Desert Warrior 10k

I have officially completed my second ever 10k race!

Yes, a Freedom Run! The Desert Warrior 10k - a small race at the Augusta Canal, put on by Airmen who were raising money for the upcoming Air Force ball.

It's been a year and a half since I ran my first and only 10k, so I've kind of been itching to do another one for awhile now. My goal for today? New PR, plus an award if I could pull it off. My other 10k time was 56:52 or something like that. I needed a pace under 9:12. The Canal is flaaaaat, so I didn't think this would be too difficult to pull off.

I was really nervous this morning. The past several days have been a struggle as my body adjusts to Metformin. I'm tired, dizzy, and my stomach is a wreck. I haven't run or been to the gym at all since I started taking the meds. This was gonna make for a pretty interesting race!

I got out there a bit late so I didn't really have time to warm up. I was just anxious to start running. And I did. A couple guys and a girl were way out in front, then a group of 3 (2 girls and 1 guy) were just ahead of me for the first 2 miles. I played it pretty conservatively in the beginning. There was a guy in a white shirt who was behind me THE WHOLE TIME. I was so paranoid about him passing me! Also his hand kept hitting his bib and it was kinda driving me nuts, lol. A girl in a dark purple shirt was with us for awhile and passed me once, but I overtook her again and that was the last I saw of her.

Miles 3-4 were rough. I wanted to die. My stomach was really pissed. I maintained my pace around 8:45-9:00 but really had to dig deep and mentally will myself to keep going at that speed. The white shirt guy was still hot on my heels. The group of 3 in front of me was starting to break up - 1 guy and girl were getting far ahead, but the girl in the light purple shirt was dropping behind. At this point I kind of started to get a second wind. I passed the girl and the guy in the white shirt, and that was the last I saw of them!

Mile 5 I was still going pretty strong but I could feel myself tiring. I kind of shut my brain off at this point. The last mile was broken up into increments. Only .5 left... .3 left... and there was the finish line!

54:28! A pace of 8:45 min/mile. Take that, old PR!

Within 30 seconds of me crossing the finish line, the really fast girl who was way out ahead decided to strike up a conversation with me. Her name is Aubrey - turns out she knows some of my Team RWB buddies! We chatted about past and upcoming races, seems like we're looking to run alot of the same events so I should be seeing her again soon. I felt bad for her though... Aubrey was clearly the first female finisher, but they gave the award to the girl who actually came in second! Aubrey said she finished at least 3 minutes ahead of that girl, which I know to be true because I watched both of them in front of me. I told her she should say something to the staff but she didn't really care. She was really chill about it - I would have said something if it was me!

No awards for me, but I'm happy I did so well today! It was definitely a "I'm going to die" pace, but I'm glad I gave it my best and didn't hold back. I think they said there were only like 18 people who did the 10k, and I figure I finished 6th overall, 3rd female. Not bad.

And I got some cupcakes - one of which was free!

Cherry Cheesecake, Red Velvet

Time to lie down on the couch and rest up a bit!

Celebrating Independence

Howdy yall! Happy 4th!

I just got back from a nice 10k trail run

Well, let me rephrase - nice and not nice at the same time. You know, the whole love/hate relationship with running. Today I went out there to do the best I could, and it was not easy!


I went up to FATS (Forks Area Trail System) in Edgefield, SC. A series of mountain bike trails that are also popular with runners. I have been out here one time before (details here), and today I opted to run the Skinny trail once again. I haven't been consistent with my long runs so I figure a 6 mile trail is about right at this time. I have some big distance races in a few months so I am getting back into half marathon training. And I plan to do the bulk of it on trails.

Near the trailhead

I wanted to push myself today but I didn't wanna go race pace fast, so I guess you could call this a tempo run. The first 3 miles are pretty much all downhill or straight so I was going pretty fast. Probably too fast. I'm not always the greatest when it comes to pacing myself. So by the time I got to around mile 3 I was actually kind of tired. And this is where it starts to be more uphill. There aren't any steep climbs here, the hills are more gradual but they are long. The last 2 miles were a struggle. I definitely went too fast early on and I was paying for it now. I tried to at least speed up where the trail was flat to make up for some of the slowness. But I cranked out an even 6.2 miles before approaching the trailhead. I was literally watching the clock so I could be done. I was so worn out. But it felt so good. All the pain I felt turned to bliss. I was hot and sweaty and it was so very right. I walked the remaining .3 miles back up to the parking lot and stopped to take some pics and just take in the beautiful views.

Trailhead

My watch always lags when I'm out in the woods, probably because the reception isn't great out there. So my pace is always off by a few minutes. It's annoying. After it's all caught up and figured the time it took to travel the distance, it at least shows me the accurate pace at the end. I was hoping I'd be somewhere in the 9-10 minute/mile range.

11:01 min/mile.

Ugh.

Why the hell was I so slow? I felt like I was going pretty fast in the beginning, and yeah I did end up slowing down towards the end but I still gave it everything I had. I was feeling down on myself for a little while... until I thought about it a little more.

First, there's this.

Uh, GPS, not sure what you were doing there in the beginning... but I assure you, I was not moving at a 17 min/mile pace. I could probably walk faster than that. So that's a big part of it.

Second fact - trails are harder than roads. Most people are naturally gonna go slower on trails, especially if there are hills involved. Then I tried to remember the last time I actually ran on the trails, aside from a OCR where I'm not running fast because I need energy for the obstacles too. I couldn't remember the last time I actually went out for a RUN on a trail. I guess I'm pretty out of practice.

Speaking of out of practice, I haven't even run in a week and a half due to the blisters. I've also completely fallen off the wagon with my diet, so all the crap food I ate was doing a number on my stomach this morning. This definitely affected my run today. The weather? Actually not bad, was in the 70's and not humid.

Then I went and looked up the first run I did here on Nike +. I ran that in 1:14, a 12:11 min/mile. I shaved more than a minute off of my pace today.

So having considered all these factors I don't feel so bad now. I will get faster with practice.

I came home and enjoyed this

Today I'm thankful I woke up in a free country. I have all my life's needs met and then some, and I had the ability to get outside and run. Not just through my own good luck and fortune, but because of the simple fact that I was born in America and I can go out and run around in the forest if I want to. There's a lot we do here that is taken for granted. I am grateful every day, but especially so on my nation's birthday. For everything that went into building the nation - the contributions of our troops and civilians, and even of my dad's ancestors (my mom is from Germany) - everything that brought us to where we are today.

I'm not overly patriotic. We have an American flag on the wall in our garage and that's about it. But I do have these crazy ass PJ pants...

Tonight we're just gonna chill. My husband has commanded me to make jello shots! So we're just gonna hang out on the back porch with some music and drinks.

Xterra Hickory Knob 2014

I had myself an adventure this morning. At the Xterra Hickory Knob trail runs

This is a race I discovered last year (recap HERE) I am trying to get into trail running more, and since this one is 45 minutes from my house it's perfect for me.

My "through the pollen covered car window" picture, complete with reflection of running shorts!

I wish I had more pictures, but I just don't. There isn't alot to take pictures of other than the trail, and I'm sorry, if I am racing I am not about to stop and take pictures. There's this big red barn at the parking lot where we congregate and start/finish the races. But this really is a beautiful park. It's quiet (aside from the 40 bikers that passed through at 10am).. The forest was so peaceful and beautiful at sunrise, everything is in bloom and the birds were chirping. Just amazing. I need to get the husband up here for a camping trip!

Anyhoo. Last year I ran the 7.2 mile Lakeview trail. This year I upped the ante and added the 3.4 mile Turkey Ridge trail to my day. They also had a half, full, and 50k, plus triathlons and stuff. 

This race is TINY. Like.. 30 people tiny. Even less people than last year, but they think that was due to some big marathon down in Charleston. 

So our day started at 7:30 with the 5k. 4 people. Lololol. A guy, myself, and 2 other girls. I tried to go pretty fast on this one since it was just a 5k. The guy was ahead of me and I eventually lost sight of him because he was pretty damn fast. The 2 girls were behind me, but they eventually faded from sight and sound and I was clear in second. I did NOT want to be last place, even if it was only 4 people! So the trail was very leaf covered, mostly flat with a few minor hills here and there. It wasn't terribly exciting. And not a single turkey in sight. About 1.4 miles in, I see the guy running back TOWARDS me. This makes no sense, the trail is a loop. He then informed me that I was going the wrong way.

What.

I was confused, but I turned around and followed him anyway. At first I thought he was full of shit. There's no way I could have gone the wrong way. Is this guy screwing with me and trying to sabotage my race? Why would he do that to me? He was ahead of me anyway! All these thoughts went through my mind. Until I slowly began to realize I was passing things I had passed before. Shit. Then I realized where I went wrong.

There was a part where the trail went down to a small creek. The trail was covered in leaves and really hard to see. There was a crossing there. I looked around for a second to try and figure out if it was the right way to go. I saw a yellow blaze just on the other side of the crossing, so there I went. Turns out the trail doubled back at that exact point, and I should have made a right turn and followed the yellow blazes to my right. So basically I hopped back onto an earlier portion of the trail, and proceeded to run in the wrong direction. I met up with the guy because he was on his second lap. 

Yep, I got lost. So typically ME!

When I reached the halfway point aid station, I ran back to the trailhead and explained what happened. My watch said 2.8 miles so I asked the race director if I should just go knock out the last .6 miles, or what? He said not to worry about it, and marked me down for 33 minutes. Um, ok I guess! Lol. I don't really feel right about that, but I would have come in second place anyway. I was way ahead of the other 2 girls. And I guess I'm not TOO stupid, because one of the other girls experienced the same thing. She just happened to look right and choose the correct path. 

SO, after getting LOST, we had a small break before continuing on to the 7.2 Lakeview trail.

Lakeview trail is BEAUTIFUL. It borders a lake - duh - and it's high up on a cliff/hill but it's mostly flat. The sun was shining on the water and there was a cool morning breeze. I started this run with 3 people in front of me and a bunch behind me. Unlike last year, no one really passed me in the beginning. I felt pretty good about that. One couple eventually passed me, then 2 other guys passed me over the course of the race. I rolled my ankle a few times but always managed to save it. Somewhere between miles 4 and 5 I tripped over something and started to fall, so I whipped out my hands and landed on my palms. Scuffed up my knee minorly. My legs and feet were so tired. My stupid tight hip was making it really difficult to pick my legs up high enough, so I kind of scuffled along at times. I was hurting, but not dying. It felt much shorter than last year's, a possible sign of my growing endurance? Before I knew it I was back at the red barn, and taking the second place spot. The couple that passed me - the girl took first. The guy must have been running the half because he was not counted. My time was 1:20, slower than last year but I am not trained for speed like I was last year. And last year I think I was running faster to try and get out of the freezing icy rain! 

So - 2nd place 5k, 2nd place 12k, and 1st place age group (medal!)

As the other racers finished, things got interesting. Nearly everyone was injured!!!

A girl finished 10-15 minutes after me with a twisted ankle. And she said her friend also twisted her ankle, and was walking the rest of the way! Then a guy comes up and says his wife pulled a muscle in her thigh, so he was pulling out of the 50k. Kind of wondered why he didn't stay with her and help her to the finish, but there you go. 3 injured people, damn!! I guess I got pretty lucky, because as I mentioned before I saved myself from about 4 different close calls! 

I had fun hanging out and chatting with everybody after the race. Last year I felt SO out of place at this event, I felt like all the runners there were "elite" and I was just this inexperienced wanna be. But today, I was kicking ass and girls were saying I "probably do this kind of stuff all the time" I felt credible as a runner and could contribute to the conversations we had about running. 

I had a good day - a tiring yet relaxing and fun adventure. Relaxing in the sense that being out on the trails kind of ... soothes my soul?

And finally for your viewing pleasure...

Race swag - Billions of gels and chews, my medal, and my ladies t shirt! Love the colors :)

XTerra Hickory Knob 7.2 mile Trail Race

I completed my first trail race today!

This morning we headed out dark and early, up to South Carolina for the XTerra Hickory Knob Races. The drive was about an hour, and unfortunately my husband had stomach issues this morning and we had to stop at a semi-creepy gas station at 6 in the morning for restrooms and Pepto. Lucky for us my race didn't start until later on, and since the weather was ugly they were pushing it back some anyways.

I don't really have any pictures from this race. And here is why.

Yep.

Weather Channel said LIGHT RAIN starting at about 9:30-10 am. Nope. It was pouring when we arrived at 7:30.

I stressed about how to dress for this race. I knew there was a big storm system moving through the south and that the temps would be in the 40's. But here is my dilemma. This winter I held off on buying any serious cold weather running gear because I knew I was going to be losing 30-40 lbs. I had a few pairs of old gym pants (just the standard loose fitting kind, not leggings designed for running) and I figured I could just get through the winter in those, then buy the serious gear next year when I know what my final size will be like. I did manage to get one pair of running tights on sale for $17, but they ride down so badly it's ridiculous. I can't wear those at all anymore. So, shorts it was. Running shorts, short sleeve top, running jacket. Based on previously mentioned weather report, I figured that a little light rain in 45-50 degree weather would be ok, and that I would be done racing by the time the serious rain hit the area. I was way wrong, and so was that damn forecast!

I froze my ass off out there. This was a very small race that was organized by a handful of people, so it took them a little while to set up. Then there was the 3.4 mile race, and we had to wait for that to finish since some of the people were running the 7.2 as well. Everyone was shivering, even the people dressed warmly! People backed out of the race. One lady I was standing next to just said "I'm not doing this", got in her car and left. For a moment I seriously wanted to. I didn't want to be cold and soaked for 7 miles. Both my husband and I were having a bad morning. But that was PRECISELY the reason I had to do it! I had to get out there, run this race, and try my damnedest, because otherwise we would have had a crappy morning, lost $50, lost 2 hours of driving and gas money, and our time - all for nothing. I would have felt ashamed of myself for giving up, and the thought of what could have been would have haunted me. So I lined up with the other shivering racers, and off we went.

I thought to myself - this isn't a big race. Maybe I could place in my age group if I push hard enough. That became my new goal. Go home with a medal.

I started off pretty strong. In the middle of the pack. I passed some people and some people passed me. Eventually after about 2 miles I was sandwiched between a few people off in the distance. Then the ones ahead of me eventually faded from sight. But there were still racers close behind me. The rain poured the whole time. My hands and feet were frozen, I could barely feel them. It took about 4 miles for me to truly warm up, but that didn't change the fact that I was soaking wet and my clothes were cold. So it was my body constantly fighting my soaking wet clothes, trying to keep itself warm. I realized that the gym pants I had wouldn't have helped one bit, they would have just been soggy flappy pieces of fabric around my legs, weighing me down. (Running tights #1 on my list for next winter!!!)

The course would have been beautiful on a good day. It was called Lakeview, which is exactly what it was. The trail was on a hillside bordering the Strom Thurmond reservoir. I couldn't really appreciate how pretty it was, since rain was falling in my face and eyes and I could barely see. Maybe I should also get a hat with a brim. Around mile 3.5 I slowed to a jog to eat some energy chews just to prevent my hypoglycemia from ruining my day. The racers that were on my heels passed me. Black jacket guy and Purple/lilac jacket girl. I had to pass them. I absolutely could not let them beat me. And once I finished eating it became apparent I was faster, so I took the first opportunity to pass them when the trail widened up enough. Mile 5.5 is where things got hard for me. This part of the course was alot of uphill, and I was tired. My legs wanted to give up - they were still sore from thursday's workout. Purple jacket girl passed me again during this time (there was no sign of Black jacket guy, he appeared to have fallen back quite a ways) I chatted with her a bit, then saw that we had just hit mile 6. I had to push out this last mile and finish strong. This chick could have been in my age group - I couldn't let her beat me! I just wanted to be done - out of the cold, warm and dry! And there was the finish line, with Purple jacket girl well behind me. 1:08 (forgot how many seconds) 9:26 per mile. I finished 13th overall. Not bad for my first trail race, and the longest distance I have run to date.

I scrambled to get out of my soaking wet clothes (in the driver's seat of my car) thankfully I had dry sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt with me. No help for my muddy, soaked shoes however. Chatted with what ended up being the first place female in 25-29 age group, a girl from my area who is in the Air Force. Then, after waiting around in the cold for the awards...

I won second place for the 25-29 females!
I know it wasn't a big race, but a little ego boost is always good. There are so many runners in the Augusta area that I would never win a medal at any races around there!

Despite the sucky weather, I had alot of fun and I'm glad I did this race. I do love trail running. This was a chance to challenge myself at a type of race I hadn't tried before, and we discovered a possible future camping and hiking destination. I pushed myself hard at this race. I refused to let the rain and cold deter me. I could have backed down, but I got out there and did my absolute best. And I am stronger for it.


After returning home to soak in a warm bath and get into dry clothes, we headed out for some much deserved lunch. My husband was feeling better and in a cheery mood. Of course, THE SUN CAME OUT RIGHT WHEN WE GOT HOME. Figures. Lol


We also got these!

I have been wanting to go to this place, and I figured a day when I run a 7.2 mile trail run would be best. Calories don't count on race day! I like to tell myself that.

And finally, I now fit into my size 6 jeans!

I bought these last November. They wouldn't even close back then. I didn't think they could possibly ever fit me, and now they do! Comfortably!

GRU Augusta 10k

Today was awesome! I ran at the GRU Augusta H.M./10K. (I did NOT do the HM! I did the 10k!)

I can definitely say it was one of the best runs I have ever done. My speed was not my best, but speed was not my goal for my first 10k. This has been my longest run to date. It was just such a perfect run - the energy was great, I loved the course, the event organization, and the weather.

My goal for myself- Finish under 1:00:00
My husband's goal for myself - Finish before the first Half Marathon finisher

<<< Me right before the race (cold!!!!)

Got up early and wasn't feeling my best. I didn't get good sleep last night and my stomach was slightly upset. Plus my dog is sick and we had to deal with all that mess. But I had my coffee and made my go-to breakfast sandwich - whole wheat english muffin, egg whites, and a bit of cheese. And I had a nice carb loaded burrito last night at Moe's. So the fuel was definitely there. We still managed to get out there pretty early and I had plenty of time to warm up and get to where I needed to be. It was cold and cloudy this morning. I was worried it might be one of those runs where you just can't seem to warm up no matter what you do, but after I did my warm up I knew I'd be alright.

I parted ways with my husband to get in line for the start of the 10k. There was a lane for the spectators and he went over there and found me in the crowd (guess which one I am!)

I loved the energy of this race. The staff was great, they had music, and an announcer - so it's not like we were just standing there in silence waiting to run. At 8:15 we were off and started down the streets of downtown Augusta. This run was all about pace. Having only done 5k's before, I have been training in the mindset of "GO FAST DAMMIT!" so I have had to retrain my brain for this one and make myself go at a comfortable jogging pace. I kept this up for the first 2 miles. Passed the first water station, ran up a hill and under a bridge, then took a turn and started mile 3. At this point I did slow down for a drink from the water station, and saw what was ahead next - one big, long hill. More like a very gradual but very long incline. I had to switch to "hill running mode", good thing I've trained on hills a little bit! Towards the top I heard a weird noise to my right. It ended up being a lady puking all over the place. She didn't stop either, so it was a run-puke. 15 seconds later she puked again. She looked like she was in decent shape, and the hill wasn't THAT bad, so I was wondering what was wrong. I felt bad for her! After that I neared the top of the hill, expecting relief, only to find that the road curved and the hill kept going! Dammit! But I kept going, and only stopped for a quick walk break at the top of the hill. I was still feeling great. This area of the course took us through a historic section of the city which was really really cool. I live in a small town outside Augusta, and I have only lived here for about 6 months - so I have not been to the downtown area of Augusta very much. It was really cool to run through it and see all the old buildings and huge trees. It had a very "southern" feel, and reminded me alot of my hometown of Williamsburg, VA - only without all the people dressed up in Colonial clothes. There were alot of spectators out along the course who were cheering us on, some with signs, music, and even a small pack of cheerleaders. It felt good to have complete strangers cheer me on.

Before I knew it I was at mile 4, and decided to snack on my Honey Stingers. I didn't feel like I needed them, but I would rather preemptively eat them instead of suffer a hypoglycemic sugar drop. They also gave me a little boost of energy which is always appreciated!

Mile 5 put us back on the street we started on. Still feeling great, but the sun came out and I really started to get hot. There were 2 people that were running neck and neck with me throughout this race. One of them was a guy to my left wearing a grey shirt, and he was wheezing so bad I thought he was about to keel over. I almost asked if he was ok! The girl that was running at my pace wasn't far behind. Once I saw the finish area I "emptied the tank" as is my standard practice.

See, there's grey shirt guy just behind me. I'm in black on the left.

I hauled ass towards the finish line. Didn't even look at the clock. I beat grey shirted afro-puff girl. Did not beat grey shirt guy - somehow he pulled out a huge burst of speed and passed me during the last few seconds, despite the fact that I was sprinting too. Weird, because he sounded like he was dying 5 minutes earlier. I have started to pick out people near me in races and try to beat them - competitive much?

So I finished the race, was immediately handed a medal and a water, and found my husband. I GOT A MEDAL! First medal ever. Then I went and found my time....

56:52

Pretty damn good if you ask me! Alot better than I had expected from myself for my first ever 10k. I met my goal of finishing under an hour, and my husband's goal of finishing before the first Half Marathon finisher.

The funny thing is, I felt like I could have kept running. I think I reached my "endless" pace - where I could just run at that pace forever. My pace was about 9 minutes/mile.

I feel like I have come a long way in 5 months. I could barely run for a straight minute when I started! I never thought *I* would be the one out there running races. But now that I am, it feels great. I am on my way to being stronger and healthier, and accomplishing all kinds of crazy things that the "average" American couldn't or wouldn't want to do.

Victory is tasty.

Race swag!!! They gave us COFFEE!

Now I'm exhausted, dinner is in my crock pot and I ain't doin squat. Except laundry. I expect I'll be pretty sore for the next couple days. My husband has surgery next week too. But after than my training resumes. Spartan Race Georgia in 2 WEEKS! I cannot freaking WAIT!