthy body that allows me to run.
Mission #4 is spot on.  I am thoroughly enjoying running with friends and helping them achieve their goals at races and on training runs.  I also loved that  my kiddos crushed it in a 1 mile fun run at the end of May.

Successfully helped two ladies set 5 mile PR's (one sub 45 and one sub 50)!

Love that my kids wanted to run.  Not sure why Grant isn't smiling!

Grant and his friend Tyler before they ran.  These two 8 year olds busted out a 7:25 mile! 

Kaelynn was in need of a massage after running an 8:40 mile!

 Mission #5: Do other workouts in addition to running.
Action Plan: Find workouts I enjoy and actually do them.
Action Plan: Participate in some monthly fitness challenges.
Mission #5 did not go very well at all in May.  I kind of fell off the additional workout train.  I did get in 2 bike rides and I also walked 2 miles.  The only other thing I did was make it through 1/3 of the Kettlebell Swing Challenge for May.  I have no excuse other than I was too tired from marathon training.  Now that the  marathon is behind me, I will be working to get this mission back on track for June!

 

 

Monthly challenge- FAIL

I can honestly say that I am happy with May even though I lost sight of a few of my missions.  I am working very hard to get my eating and workouts back on track.  It should get easier in two weeks when I'm off work for the summer and the kids have less activities!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Cleveland 10 Miler Race Report

The weather has been a bit odd here lately. It figures that they were calling for rain, clouds, and wind this morning. Fortunately it was around 55* so it was comfortable to run the race in shorts and a long-sleeve shirt. I headed over to Marilyn's around 7:15 , her husband took a quick before picture and we headed to Edgewater Park for our 10 mile race.

Going into the race I was hoping to break 1:25 which would put me right around 8:30/mile. We got to the park and headed to the pavilion so I could check my bag and we could use the restrooms. Shortly after 8:30 we were off. I had to do quite a bit of weaving to get out of the pack that had formed at the start line. I hit the first mile marker in 8:23 and I thought okay perfect I have a few seconds to play with based on my goal pace. Then something happened in a race that has never happened to me...I hit mile 2 and my split is 8:23. Wow, I found it a little odd but was happy with it since I was still on pace to reach my goal. Right after mile 2 there were a lot of spectators and I guess that motivated me because I hit mile 3 with a split of 8:16. After mile 3, I would take a quick look at my splits but didn't memorize them and since I have no idea how to retrieve that information from my Garmin FR60 I can't tell you what the rest of my splits were. What I can tell you is I had several more 8:23 splits because I remember thinking it was a little strange but hey it was working. I did run a few splits slower than 8:23 and a couple more faster than 8:23 over the course of 10 miles. From approximatley mile 7 on, I was playing leap frog with another woman. Around mile 8 she looked at me and said good job. I responded with a you too. We rounded the corner and hit mile 9 and then it was long steady strides for the final mile. One of my co-workers/friends was at the finish line and she was yelling at me to finish strong and telling me I was looking good! That gave me the boost I needed and I crossed the line in 1:21:34 (chip time). Definitely under 1:25 and a new 10 mile PR. The last time I ran a 10 mile race I was 16 and I finished in 1:23:28. After I received my finisher's medal I headed to the tent to retrieve my bag and grab some post-race fuel and I then found Kerry and Danielle (coworkers of mine) and of course took advantage of another photo-op!

Kerry (on the left) had to leave to go to a bridal shower so Danielle (on the right) and I stood at the finish line to wait for Marilyn and Kristin (a friend of Danielle's) to finish the race. Right around 1:44 I saw Marilyn approaching the finish line and snapped her picture. As you can see she was very focused on finishing! She wanted to break 1:50 and she finished in 1:45! Way to go Marilyn!!

I headed back into the pavilion to find Marilyn and we of course had to get our post-race picture taken!

The one interesting thing about the race was the fact that there was also a relay option (each person would run 5 miles). I think it is a great idea and would be a lot of fun to do sometime. Fresh runners tagging in at mile 5 made me feel like I was really slowing down. Before I psyched myself out, I quickly reminded myself that I had been running for 5 miles and they were just starting.

I feel like I ran a very consistent race. In fact, the race results seem to verify my consistency.

First 5 miles

40:49:76 (8: 10/mile)

Second 5 miles

40:44:27 (8:09/mile)

Official chip time

1:21:34 (8:09/mile)

One week from tomorrow Cuz Michele and I will be running the Pittsburgh 1/2 Marathon and I am hoping I will be able to maintain a relatively similar pace. Only time will tell since today's race was pretty flat and there will be some hills in Pittsburgh.

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Sole to Soul 5K Race Report

One week ago today we welcomed the first day of spring. The weather this past week has been great, well that is until Thursday when we had snow. Sure enough the weather was calling for 28* for today's 5K. Is Mother Nature playing a cruel joke on us? Seriously, this is what I walked outside to this morning...snow and frost on the grass and a layer of ice on the truck.

The weather report proved to be quite accurate as evidenced by the outside temperature at 7:37 AM.

My neighbor Brenda met me at my house and followed me to pick up our other running buddies, Deb and Marilyn. We had decided earlier in the week that we would all meet at Deb's house and walk to the start line which was about a mile from Deb's house. Of course when we made this decision it was much warmer than it was today. We had Deb's husband take our picture in the warmth of the house and then headed to the start line.

Me, Deb, Marilyn, and Brenda

We talked while we walked to the start line and it wasn't nearly as bad as we had anticipated it would be. It was definitely cold but we had extra layers on for the walk. When we got to the start line it was a "balmy" 27*. Once to the race site we were talking about the race. I had mentioned that I had no idea how I was going to do because I have been running such long distances at a much slower pace than my usual 5K pace.

A few minutes later, the bell rang and we were off for our out and back 3.1 mile run. My plan was to run how I felt and that is exactly what I did. I guess I felt really good because my split at the 1 mile mark was 7:40. I was feeling great and kept going and trying to pass people in front of me and then before I knew it I was at the turn around point of the race. My legs were feeling really good and I ran a 7:20 for mile 2. A few minutes later I saw Marilyn approaching the turn around point of the race and she yelled out to me to let me know that I was the 7th woman overall. I yelled back a thank you and kept moving. I could see the number 6 woman about a 1/4 mile in front of me, ponytail swinging. Once I spotted her I just focused on that ponytail and started closing the gap. I finally passed her around the 2.5 mile mark (according to my Garmin). At this point I knew I was likely going to run a PR and then I turned the corner and saw the finish line and the clock that was showing a 22:XX and I gave it my all. I finished in 23:01 (chip time) and I was ecstatic to realize that I had PR'ed by over a minute (1 minute and 7 seconds to be exact). I was certain that I had placed in my age group because usually it is top 3 women and then 3 deep in age group. When the results came in I realized that they only did the first female and then 3 deep in age group. Now here's the kicker, the age group today was 30-39 which I have never heard of. I am usually in the 35-39 age group. Had the age groups been broken down the way they are more often than not I would have placed 3rd in my age group. At first I was frustrated by this but then I realized that 6th woman and 34th out of 207 overall is definitely an accomplishment that I should be proud of. I ran a 5K last year right around this time and I decided to look up my results from that race....30:57. Wow, I ran 7:56 faster this year.....what a difference a year makes!

After everyone finished, we walked the mile back to Deb's house and once again had our picture taken in the warmth of her house. Well, 3 of the 4 of us had our picture taken. Brenda had better things to do like get her nails done...I don't blame her! Nothing like some pampering after a race!

Deb, myself, and Marilyn

Tomorrow calls for a 16 miler. Here's hoping my legs cooperate and it is a good run!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

St. Malachi 5 Mile Run

I ran the St. Malachi 5 miler this morning. Fellow blogger Connie ran the race as well. We messaged each other on our blogs on Thursday to try and come up with a plan to meet. We exchanged a few emails yesterday and decided we would meet at 9 AM near the porta potties behind St. Malachi. We mentioned what we would be wearing to each other. It was very easy for me to spot Connie as her gray and pink Nikes were a dead giveaway from her blog. It was so great to meet her. We stood in line (shivering) to use the porta potties and then went inside to seek shelter until the 9:45 start. We talked a bit about running and our kids. Both of our parents had run marathons which I thought was a very interesting coincidence. Around 9:35 or so we headed out to the start line and it was definitely cold waiting for the start. We talked about our goals for the race. I mentioned that my Garmin was still giving me some problems and it was my plan to calibrate it on the course which meant I would not have a running time on my watch and would have to rely on the splits that would be called out on the course. I also wanted to try and maintain an 8:30/mile pace. I decided that was a reasonable goal since Connie had mentioned that there were some hills on the course (they were nothing like the hills at the 1/2 last weekend, thank goodness). I figured it would be good practice for the Pittsburgh 1/2 Marathon in May as I would like to maintain close to an 8:30 pace during it. I asked Connie what her plan was and she mentioned that she would like to improve her time from last year's run but with all the distance training she wasn't sure about her speed (I can relate to that). A few seconds later the race was underway. I planned to run how I felt and that is exactly what I did. My first mile was a 9:02. I was quite surprised it was that slow. I still wonder if that split was off because miles 2-5 my splits stayed right between an 8:25 and 8:30 pace. As I was running up the hill to the finish, I heard Connie cheering me on which was great because I don't normally have people at the events with me (and if I do they are usually running the race as well). I crossed the finish line in 42:13 (8:27/mile). I can't complain! I am very happy with that finish! In fact it is a PR for a 5 mile race (of course this race was my first 5 mile race so any finish time would have been a PR). Head on over to Connie's blog at http://runsinthefamily.wordpress.com/ for her race recap (which I am sure is coming soon).

All in all today's race was great! Got in a great workout, "technically" ran a PR, stuck to my pacing plan, and got to meet a great new friend! Thanks again Connie!! You are going to be awesome in Boston!!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

A jingling good time at the Reindeer Run 5K

Headed out to run a local 5k this morning with Brenda and Deb. When we all met at my house the temperature was around 30 degrees. Off we headed to Lakewood Park. Upon arriving, we were given jingle bells to put on our shoes, afterall it was a reindeer run. Among the many bell wearers, there was Elf, Mrs. Claus, and a few reindeer running the event with us. They all looked great and were certainly there for a good time!

As mentioned in my previous post, my goals were two-fold, placing in my age group and breaking 24:30. I ended up with 5th in my age group, but I ran another PR. Chip time: 24:08.45. I was passed by number 4 in my age group with less than .1 miles left. I did however outsprint a guy that had been running with us the whole way so that did boost my ego a little bit. Not sure what it did for his though...sorry buddy.

I also had a new playlist for today's race. The songs that motivated me today during the race and while cooling down included the following list.

~Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
~One Shining Moment by David Barrett
~Where I'm From by Jason Michael Carroll
~My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson
~The Best by Tina Turner
~I Run for Life by Melissa Etheridge
~You're the Inspiration by Chicago
~Toes by Zac Brown Band



I have to say this has been the best play list I have run to so far.

You inspire me...you're simply the best...keep running!


Brenda, Deb and I pre-race (taken by Kaelynn age 7)


















Post-race (taken by nice fellow runners)

Turkey Dash 5K

What a better way to start Thanksgiving than to run a 5k. So it was up bright and early to get ready for the race. My goal for this race was two-fold. I wanted to run a 24:30 and place in my age group. Neither one of these goals would come true for me on Thursday. However, even though I didn't run a 24:30, I did run a 24:34 which is 12 seconds faster than my previous 5k PR! I believe I was in the top ten for my age group. I was passed near the end of the race by at least two other women in my age group. The best part of the race was doing it with friends and having my kids cheering me on at the finish. There is nothing more motivating at the end of a race than hearing your 7 and 4 year old say "go mommy go". So even though I didn't meet my goals, the race was awesome and very rewarding. In fact, my 7 year old asked me if she could run it with me next year. We will see how that goes. I am signed up to run another 5k this Saturday. The Reindeer Run in Lakewood, Ohio. My goals for this 5k will remain the same as the goals I had for the Turkey Dash 5k.

I had an awesome workout today and it made me believe that both of my goals for Saturday are certainly within reach. I will be making a new playlist for the 5K on Saturday. If you have any suggestions for my playlist, please share!!

Keep running and remember "you inspire me" and "you're simply the best"