5k PR!!

Today was the St. Patty's Day 5k in Wilmington! Matt and I were both hoping to get personal best times.  We woke up bright and early, 7am and the race started at 9:30. 

For breakfast I had a slice of great harvest dakota toast with peanut butter and apple butter.

And then all hell broke loose as it usually does on race morning. My stomach always hates me on mornings of races. I'm positive it's the nerves and there's pretty much nothing I can do about it besides some of my go to remedies:

Today I took pepto. I usually go for immodium but I was out!

organic ginger candies

And then we were off to the race:

It was the perfect day for our run. It started in the 50s and was well into the 60s by the time we finished.  It was a pretty flat course which I appreciated very much. I looked down at my watch after mile one and realized I had just run a sub 8 minute mile. Holy cow. I told myself to slow down because there was no way I was going to keep this up.  I finished mile 2 at 16.30 and realized that getting sub 26 minutes was within reach.  After I saw 3 miles pass I sprinted to the finish and crossed at 25.45!!! Yay I did it. I ran an 8.18 pace, finished 108 out of 400 people and 11th in my age group. 

Matt on the other hand kicked major ass.  He finished in 20.39.  He's pretty much rediculous. He got third in his age group!! So proud!

When I got home I made a good lunch full of protein. I made an eggwhite omelet with broccoli, zucchini, spinach and feta cheese. Then I had my favorite chobani on the side, apple cinnamon.

Look at the steam coming off that baby!

We're taking it easy now and then heading out for some St. Patty's day drinks later tonight!



I Finished!!

Today I ran my first 10k and it was awesome!!  I ran faster than I thought I would on a pretty hilly course.  I finished in 56.24 with a 9.06 pace. 

I started out the morning with a lite breakfast:

I had a peice of great harvest dakota toast with peanut butter and apple butter, a banana and some coconut water.  I woke up about 2 hours before the race started to make sure that my breakfast was digested.  I went outside to take Champ for a walk and realized that it was FREEZING!! Not quite what I had expected, but I layered up!  I had underarmor on every part of my body. Before I left the house I made sure to have a dose of my race buddy

Thank God for this stuff. Saves me every time.

The temerature 30 minutes before race time.

The race started right on time.  This is definitely the biggest race I've ran so far. There were hundreds of people.  I was super nervous before we started as usual.  I got there kind of late so I didn't have time for a final pit stop or to even take my tshirt back to my car (I hope the kid that picked it up out of the parking lot is enjoying it).  Here's how the race went:

Mile 1: OMG IT'S COLD!! This is pretty much all that was running through my head. My feet were numb for the first two miles.

Mile 2: I finished mile 1 in 9.30 so I picked up the pace a little and stated getting some feeling back in my toes.

Mile 3: Wow the first three miles went by fast! Oh hey there are my parents and Matt with Champ!!

Mile 4: This is when we started the second loop around.  I knew what I was in for at this point and I was starting to dread the two big hills that I knew were on the way.

Mile 5: Ok big hills are done.  I can do this.  Just try and keep this pace

Mile 6: SPRINT!!! I can see the finish!! CRAMP! OUCH! SPRINT!!

All in all a pretty great race.  I was really happy that I had done some interval training with hills in the gym and I had tied in some weight training for my legs.  As bad as I thought the hills would be, this is actually where I ended up passing a good number of people. And now for some blurry photos via my fiance's old decrepid camera (love you!!)

That's me in the black and pink finishing the first 5k going around for number 2!

Right before the finish!!

Overall I finished 125th out of 246 people.  I got 11th in my age group. Not bad.  I would love to do a half marathon next year! I wish that winter wasn't on its way so that I could run more outside, but I guess that will have to wait.  I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Saturday. There's a glass of wine with my name on it.



Race Goals

Hey everyone! Well it's the day before my 10k and I've been sitting here thinking about what I want to get out of my race. 

• Mainly I want to finish the race without stopping.  The only reason I every stop in a race is because of a cramp and the only way for me to avoid them is to drink a lot of water/coconut water and to try to keep my breathing even.  For some reason I am very prone to side cramps.
• I want to finish under 1 hour! I have done this during practice a few times so I know it's possible.
• Work on my pre-race nerves so that my stomach doesn't freak out on me.  Since I have an unpredictable stomach, I usually take Imodium on race days. I totally sound like an old lady saying this but it really helps me. 
• Have fun. I really want to enjoy my first 10k and I hope that finishing will give me the drive to train for a half marathon for next year.

Well I am at work, so I better keep this short.  Today is our Thanksgiving lunch at work and I cannot wait! Then I'm off to meet with a graduate advisor at the university to discuss classes.  And then....I'm off to TWILIGHT!!!  I will leave you with an adorable picture of the cutest puppy ever.  Mine of course: