Juneathon Day 19: hot, Hot, HOT

Yesterday was 90 degrees and I thought it would be a good idea to run 6 miles. I’m a genius, I know.

Good Lord, it was so hot and muggy. Every step felt like 12 steps. Every mile felt like 3. Needless to say, I stopped to walk a few times (and believe me when I say, I RARELY stop to walk on my runs). I don’t think my speedy run on Monday helped any either.And I may have been pretty ambitious with my pace at the start. Whoops.

Mile 1: 9:23

Mile 2: 9:17

Mile 3: 9:37

Mile 4: 10:51

Mile 5: 10:40

Mile 6: 11:48

When I was done, I drove over to Shopko and filled up my water bottle and bought a Clif Bar. I did some shopping in Appleton and needed something to tide me over.

Juneathon Day 19: 6miles. 1hour 1min.

Juneathon Day 16: Like a Slug

I ran with my running group again this morning. We met again at Runaway Shoes in Darboy. Today the plan was 10miles.

The whole run I just felt “off”. I couldn’t find a good rhythm at the start. Things got okay for miles 3 and 4, but then things went downhill from there. I felt really sluggish today, too. My speedy pace from Wednesday was no where to be found. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom the whole time. Not a good feeling.

It was pretty decent running weather. Cooler in the start, warming up towards the end. I couldn’t wait to get back to Runaway Shoes and use the porta-potty (who else can say they are LOOKING FORWARD to using a porta-potty?!) I didn’t feel that much better after. I ate a piece of bagel that was set out for everyone (Runaway Shoes is next to Big Apple Bagels in a strip mall), and then left.

I think there were two main factors to why this run wasn’t a particularly good one. 1) I was sort of hungry the whole time. I ate a Clif Bar before I left, but I should have had a banana as well. 2) Monthly visitor is approaching. Do any other female runners feel sluggish and crappy during this time? I felt this way in April, too. Boo being a girl sometimes. So I don’t think either of those situations helped. Next week the mileage drops down to 7 before going back up to 12 the week after. Hopefully those go better!

Mile 1: 9:25
Mile 2: 9:40
Mile 3: 9:27
Mile 4: 9:25
Mile 5: 9:40
Mile 6: 9:53
Mile 7: 9:50
Mile 8: 10:15
Mile 9: 10:24

  Juneathon Day 16: 9.6miles. 1hr 34min.

Juneathon Day 9: Bellin Run 10k Recap

This morning was the Bellin Run 10k and it went really well!

Friday, my sister and I went to the expo, which was held in Astor Park in Green Bay. It was really hot, but the booths were all under tents, so it wasn’t too bad. I picked up my bib and t-shirt. This was the first race I’ve been in that’s used Corrals, and I ended up being in Corral 3. Then we did some browsing around and shopping. I was able to register for the Fox Cities Marathon and it was $10 off the current registration price! $60, I’ll take that. I also bought some white shorts and a blue Bellin Run shirt.

This race isn’t capped, so there were roughly 18,400 people running. The largest race I’ve been in so far.

Expo

This pool looked so refreshing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got home after the expo and got all my things together. The chip for my shoe had the race name and date on it! I thought that was pretty fancy!

Outfit!

The race didn’t start until 8:00am this morning, so I got up at 6:00 and ate a banana, a Clif Bar, and drank some water. My dad and I left at about 6:30. We were able to find a decent parking spot and then we walked to Astor Park.

My aunt was running too, and we found her out of 18,000 people!

She was in Corral 1. Speedster.

Around 7:35 we migrated over to our corrals. I gave my camera to my dad (he’s not that great with technology) and went to wait for the start.

Next to me in the Corral was a guy with a shirt that said “Bellin Run Legend”. I wanted to talk to him, but I was too nervous shy. The Bellin Run Legends have ran in all 36 Bellin Runs. That’s a pretty good accomplishment! Their bibs were red, instead of the color corresponding to what corral you were in.

At 8:00 the race started and my dad caught a few pictures of the first groups of people (which was great because I never get to see the start!)

My Team Triumph

This organization lets kids and adults with disabilities participate in road races, even if they can’t run. The disabled person, known as the captain, is pushed or pulled through the race by their angel. My Team Triumph has been in three of the races I’ve done (Oshkosh, Cellcom, Bellin).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elites

Crazy guy in the green suit!

I crossed the start line at 8:08. The course is laid out well. It goes through Green Bay and then through some residential areas. The only downside was that there wasn’t a whole lot of shade. When it’s 75 degrees, everyone was looking for shade. There was one stretch where there were NO TREES AT ALL. It was super hot and no aid stations on that road either. A few hills, but nothing too steep. Lots of spectators. Radio stations were at almost every mile marker. There was energy (and people) everywhere.

For this race, I really wanted to beat my 10k time (57:34). I used a pace calculator that I found online to figure out what I’d have to run for a solid 57:00. This morning I wrote them on my wrist so I would remember. Even though it was supposed to be hot, I’ve ran in the afternoon since my half-marathon and I think my body is getting better running in the warmer temperatures.

I started out slowly. I was feeling pretty good. The heat wasn’t TOO bad yet, and this was the part of the course with shade. Because it was only 6.2 miles, I didn’t plan on taking water/Gatorade at every aid station. I planned on stopping at 2. Also, like the Cellcom, residents were encouraged to put out sprinklers.

Mile 1: 9:29

Mile 2: 9:18

Mile 3: 9:06

That first mile was a little crazy. There were obviously a ton of people to weave around and I just couldn’t find a decent pace. I was trying to not go out too fast. It was hard. Mile 2 seemed to fly by, probably because it was downhill. I took some water at the aid station around mile 2. Mile 3 was kind of a blur. I think that was the part with no shade. My time at the 5k point was 29:05.

Mile 4: 9:03 (I didn’t feel that fast!)

Mile 5: 9:12

Mile 6: 9:09

I took some Gatorade around mile 5 and I think I lost some of my speed there. The water stations were really crowded. There were also a lot of kids participating in this race, and they always ran in groups. It was hard to weave around them and most of them were running sort of willy-nilly.

Whenever I’m training and I have mile 1 left, I keep repeating that in my head. I countdown that last mile “3/4s to go!” “Halfway done!” “You’re so close!” Well, I definitely did that during that last mile. As we got closer to the 5.5 mile mark, there were more and more spectators. I knew the finish was so close. That last bit I was just running on pure adrenaline. Running for a new PR. It felt great! I missed where my dad and uncle were standing, but my dad caught a picture! Yay!

I ran fast, fast, fast to the finish and I did beat my 10k time! By 16secs! That first mile was slower than I wanted, but I’m still happy with my new PR!

Once you crossed the finish line, there was a LONG walk back to the park. There were people handing out water and you could get a finish photo for free. I got a photo and then my aunt and I got one together too.  We went back to the park, but it was getting really hot, so we left.

Overall, it was a good race, even with the heat. The crowd support was great. The water stations seemed to have plenty of water and there were extra precautions due to the heat. The only downside to this race is the amount of runners on a 10k course. Some of the bigger half-marathons have about the same amount of runners, but those runners can spread out over 13.1 miles. Over 6.2 miles, there isn’t a lot of space for people to spread around. So that was the only downside to not having this event capped.

I’m happy with my new 10k. And it was my first 10k! Next up (once I register) is the Firecracker 5k on the Fourth of July!

Juneathon Day 9: 6.2 miles. 57:18

Cellcom Half-Marathon Recap!!

Sunday Race day!

Sunday morning my alarm was set for 4:45am and I woke up so nervous! I’ve never been nervous for any of my other races, although this race was 10 miles longer than all my previous races. I was ready to go by 5:15, so I left. Good thing I did because on the way I was still a little hungry, even after my Clif Bar, so I stopped at Festival Foods and bought a banana.

I arrived in Green Bay at 5:50, parked, and walked to Lambeau Field. By this time, it was almost 70 degrees. There was water for people to drink and some bagels and fruit too. I stretched and just stayed relaxed. I had done my training, I tapered last week. I ate normally. Drank fluids Saturday. I knew I was ready.

I migrated to the starting area around 6:40. There weren’t corrals, just signs posted with paces on them. I lined up between the 9:00-10:00 minute mile signs.

The gun went off at 7:00am and we slowly waited to cross the starting line. I felt fine when I started running. My nerves had gone away and I was looking forward to the next 13.1 miles.

Because of the heat, I wasn’t aiming for 2hrs anymore. I just wanted to finish safely. My plan was to take water and Gatorade at almost every aid station and whatever food was offered.

The support from the community was wonderful. Almost every part of the course had cheering crowds and that helped tremendously. They stood out in the heat and cheered all the runners on. Awesome. And many homes put out sprinklers and hoses for runners to go under. I went through almost all of them and it sort of gave me a wake up when I was getting warm and tired.

Mile 1- 9:38

Mile 2- 9:49

Mile 3- 9:45

I was feeling good those first 3 miles, haha! We were running around residential parts, so it was pretty flat. I took water at every station but the one at mile 2.

Mile 4-9:46

Mile 5-9:48

Mile 6-9:51

Then miles 4-6 were still pretty flat. I dumped some water on my head at one of the stations, but I was still feeling good.

I knew once I hit mile 6, I only had a little ways until I saw my family. Yay! They were watching at my aunt and uncles house that was along the course. I ran passed them and gave them a wave and felt so good! I needed that then. It was (almost) the halfway point and their cheering helped me keep going. My uncle had a sprinkler and I ran through it and kept going.

The sea of runners

I’m the waving dork in the middle

Although, once we got to mile 6, it was a steady incline until mile 8. Around mile 6, they were handing out orange slices, which were very yummy and appreciated (although I should have grabbed 2 instead of 1). Then at mile 7 there was GU. After my last GU fiasco, I definitely didn’t want the vanilla one, so I got the chocolate. When I went through water stations, I walked or jogged. It only took about 5secs to down the water and I was off again, so I wasn’t too concerned, especially with the heat. I would rather be hydrated and finish than skip water stations and not finish.

Mile 7- 10:22

Mile 8- 10:10

Mile 9- 10:13

A little slow going here. This was the boring part of the race. Mile 7 had quite a few hills, which were hard. But there were lots of spectators along the hilly section and that helped.

And this is  the part of the race where my Nike+ watch decided to stop tracking distance. I’m not sure if it was the heat, the sprinklers I kept going under, or a combination of both. I didn’t notice it until I picked up some speed, but my average pace on my watch was going up and up. Then I noticed that, according to my watch, I wasn’t going anywhere. So I stopped it and then synced it again.

I knew that once I got to mile 10, I had this. Even though it was hot, I had done 5ks before and I just kept telling myself that’s all I had left. That was until my inner thighs started chaffing really badly. I’ve never had problems with chaffing before. I consider myself lucky. I probably wouldn’t have had chaffing problems today either, but I went through all those hoses and sprinklers and when the water dried it made my skin more sticky=more friction=OUCH! So, that sucked, a lot.

(These paces are from the official race website and also from my re-synced watch. They are accurate-ish)

Mile 10-10:05

Mile 11- 9:44 (I have no idea. This is crazy!)

Mile 12- 10:19 (Walked through a water station, VERY HARD MILE!)

Finish- 10:09 (YAHOO!)

Since my watch stopped, I had no idea what mile I was on. Stupid me. Then, I saw mile marker 12 and I got so excited. I was so close! And that last mile was the HARDEST of the whole race. The wind had gone away. Barely any spectators. And no shade covering. I knew I just had to keep going. I could see Lambeau Field in the distance. It was SO CLOSE. I downed some water and ran.

We rounded a corner and entered into the Lambeau parking lot, where the finish line was. Even though that last mile was hard, I was determined to finish strong. The perfect song came on my iPod, I got a huge grin on my face and just ran. I don’t know where the extra energy came from, but it was there and I felt great. The crowd was cheering and clapping. And I crossed the finish line. Fantastic feeling. I fought the heat and miles and beat them both. I am a half-marathoner

Crossing the Finish Line!

Half-Marathoner

I got a few pictures taken and then got some water. My parents found me and they took some pictures as well. I had to use the port-a-potty since about mile 8, but was afraid to stop in fear that I wouldn’t start again. Finally, once I was done, I used one in the parking lot and it was a pretty awful experience. I felt worse when I came out than when I went in. I needed more fuel than just water. When I got dehydrated in February, I had diarrhea and then passed out. I DID NOT want that to happen. The parking lot was really warm and I needed to get my bag at the bag check and get some Gatorade or food.

I got my bag and felt much better when I got out of the sun and continued walking. After we got my bag, we started to leave to go get some breakfast. Perkins was our breakfast destination. When we got there, I saw on the Cellcom Marathon’s website that the course got closed due to the heat. Out of the 8,000 runners that started the morning, only 3,225 were able to finish before they closed. They were running out of ambulances for all the people that needed help. 22 people ended up going to the hospital.

I’m so glad that I was able to finish. I would have been really disappointed if I wouldn’t have been able to. After watching the weather the past few days, I knew I wasn’t going to make my 2hr goal and that was okay. I knew I had to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate that day and the days leading up to it. Again, I wanted to go slow and finish, than go fast and end up at the hospital.

I know this won’t be my last half-marathon. I still want to break 2 hours! There is a half-marathon I want to do in August to prep for the full marathon in September. Although, after Sunday, I’m quite nervous about signing up for the full. I have some time to think about it. And I probably still will sign up, knowing me

Project 365: Days 112-120

There are lots of pictures of food in this set. Why, I don’t know. I guess I was just hungry. And more pictures of my dog. I’m sorry if you’re sick of her because she has had her picture taken already about four times, but she’s so cute I can’t help it

The last few pictures from April!

April 22

Crossing the finish at the Oshkosh 5k. And getting a new PR!

April 23

Van I spotted at work.

April 24

I love me some Peanut M&M’s.

April 25

Penny. So adorable.

April 25

I found mini Clif bars! Awesome. They are perfect right before work!

April 26

Cake and ice cream at work. It was a bad day at work and was just what I needed.

April 26

Leaving work I saw this license plate on a Kia Soul: Soul Dr.

April 27

Lost the ear bud cover on my long run. It sucked.

April 28

I bought this book about 2 weeks again and haven’t looked at it yet. Shame.

April 29

All my tanks in rainbow order.

April 30

Mini Clif Bar! So great!

19 Days

19 days until my Half-Marathon. Holy Cow. It still seems far away, but so close at the same time.

My runs last week were okay. The 5mile run on Tuesday was decent. Then I attempted to do a pace run on Wednesday by going slow for 0.5 miles, speeding up for the next 2 and then slowing down for the last 0.5. Well, somehow the middle 2 miles were the slowest! Gah. So that sucked.

Friday was my first double-digit run of 10 miles. I had a Clif Bar and my C4 pre-workout drink before I started. My last long run I had a Clif Shot Chocolate Gel and it was super yummy. This run I had a GU Vanilla Bean. Trying out a few different ones to see what I like. I set out and I was immediately hungry. The. Whole. Time. Not fun at all. I couldn’t wait to get to mile 5 (my turnaround) so I could have my gel. Mile 5 came, I stopped and ripped open that gel and it was disgusting. I didn’t like it at all. The Clif Chocolate one tasted like frosting, it was great. This one was awful and that was all I had. So that was disappointing. And of course, I can’t remember for the life of me where I got that Clif Gel. I’ve been racking my brain and I can’t remember.

Besides the disappointing gel, my run was pretty decent. I seemed to have a slow mile followed by a little faster mile. So I am pleased about that run.

Today I was supposed to do 3 miles, but ended up doing 5.12. I felt good the whole time and got into a really good running groove. I kept picturing my half and when I was coming towards the end I really gave a push and finished strong.

Looking at my paces from my Nike+ watch, they are okay. I would still like to finish in or around 2 hours. I went onto the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon website and found that they have pace teams. I think I want to try and stick with the 2 hour pace team for the majority of the race. Having people around me going the same pace always helps. Hopefully I will be able to meet the pace leader at the expo on Friday.

Today I was also going to sign up for my next race in June, the Bellin Run 10k. I always thought this race was longer because it’s a pretty big deal in Northeast Wisconsin, but it’s only a 10k. The race is on June 9th, so about 2 weeks after my half. Then probably the next pay day I will sign up for my MARATHON! Crazy.

Which gels do you like, if you use them?

Have you ever ran with a pace team? If so, how did it go?

(Late) Fitness Friday: Half-Marathon Training Week 6

I moved some stuff around in my schedule this week. My rest day ended up being Wednesday, I did some resistance and strength training on Friday and did my long run today. I should be back to normal next week. Tomorrow I have the Oshkosh 5k and I went to the race expo today. It was my first one and I bought a pair of compression socks. My calves have been really sore after running, so I figured they would be a good investment.

Monday: 3.11 mile run. This was a hard run. It was cold and windy and rainy. It sucked big time.

Tuesday: 4.11miles. Not as bad as Monday, but definitely not good.

Wednesday: Rest day. And hello monthly visitor. No wonder my runs at the beginning of the week sucked.

Thursday: 3miles on the treadmill. I didn’t have a fan or a towel. I was sweaty buckets. And my GPS watch wouldn’t sync with my foot pod. BOO!

Friday: Cross-training. I bought a resistance tube and some stretch bands to work on flexibility. I also wanted to use the stretch bands after my runs to stretch my hamstrings.

Saturday: 9.22m run. I ran on a trail. 4.5 miles on way, 4.5 miles back. Before I headed out, I ate half a Clif Bar and mixed some C4 Extreme powder into some water. I took a Clif chocolate gel with me and some energy beans (I was able to put them in my little pouch/fanny pack. It also held my phone and car key!) I ate my gel when I turned around and it was so good. I had never had one before. After my run, I finished my energy beans. And downed some chocolate milk. Here are some pictures from my run today.

There were these little inspirations on the road!

Paved trail. This was all on the way back.

Then it turned to gravel-ish trail.

Oh heeey, it’s just me running.

Pace Yourself.

Yum, energy beans at the end!

My new little pouch worked out well, although it sort of sad awkward on my hips. I might have to tighten it. And I need to get my watch to sync! I used the stopwatch feature instead for today.

Are you racing this weekend?

Do you run on trails or on the road?