Pre Race Jitters

Posted by hellyontherun in Half Marathon, Race, Running, Uncategorized and tagged with Determination, Goals, Half Marathon, P.F. Chang's Rock n Roll Half Marathon, Personal Record, Pre Race Jitters, Race, Running, Training January 14, 2014

The P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 marathon has been my Eleanor (catch that Gone in Sixty Seconds reference?)

I’ve ran it twice, the first being my first 1/2 ever and maybe because it wasn’t my best showing, I had forgotten my time and had to look it up! 2:42 at a 12:25/mile pace.

I registered again a few years later having done some more prep work but then discovered I was pregnant a couple of months before the race. I finished at 3:20 with a 15:17/mile pace (I was around 14 weeks).

I’m not ashamed of either time and don’t make any excuses for them; my times are what they are.

All I know is that I finally feel truly prepared for this 1/2. I’ve actually trained and have altered my diet and am mentally ready.

I have a pretty lofty goal this time around.

Okay, here it is.

I want to finish under 2 hours.

I totally get that this is considerably faster than my previous two halves. I’ve done a little math on what I’d have to pace to get that time and also considered the other possible times I might get. This is the range I’d like to be in with of course 2 hours being my main goal:

Time Pace
1:55 8:46/mile
2:00 9:09/mile
2:05 9:32/mile
2:10 9:55/mile
2:15 10:18/mile

It’s so crazy how big of a pace difference it is from 2:05 to 2:00. Like I totally feel I could do a 9:32/mile pace but 9:09 seems so daunting! I think back to my 15K a month ago; I ran those 9.3 miles in a 9:11/mile pace so I know I’ve come close but still….

I think with this particular race, what always has me a little nervous is this

You see that? That thing that happens around mile 10? Yeah, near the END of the race?! It’s already going to be a challenge maintaining my goal pace but to have that to look forward to–well, that gives me the jitters. It helps (a little) that the very end is a decline but I’ll already be running on fumes by then anyway lol!

I’ve done hill work in my training. I know I’m about as ready as I can be for this. I think what’s left is to just trust what I’ve done. Believe that I can do it. I also know that if I don’t meet that goal time, I’m confident I will have improved from my previous two. And that’ll definitely be a win : )

Do you get nervous before a race?

Do you study/memorize the course and elevation map like a crazy person (me)?

Commitment Day 5k Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in 5k, Race, Running and tagged with 5k, Challenge, Family, New Year, Personal Record, Race, Running January 2, 2014

I have to start by saying that I’m officially not a fan of 5Ks. Holy cow do they take a lot out of me!

I was looking forward to this race for a couple of reasons. One, I don’t run many 5Ks so this was an opportunity to get the under 25min I’d been shooting for and I also really wanted to run a New Year’s race.

The start time was 10:30 a.m. but I had to get there earlier than usual because I completely forgot to pick up my bib the day I was supposed to. So, to beat the crowd and get good parking, I arrived at 9. Yeah, I was way early. I got my bib and then walked back to my car to drop off the swag we were given (I do like the shirt!). I noticed on the bib there was a space for us to write “Our Commitment” for 2014. I thought this was so cool and I grabbed a pen and jotted, Challenge Myself. That’s what I want to do this year.

I hung out in my car for a bit since it was cold out (for Arizona) and when I saw 9:45 I started walking to the start line.

There was a big crowd and this was an untimed race so I knew people would be all over the place as far as speed went. I decided that even though I wasn’t the fastest out there, I’d scoot myself closer to the front so I wouldn’t have to doge around too many people.

The national anthem was sung and then a countdown was started. At one, a bullhorn sounded and we were off!

I started running and made sure my watch was at its pace setting. I prefer looking at my pace rather than time/distance.

Once I felt settled in, I glanced down to check out my pace and saw 6:40. I was so confused; that couldn’t be right. I clicked to return to time/distance then clicked to return to pace thinking maybe I had it on a wrong setting. No, it still read 6:40. I stopped looking at my watch and started concentrating on running but was bummed that I must have pressed something to mess up the watch.

I knew we were approaching the first mile because I had studied the map the night before, and soon enough my watch beeped the first mile done. 7:25. WHAAT??!!??

I was in shock seeing that time displayed and realized my watch wasn’t broken, I was really going that fast! I couldn’t believe it. I decided heck, since I was feeling good, I might as well shoot for somewhere in the sevens for each mile.

Mile two-7:42.

I seriously was running in complete disbelief. I knew I was well on my way to getting that sub 25 and told myself to just kill it and get the best time I could since I was already here.

I turned the corner and heard my name shouted out. Who was that? I’m always in such a zone when I run but my name is pretty unique so when I heard it, I turned my head at the direction it came from. It was my husband! I was excited to see him there with my kids and I told myself to go, go, go! The faster I finished, the faster I’d see them.

I could see the finish line in the distance and mustered whatever energy I had left to pick up speed and finish strong. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch before almost collapsing on the event volunteer leading runners towards the water/food table.

I looked at my watch and saw 22:05. NO. WAY. I looked at the distance and saw 2.87 miles. Wah waaah…it was a short 5k course : ( I was a little bummed because I wanted an official 3.1 for my PR 5k. (ETA: A fellow runner friend said she re-mapped the course and got 3.05 miles. Not sure what the actual distance was, but that made me feel a little better) I told myself that even had it been a full 3.1, I would have definitely, without a doubt, gotten a sub 25. Plus, my average pace was 7:41. 7:41!!!

My husband found me and I showed him my time. He’s my biggest fan and supporter so he knew how much I wanted a sub 25. He had the same look I had when he saw 22:05 and 7:41 avg/mile : )

I walked around to cool off. Reaching my goal and seeing that number makes me so happy and proud of the hard work I’ve been putting in lately. I did what I said I wanted to do and that was challenge myself. I’m excited to continue doing that this year.

My favorite cheerleader

–Did you run a race yesterday?

–How was your New Year’s?

2013 Year in Review

Posted by hellyontherun in 15k, 5k, Family, Race, Running, Uncategorized and tagged with 2013, Children, Family, Friends, Goals, Pregnancy, Race, Reflect, Running, Year in Review December 30, 2013

It’s crazy to think that the year is a day away from being over. I feel like since having kids, time goes by at a different pace than before. People would tell me when I was pregnant with my first, my daughter, to cherish the moments because before I’ll know it, time will fly by. Back then, I thought it was just hogwash and would just smile and nod. But whoa! It’s true!

There are so many things I’m thankful for in 2013. So many things that I can reflect on and call special moments. But, I’m going to slim it down to 13 highlights. In no particular order, well, in chronological order… : )

January: I had signed up for the P.F Chang’s Rock n Roll ½ marathon months before and found out I was pregnant the second time two months before this race. I went back and forth on whether or not I should still run it. I decided, literally the night before, that I’d do it and walk/jog the 13.1 miles. Here I am with my husband and my son 13 weeks in my tummy : )

2. April: My daughter turned ONE this month. I just can’t believer that my little girl is growing up so soon and right before my eyes. She is my little energizer bunny that constantly keeps me on my toes. I
love her.

3. May: This was my last month of work. It was a super hard decision to leave my job and become a stay-at-home-mom. There are times that I still wonder if I did the right thing. I love being with my kids and sharing special moments with them, but I also miss my other kids. I miss reading literature and teaching writing and listening to my students’ stories. I miss my co-workers and the knowledge they shared with me. There is a possibility of me returning this fall; I have yet to decide on what I’ll do.

4. July: Helping to start and being a part a Healthy Moms group has been such a rewarding experience. Every day I post a Daily Check-in with a pump up song where moms check in with their workouts. I love reading what the women are doing and seeing their accomplishments. So many have said that the group has inspired them to change their lives and being even a small part of that gives me chills. I may never meet any of them, but knowing I’m remotely a part of their change makes me so happy.

5. July: Oh my goodness, my son was born this month. Throughout my entire pregnancy, I called my son a chill dude and that’s exactly what he is. He is such a good baby. He’s happy wherever he’s at and whatever he’s doing. He’s just cool.

Seeing him and holding him, I knew our family was complete. We have our beautiful daughter and now our son, we couldn’t be more blessed.

6. September: Having been pregnant for what seemed like two straight years (my kids are 16 months apart), I was extremely antsy to get back on the workout field. At 3 weeks post-partum, I began going to hot yoga and at 6 weeks post baby, I ran my first 5k! It was a slow one, but it felt oh so good!

7. October: I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I’m pretty obsessed with my husband. I won the lottery with this guy. Our anniversary is in this month and every year we try and do something fun and memorable. Last year, we ran the Bisbee 1000 and this year we took an amazing mini vacation to San Francisco. Any time I think of this trip, I smile. This trip was absolute perfection. Seriously, I could not name or think of one negative thing. It was just perfect.

8. November: Anytime I can run a race with my husband, I get all mushy and excited. We’ve been running our hometown’s Turkey Trot 5K 3 years now and this year we were super excited as I was finally NOT pregnant! Lol! We had goals in our minds as far as how we wanted to do and I was beyond excited at my final time of 25:40. I had been shooting for anything under 27 and boy did I deliver : )

9. December: This was a busy month for me running wise. I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K early December and was just blown away. I honestly think back at this race and can’t believer that I actually did so well. My goal had been to finish in under 1:30 and my final time was 1:25 with a 9:11min/mile pace. !!!!

10. I had a 5K race not too long after and I had a lofty goal of finishing under 25 minutes (I still can’t believe I’m even saying that!) I finished at 25:05 and was sooo close. But I’m so freaking excited that I’m even in that range and that I had gotten 2nd in my age group 😀

11. Christmas this year was so special because it was our first Christmas in our own home. We chose not to travel this year and I’m so glad we didn’t. It was truly something special waking up and seeing my daughter’s eyes light up seeing the gifts under the tree—how did those get there!?!

12. I had a goal to run 5 races, one for each month of my son’s age at the end of the year : ), and I was able to complete that with 3 5Ks, 1 10K, and 1 15K.

Of course another goal was to lose as much baby weight as I could and with the year closing, I am very happy to announce I’m 7 pounds away from pre PRE pregnancy weight!

13. Finally, a highlight of my year has been “meeting” so many people through this blog and other social mediums related to my blog. I was so nervous about starting this but I’m so glad I did. I truly am thankful to my sole sister Salt, as she gave me the push I needed to get started and is a patient helping hand whenever I need it.

—Tell me about your 2013 highlights!!! I’d love to hear them !!