2013: The Year of Quality over Quantity

I decided it was time to start posting again, if for no other reason then to keep myself accountable in my training this year. Last year was the year of quantity over quality in terms of my running. My goal was to run as many races as I could with no real goal in mind beyond finishing. 21 races later it’s 2013! I love racing, so it was a fun goal to achieve, but my goals have made a 180 switch this year. 2013 will be the year of quality over quantity. I have very few races in mind, and my goal is to focus on eating healthier and getting faster.

One of the things I love about distance running is that you don’t have to be fast, you just have to have the endurance to finish. Having that mindset for the past couple years has taken a toll on my running pace. I remember when I could run a 9 minute mile without huffing and puffing when I first started running. I remember running my 5k PR, and being shocked that I’d run a 5k in 27:30 because I didn’t feel like I pushed myself all that hard. I miss running fast, and I miss starting a race thinking I am fast enough to PR.

This year I’m planning to run fewer races, and focus my energy on training smart for those races I do run. This seems like an ironic goal to make after Goofy last weekend, but Disney is the exception to any of my goals. If I could run every Disney race, I would, and I’ll never do a race there with a time goal in mind. They are too much fun to simply run. You definitely have to stop along the way and enjoy all there is to see. That being said, I do want to PR in a 5k, 10k, and 1/2 this year. I don’t know that I even want to bother with another full this year. I’ve enjoyed the full’s I have done, but I know I don’t have the time to train for one properly. I won’t rule it out completely since the marathon bug has been known to bite at unexpected times, but as of right now my focus is on shorter distances.

So my training plan for race number 3 has been selected, and after another week of recovery from Goofy I think I’ll be ready to hit the ground running!

North Face Endurance Challenge KC 2012!

Just over a year ago I went from 1/2 marathon runner to full marathon runner in super hot and sweaty fashion. After my hot 10 miler this morning, I don’t know how I even managed those 26.2 miles. I’m kind of wimp when it comes to running in the heat, but I love racing and hate taking the summer off. Last summer I forced myself to train and race through the hottest parts of the summer. This summer I ran my last race mid-June then took an over extended break. This morning was my first double digit run in a couple months, and I started getting the itch to run a marathon again. I’m already signed up for the Disney marathon in January, but part of me wants to run one in the fall. Right away I thought about the North Face Endurance Challenge marathon. Last year after the race, I mentioned that I would love to run the race again at another time of the year. I’m sure many of the other runners shared the same sentiment, and lucky for us, they listened. The race is November 17th this year!

The NFEC knows how to put on a top notch event. I’m really hoping this year there is a great turnout for this event because I’d hate to see it leave KC. The aid stations were well stocked with anything you might need. The volunteers were fabulous, and could practically read my mind when I’d hobble up to them at an aid station too tired to form a sentence. The race swag was the best ever. I even got to run in a marathon with Dean Karnazes and have him cheer me on along the course. My praises about the race weekend could literally fill a page, there  were so many great things about this event.

I have a slight dilema with the race this year though…. I was reading my recap from last year and I mentioned that I wanted to run the 50k this year if the race was any month other than August. I’m typically a girl you can trust to keep her word, but having just started training again for fall races, the thought of running 31 miles in 2 1/2 months seems stupid and crazy. At the same time, I would LOVE to run an ultra, and if I’m going to subject my body to that kind of torture, I know I’ll be in good hands doing it at the NFEC in November. Another part of me wants to take revenge on the marathon course that kicked my butt last year. I knocked 20 minutes off my marathon time 7 weeks later, so I KNOW I can do better than my time last year. I’d love to show the course whose boss this year and hopefully get a marathon PR. I’m also working on running 25 1/2 marathon’s by my 25th birthday in April, so I could always check another 1/2 off the list and have a great time doing it too.

For anyone on the fence about this event, I would definitely recommend signing up. I was in your shoes last year when I signed up for the marathon. I was looking for information about the event, and all I could find was information about the trail runs, (which on a side note, I’d love to run one some day!)  Check out my recap from the race last August if you still need some more convincing. Anyone that is looking for a great race to run after Kansas City in October, this race is perfect! You can do a few maintenance runs to keep up your fitness and run another great event at the NFEC in November. If you are looking for your first race to run, the intimate factor in this event is great! Last year I got great advice pre-race from Dean Karnazes on running my first marathon, and I loved that the size of the race provided for that kind of experience. I hope those experiences will still be the same this year!

Here’s the link to register, hopefully your choice of which race to run is easier than mine. You really can’t go wrong with any distance at this event, 5k-50k!

Hospital Hill 1/2 marathon: June 2, 2012

I always get sad when I get near the finish of my favorite races, not because I’m in pain and tired (usually,) but because it means something I’ve been looking forward to is almost over. Hospital Hill is one of those races for me. I look forward to it for several months leading up to race day, then in a couple hours I’m back to the waiting game for the next year. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Hospital Hill since it was the first big race I ran when I started running a couple years ago. I love the atmosphere of this race, especially since it’s a challenging course for everyone, not just the first timers.

I was super excited this year to work the expo for Bondi Band! 3 days of Hospital Hill excitement? What’s not to love about that?

This was only the second time that I’ve done an expo, then run the event the following day. The first time was in Illinois and managed to run a new 1/2 PR by 45 seconds in that race. I knew there wasn’t a chance to PR here, but I tried to rest my legs when I could so I could at least try to beat my time from last year. I made some good choices on Friday, and some not so smart choices on Friday during the expo to prepare myself for Saturday. I decided to wear compression socks and my crocs on Friday for the expo since my feet are usually killing me by the end of the day and my legs are always sore. My legs and feet felt fabulous Friday evening considering I was on my feet for 10 hours by the time I was packed up and headed home. My not so good choices included only bringing 1 bottle of water, and 1 bottle of Nuun to drink the whole day Friday, and not eating any of the snacks I brought with me (I did eat lunch at least!) At the time I felt fine, but I felt the effects of not hydrating and fueling enough on Friday during the race.

By the time I got home, finished up everything I needed to do, and got my race outfit ready and laid out, it was pushing 11. I set my alarm for 5:15 which is a little later than I usually get up for races that are downtown, but I thought getting at least 6 full hours of sleep would be worth it. Traffic has never been a problem for me, and it only takes about 30 minutes to get downtown without traffic.

My alarm went off well before I was ready to wake up, but I knew I couldn’t lay in bed and risk falling back to sleep. I got up and ready to go by 5:45. I left thinking I would be there by 6:15 which is plenty of time to find parking and get to the start. Once I got closer to downtown, traffic started picking up. Eventually I was passing a huge line of cars that I soon realized were all trying to get off at the exit I wanted. I ended up going to the next exit and thankfully knew my way around downtown enough to bypass all the traffic. It took a little longer than planned, but I was still leaving my car 30 minutes before the start. I got to the starting area, found the 2:25 pace group and waited for the start. Since I ran 2:25 and some change last year at HHR, I was hoping to beat that time this year. I figured I would start with the 2:25 group and then push ahead a little at the end.

I liked the idea that Hospital Hill had this year to have starting corrals, but somehow it got messed up and we ended up not starting in separate groups after the first couple corrals went. Honestly though, Disney is the only place that I’ve really seen the corral start system go the right way. Disney makes it a lot harder for those people who think they can get in their assigned corral and jump forward, plus it’s a lot easier to separate corrals with a makeshift fence than it is with a piece of rope. The start seemed more crowded this year.  I don’t know if it was extra crowded because I was running near pacers, or because the start was messed up, but I had to really concentrate on not stepping on people around me for the first mile. It started to get a little more open by hospital hill, and then gradually got more open from there on out.

The weather was perfect for a June 1/2 in the Midwest. I stuck with the 2:25 pace group for the first 1/2 of the race and felt really good. Almost right after the half way point, I started to feel queezy and tired. I had been feeling thirsty the whole race, even after drinking double what I usually do at each aid station, so I finally made the connection that I was feeling so thirsty because I hadn’t hydrated enough before the race. I decided to back off from the 2:25 pace group. It wasn’t worth it to beat my time from last year and feel awful. I started doing my run/walk intervals, and the added regular walk breaks really helped me keep plugging along.

About 4 miles from the finish Kelsey came up behind me and we ended up running the rest of the race together. She was being a rockstar by running this race less than a week after running a marathon, and I think we were feeling the same sentiment that it wasn’t worth pushing too hard during this race if we weren’t going to PR. We ran when we could, walked when we wanted and just enjoyed the last 4 miles. The final miles are always the toughest, so I was glad to have a distraction to make the miles fly by.

After 2:30 hours the finish was in sight. I’m anxious to see the finish line photo because I bet our photo is pretty fabulous. After getting food and flip flops I had to head home to get things done, but I wish I could have stuck around longer because the after party and food is always a good time!

I wore a pretty awesome outfit (if I do say so myself,) with the hopes of making it onto the website or the race program. If nothing else, it gave me an extra boost throughout the race when spectators would call out and cheer me on. I highly recommend running in costume!

The race swag this year was awesome! The shirts and flip flops this year are my favorite ones so far. The medal was pretty much the same as last year, but at least next year the medal should be awesome!

Finally, I thought these two pictures were cool. I found a picture I took of my medal hanger last year after Hospital Hill, it’s amazing how much it’s changed in a year! The last picture was taken after the Illinois 1/2 marathon, so there are 3 medals I’ve added since then missing.

I have one more race in 2 weeks, then it’s time for a much needed break until the fall!

4 weeks and 42.4 miles

Okay, so the title is a little deceiving. I’ve run more than 42.4 miles in 4 weeks, but that’s how many miles I’ll have raced total in 4 weeks after hospital hill this Saturday! I can’t believe the crazy racing scheduled I set for myself last fall is finally winding down. I’ve definitely been busy, but the fun part of racing has definitely made it worth the time it takes out of my Saturdays.

The race that kicked off my 4 weekends of racing was the Running with the Cows 1/2 marathon on May 12th. This was the race that qualified me as a half fanatic last year, my 4th half ever! This year I came back with 10 more 1/2’s under my belt to enjoy a much more crowded, but still enjoyable race. This race was so small last year that I managed to place 2nd in my age group (I should mention that there were only 3 people in my age group, so I would have placed if I crawled the whole 13.1 miles…) The race was in it’s 2nd year last year, but they knew how to throw a great event. Lots of course support and cheering strangers along the route! I was a little nervous that the small race I loved last year would lose some of it’s small town charm when the race more than quintupled (I hope that’s a real word,) in size for the 3rd year. I ran with less than 200 people in 2011, this year there were over 1,000! Great for the race, but I hoped the support wouldn’t suffer. I’m glad I got to the race extra early due to a mix up with my registration. I waited in a huge line to park, but from what others who almost missed the start told me, it got much worse closer to the start time. The race was delayed to allow more people to get to the staging area before the start, and they left the start line open after the official start for those that were running behind due to traffic.

The race itself went off without a hitch in my opinion. The course was a little crowded at first, but opened up after a mile. Lots of rolling hills and beautiful country scenery (and some smells too, boo…) I didn’t have a goal time for this race. I’d noticed on my runs since the Illinois 1/2 marathon that I didn’t feel as strong as normal. I decided not to push myself and just listen to the pace my legs were telling me to run. I started around the 2:05 pacers, but let them go ahead after a mile or so. I ran the first 2 miles, then decided to throw in run/walk intervals because I could tell the hills were not going to be my friend. By the turn around I was running around the 2:10 pacers, which I was fairly pleased with. I knew I wasn’t going to hang onto them for the rest of the race though with my walk breaks. The second half of the race was definitely much slower for me. With the added heat later in the race and my already tired legs, I started tinkering with my run/ walk ratio to take advantage of running down hill. The 2:15 pacers passed me around mile 11, and I tried to hang onto them for a little bit. I ultimately decided it wasn’t worth chasing them if I wasn’t going to PR, so I let them go after 1/2 a mile and took it easy the rest of the race. I forgot to mention that I got a killer sunburn in Florida the weekend before this race, I was a lobster and still recovering when this race rolled around…

Needless to say, a little bit of sun and heat made me feel like I was baking in an oven. The last mile was mostly downhillish, but there was no shade. I was fading really fast, but everyone else around me seemed to be having the same problem. I was so glad to finally get to the finish line after 2:17 minutes.

I grabbed my bag that I checked and some food then started to walk back to my car. After a few minutes of walking a nice guy in an ATV pulled up and offered to give me a ride back to my car. I grateful he asked because I was parked much further away than I thought!

Overall Running with the Cows was still a great race despite the huge increase in size from last year. I love the course, it’s definitely very country!

The next weekend was the 5k for my Girls on the Run girls! It was so much fun running this race after watching my girls go from hardly running at all to running 3 miles. I ran with another coach from my location and we just took it easy and cheered along our girls as we ran. I’m glad the girls on my team all had great role models in their family that ran with them to encourage them along the way. I hope I can be a great role model for my kids like that some day. I got a little teary eyed watching some of the girls celebrate their 5k’s with their parents. It was such a sweet moment for them!

My third out of the four races was the Hot Trot 1/2 marathon yesterday. It was a teeny tiny race on a super hot day. I decided to break out my camelbak even though I hadn’t trained wearing it since last year. I debated all week whether to wear it or not, and finally decided on Friday night to take it. I’m so glad I did! There were 7 aide stations along the course, but it was so hot that even though I was drinking a lot I could still tell I wasn’t hydrated enough.

The race had 25 people running the 1/2, which made me really nervous since it was all run on a trail. I ran the same course last November for the Pilgrim Pacer 1/2 marathon and knew there were lots of hills and curves. I tend to think the worst and hope for the best, so I was paranoid I would pass out due to the heat and no one would have a clue. I also figured I would come in dead last since I’m usually a middle of the pack runner, and I figured if you were crazy enough to run this race despite the heat, you must be a pretty hardcore athlete. Both those worries proved to be incorrect, although I was fairly certain I was in last place for the first 1/2 of the race. It wasn’t until I reached the turn around and started passing people that were behind me that I realized I wasn’t in last.  I ran intervals the whole race because I knew this wasn’t going to be pretty. The race started at 9, and when I got out of my car the temperature was reading 80. I kept my 4/1 intervals for most of the race, and passed at least 6-7 people on the way back to the finish. The last 2 miles were killer, and I gave up my intervals for the most part in lieu of survival. The first 2 miles are mostly downhill, which is awesome until you realize that coming back the last 2 miles are going uphill. I knew I was in trouble when I started getting goosebumps while I was burning up. I got to the last aide station about a 1 1/2 miles from the finish and dumped 2 cups of water over my head and drank a couple cups of water as well. That helped give me some energy for about another 1/2 mile, but I was so hot that I had to stop again. I decided that I had to keep running in some capacity to get to the finish as quickly as possible. I went back to intervals, this time running 30 seconds, then walking a minute. Finally after 2:30 hours the finish line was in sight. I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited to see a finish line in my life!

I had some nice ice cold water at the finish. It tasted amazing! I quickly grabbed something to eat then booked it to my car to get some A/C on to cool myself down.

I was glad I ran the race since I’ve really been neglecting my outdoor training runs. One of the bad things about paying for a gym membership is that I feel guilty about working out somewhere besides the gym since I’m paying for the gym whether I go or not. I’ve definitely been enjoying my treadmill runs a little too much this spring. This was a great training run for Hospital Hill this weekend! Speaking of Hospital Hill, anyone that is running, make sure you come say hi to me at the Bondi Band booth at the expo. I’ll be smack dab in the middle of the booths on a corner and I’ll have lots of great headbands including the awesome aqua color that I’m wearing above! I’m super excited for Thursday to get here, I LOVE working expos, and I LOVE hospital hill! So much love for one event, I can’t wait!

Illinois 1/2 marathon – 4/28/2012

I would say my trip to Illinois was a great success. Lots of bondi band love was spread and a I have a new 1/2 marathon PR! The Illinois marathon is a top notch event. I would probably say it is one of my favorite races I’ve run besides my Disney races. The community really goes all out to make sure this event is a success, more about that later though.

Thursday and Friday were expo days for me. This was the longest expo I’d ever worked, and this was also the first time I was running the event  after working the expo. I wasn’t sure how my legs would hold up being on my feet so much, but I was determined to give it my best effort after last weekends 1/2 marathon fail.

Luckily Thursday was a short expo day, because I was already tired from driving to Illinois and having to set up before the expo started. I always love talking to other runners, it makes the time go by so quickly. Before I knew it the expo was closed, and I was able to relax at the hotel a little that night. Friday was a Looooooong day. The expo was open for 11 hours, then I had to pack everything up afterwards. Luckily it was super busy all day long, so 11 hours felt a lot shorter. I tried to at least lean on a chair when I got the chance so I could save my legs a little, but it was so busy that I didn’t get much of a chance to rest. Being on my feet wasn’t so bad, but all the squatting and bending over were what really made my legs ache. My legs were definitely tired by the time I got back to the hotel that evening. I finished up a few things at the hotel, then laid out my race stuff and hit the sack because my alarm was set to go off 7 hours later. Of course I tossed and turned for awhile, so I have no idea how much sleep I actually got.

When my alarm went off race morning I felt pretty good. It was raining when I got dressed, so I put on a layer of throw away clothes to wear before the start. Luckily by the time I got to the race the rain had stopped, but it was still a chilly wait in the corrals. One reason I loved this race was the fact that several radio stations had a pre-marathon show broadcasting that morning. It was great since I had a 30ish minute drive to the race, it really helped me to get excited about running! Everything was really organized in the starting line area. There were corrals based on time, and your bib had a letter on it based on what your estimated finish time was. There wasn’t anyone checking to make sure you ended up in the right place, but I didn’t have to weave around anyone after the start, so I think most people stuck to their proper corrals. I decided since I was feeling good to start with the 2:05 pace group. I’d heard the course was flat, but I didn’t know how my legs would feel running. I decided to drop back when I couldn’t hold the pace anymore. Another reason this race was awesome was because there were spectators everywhere. Usually there will be some spectators at the start and finish, maybe a few places in between, but there were people everywhere on this course. Usually I feel like a nuisance for others when I’m in a race because the road is closed and the people waiting to get across seem annoyed to be waiting for all the runners. I didn’t feel like that at all during this race. The community really seemed to embrace the event, and a lot of people were cheering in their front yards, or had signs in front of their house for runners. I stayed with the 2:05 pace group for the first 4 miles, but had to drop them at the second water station when I took a GU. I love the smart pace teams in KC because they stop at water stops so we can get a drink, not so for the pace teams here. There was no stopping, and I haven’t mastered the art of taking a gu while running. I ended up keeping a really good pace on my own. I passed the 10k time mat in less than an hour and was still feeling strong. It helped a lot that the course was super flat. Hills really throw a wrench in my pacing, so not having to slow down  throughout helped me keep a nice steady pace. Around mile 10 my legs started to show signs that they were tired from the expo. To add insult to injury, the GPS function on my watch was being wonky, so I had no idea about my pace for the last 3 miles. I know I slowed down, but at every mile I was doing the math in my head to figure out if I had a chance to PR. At mile 12 I had just over 12 minutes to make it to the finish if I was going to PR. I wanted to run fast, but my legs wouldn’t have it. My feet were barely clearing the ground and I even managed to trip and fall over nothing at mile 12.5. I wish the end was more of a straight shoot because there were so many turns, I started to get discouraged looking at my watch because I didn’t know if I was going to make it in time. I had pushed so hard during the race, I would have been pretty devastated if I missed a PR by a few seconds. When I finally saw the finish, I looked at my watch and it was at 2:09, so I sprinted like my life depended on it. I crossed the finish line exhausted, but on cloud 9 for having pushed so hard and setting a new PR. My official chip time was 2:09:13 which translates to a 9:52 pace. A few minutes after I finished the marathon winner finished as well. We finished inside the U of I stadium, and the spectators and runners went crazy for him, it gave me goosebumps being there, such a neat experience!

After the race the food area had pizza and some other food, but I opted for just the banana. I usually love pizza, but wasn’t feeling it after running so hard. While walking back to my car I passed a tent with the official race gear. I didn’t get a chance to check it out during the expo since I was working, so I glanced quickly before going to my car. They had 4-5 of the race jackets left, and I’d been wanting a new one. Most were XS, but there was exactly one left in my size, so I took that as a sign that I was supposed to buy it. I even got $10 off because I didn’t have exact change, and they didn’t have change.

The race swag was great too. The official shirt was a brooks shirt which came in a nice bag.

I’m out of room on my medal hanger, I’ve had to resort to hanging medals off the letters now.

One final picture because it’s so stinking cute. My nephew wanted to try on one of my bondi bands then asked to wear a medal. He’s definitely a future runner in training.

Illinois definitely a great race, I hope I can run it again next year!

playing catch up

I just came to check out my upcoming races and realized it’s been way too long since I’ve updated. I’ve run 4 races since my last post… In my defense, I did start a RNR USA post awhile back that got deleted. Since I’ve been super busy, and don’t see that changing anytime soon, I’m going to do super brief recaps of the races I’ve done since my last post. Hopefully I can get back into remembering to post right after races so I don’t get so behind again, but I make no promises. My spring/racing schedule is rather crazy, and it’s just getting started!

Rock N’ Roll USA – March 17th

I signed up for this race last October at the RNR St. Louis expo for a steal. It was my first non-Disney race that I really had to travel to. Having my parents living right outside of DC for me to stay with made this race super affordable, all I paid was the race registration and airfare! Being an inaugural race for RNR, I wasn’t sure how smoothly things would go. There were only a couple kinks that I noticed that were more an annoyance than a problem. First, the volunteers in the corrals were letting everyone walk up into earlier corrals that they weren’t assigned. There was literally no one checking bibs, which I’m used to running at Disney, then the rope that was supposed to separate corrals was on the ground, not in the air.  I opted to stay in my assigned corral, but moved to the front in order to start without a crowd with people my pace. The other ‘kink’ probably wasn’t the races fault and is probably just typical of larger races. There were some seriously tight parts on the course where I literally had to stop and walk because it was so crowded. Some areas were unavoidable but it was annoying to be so crowded on roads that had another side closed to traffic and runners. If there are 2 extra lanes on the other side of the median closed to traffic, why do you not let runners over there to run? I was so on pace to at least meeting my PR for the first half of the race, but once it started getting too crowded to maintain my pace I knew I wouldn’t be able to make up lost time. I’m still thrilled with my time since I hadn’t trained at a fast pace, but it’s annoying to think I could have done better without the crowds. Tis the life of a middle of the pack runner I suppose…

Diva Dash 5k – March 24th

I ran this race last year the weekend after the princess 1/2, and it was absolutely freezing for the race. This year the weather was much nicer, and the number of participants probably quadrupled! Still a great race this year. I love getting to wear my Team Sparkle skirt for races, so this female only race seemed like a great chance to do so in KC. I’m not really into running 5k’s much anymore since I started longer distance running. I ended up only having 5k’s to choose from when I had to transfer my Rock the Parkway registration.

Ruckus KC – March 31

before

after

This was my first obstacle/ mud race of any kind, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I totally understand why you have to sign a waiver to run, some of the obstacles seemed more dangerous than hard. I think my bib lasted about 2 obstacles before I had to pick it up of the ground and repoke holes in it. The race was fun, but I did it solo and most others were with groups. I’m not sure I’ll do many more of these races in the future. For less than an hour of fun the price is too much for me. I understand it takes a long time to set up the course, which justifies the price, but it’s just not my favorite thing…

Garmin 1/2 Marathon – April 21

This should have been a great race for me. The weather was perfect, the course was fast, and I had a pace team to run with (love them!) Unfortunately mother nature had other ideas because of my brilliant hydration strategy. I was feeling great the first three miles pace wise, but had to take a quick stop at the porta potty by mile 3 and again two more times during the race. The porta potties were few and far between and I probably spent a good 25 minutes waiting in line total during the race! Sometimes I wish I was a male that doesn’t care about doing their business in public. By mile 9 I had to stop and finish the race walking because I was so uncomfortable. I hated that I wasn’t tired, and really wanted to run but couldn’t. The course was perfect! I definitely plan to come back next year and own this course!

 

It seems like I’ve been busy racing already this spring, but it’s about to get a lot busier! I have 4 1/2’s in the next 6 weeks (including 2 race expos for bondi band.) The weekends I’m not racing I’m either out of town, or running a 5k with my GOTR girls! I’ll be excited when summer gets here so I can have a little break, but I have my eye on a couple 1/2’s still that I haven’t signed up for, including a trail 1/2! I have 13 more 1/2’s to run in the next year if I’m going to make it to my 25 1/2’s by my 25th birthday, so I’m trying to take advantage of all the local running I can do!

My goals for 2012

I’m definitely a goal oriented person. When I set a goal, I have a definite thing I want to achieve, and I can create a plan to accomplish whatever goal I set out to do. I have goals in all the different aspects of my life, but surprisingly, my running goals are a lot less structured than any other goals I set for myself. I used to follow training plans when I was tackling a new distance for the first time, but now that I have so many races on my schedule, I’ve thrown training plans out the window and simply do what my body tells me it wants to do. I’m definitely a fan of listening to your body and not pushing yourself too hard if your body is telling you it needs a break. Sometimes though, you have to get uncomfortable to become better at something. With all that being said, here are my goals for 2012, and my plans to tackle these goals.

• I will run 12 1/2 marathons in 2012.

I set this goal for myself right after the new year after realizing I was already registered to run 8 1/2 marathons in 2012.  I now have my 12 1/2’s plan laid out, but more are on the horizon. (Check out my upcoming races tab to see what races I am running this year!)

 

1/2 marathons #1,2 & 3 for 2012

• I will run 25 1/2’s before my 25th birthday next April.

This isn’t a goal just for this year, but a big chunk of these races have to be run in 2012 if I’m going to make it. I just finished number 10 last week, and number 11 is next weekend. I run number 12 right after my birthday this year, so I’ll have to run 13 races in a year to meet this goal.

My 2:10 PR race from 2011

• Run a 2:05 1/2 marathon.

I’m usually a runner that doesn’t care about speed, I focus more of getting in the miles. That being said, I just love to run a good PR. I feel like I’m on cloud 9 for days after the race, so it would be amazing to knock some time off my 1/2 PR. Last year I managed to knock 10 minutes off my 2010 PR. This year I’m going a little more conservative because I know it’ll take a lot of work to run a sub 2 hour 1/2. My current 1/2 PR is 2:10, so I feel comfortable trying for a 2:05. That’s about 20 seconds faster per mile than my current best time. I think I can do it, but I just have to figure out when. I haven’t trained for speed lately, so I don’t think DC will be a good race to do it at next weekend. During the spring/ early summer I have 7 races with no more than one weekend break between each one, so those races seem unlikely. My next option would be to try at the KC 1/2 marathon in October. Although the race is hilly, I would have plenty of time to train while increasing my speed before October. This goal is still a work in progress while I figure out a definite race aim for my PR.

There you have it, my new 2012 goals. I’m excited to have something to work towards, and goals to keep my motivated this year!

 

Disney Princess 1/2 marathon 2012

Since I took so many pictures during this race, I think they do a nice job recaping the race. I’ll try and come back and give a quick review of the race when I have the time, but for now here are all my pictures!

10 half marathons done!

I was bummed snow white left before I got to the front of the line.

I waited about 30 minutes after the race to get my picture taken with a couple princesses I missed seeing during the race.

The comentators were telling me that I was ruining my time taking this picture, even thought they said it was a great photo opp. Apparently they didn’t realize that I already ruined my time taking 20+ other character pictures. Don’t they know Disney races are for fun and not for PR

Gospel choir near the finish line, one of my favorite parts of Disney races

runners turning around to head to the finish

coming into Epcot!

Only a 5k left to go

I loved this! So random, but awesome

I lucked out that I was the last person to get my picture taken before Lilo had to leave

The bachelor groomsmen were hilarious!

Of course the beast left about a minute before I got my picture taken…

Over half way there!

I missed the trumpeters playing as we ran through the castle last year, I was glad that they were playing for me when I ran through this year!

Almost to Magic Kingdom!

Only at Disney will a guy run by himself in a pink tutu, love it!

Drum group at the TTC.

Apparently the stepsisters were the only ones ready for the picture with my camera, of course the professional version of this picture is much better. I think they conspired so I would be tempted to spend money on the pro pictures.

Bummed this picture is so dark with the racecar drivers from the driving experience

Still running sub 10 min/miles, wouldn’t last long as the picture stops were calling my name after I passed mile 3!

I passed the pirates and Disney hunks before getting to the MK parking lot, but I passed them for the time being

2 miles down and nothing too exciting to see yet…

I started about 10 seconds behind the clock time, which was nice because I forgot to start my garmin when I started because I was so busy taking a video of the start.

The Fairy Godmother waiting to send up on our way

Jeff and Sage Steele hanging out in our coral waiting for the race to start

runners in front of me and the start line

Runners in corral A behind me

Waiting near the front of corral A. It was awesome being so close to all the action!

Runners everywhere!

Walking to the staging area. Apparently Disney needs someone in their office that knows about the english language. I believe it should say ‘runners this way…”

On the bus way to early to head to the start

 

Spring Cleaning!

Today was one of those days where I went to the gym, came home and planned to put away the laundry before relaxing and recovering from my race weekend. Well 4 hours after starting to fold the laundry, I ended up with a clean and organized closet instead… I found so much running gear that I had put away to make room for other new gear, and I finally decided to get rid of it. I have my eye on a new running skirt to replace this stuff. Most of these items have hardly been worn, I went through a time when I had a compulsive running skirt gear buying addiction and bought everything, this is sadly only about a third of what I own…

Running skirts are 10+ S&H. If you want all my size 3 athletics (there are 6,) you can have them for $50+S&H. I know this is super cheap considering what I paid, but I don’t really want to mess around with Ebay. Please email me if you are interested in anything, I don’t always get alerts of comments that are posted on here. mrsechols2008@gmail.com

If there is a line through something, then someone is already interested in that item. Feel free to still contact me about it in case they decide not to get it, then you can be the next person in line for it.

• Runningskirts.com size large red mini dot strappy tank (I love this top, but I wore it once and it didn’t fit me right :() ($10)

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back with bonus pocket.

• Runningskirts.com strappy top size medium ($5)

• Runningskirts.com purple plaid athletic skirt (built in compression shorts) size 3 – fits pants sizes 10-12. ($10)

• Runningskirts.com strappy top hot pink mini dot size medium ($5)

• Runningskirts.com hot pink mini dot athletic skirt (built in compression shorts) size 2 – fits pants sizes 8-10. ($10)

• Runningskirts.com pink plaid athletic skirt (built in compression shorts) size 3 – fits pants sizes 10-12. ($10)

• Runningskirts.com navy athletic skirt (built in compression shorts) size 3 – fits pants sizes 10-12. ($10)

• Runningskirts.com fuchsia athletic skirt (built in compression shorts) size 3 – fits pants sizes 10-12. ($10)

• Runningskirts.com pink princess athletic skirt (built in compression shorts) size 3 – fits pants sizes 10-12. ($10)

• Runningskirts.com red athletic skirt (built in compression shorts) size 3 – fits pants sizes 10-12. ($10)

• Runningskirts.com red/white running skirt (built in briefs) size 5 – fits pants sizes 12-14. ($10)

• One More Mile unisex 1/2 marathon shirt (size medium) & matching green headband ($5.)

• Runningskirts.com runlove Black compression socks $5

• Sweaty band ($5)

• New Balance pinkish orange arm sleeves (never worn) size L/XL. ($5)

• Smart wool arm warmers size L/XL – free to good home + S&H

• spibelt – free to good home + S&H

• run girl tech shirt size medium – free to good home + S&H

That’s all I have for now!

Princess 1/2 marathon Weekend 2012 – The expo

I arrived in Orlando on Friday afternoon, so the plan was to check into our hotel and head straight for the expo. I checked in and dropped my bags off in our room. I was pretty excited to see that we got a savanna view since I only booked a standard one. We’ve been on the sunset savanna before at AKL, and the animals typically don’t frequent this side of the resort, but there were animals out there a lot during this trip! I took a few pictures of the friends that were enjoying the sun before heading to catch the bus to the expo.

I know the expo can get busy and I think we lucked out last year not having to deal with the crowds. I wasn’t sure what to expect heading there around 3 on Friday, but I was hopeful it wouldn’t be too crowded when only one other person got on the bus to the expo with me.

It was a really short ride to the expo since AKL is on the same side of Disney that the Wide World of Sports complex is. It was especially nice being so close because I ended up going back to the expo 2 more times to return and pick up things I forgot/ didn’t get the first time.

First stop was a tent in the middle of a field to get bib numbers. There was a line to take pictures with Cinderella’s carriage before going in, but the line was super long. I usually don’t mind waiting, but I was antsy to get my stuff, so I bypassed the line and went straight into the tent. There were a couple princesses inside the tent posing for pictures, so I decided to get my bib and then get in line for those pictures.

Well once I got in the line (which wasn’t horribly long, but still a decent size,) I noticed that most people were having serious conversations with the princesses, and it wasn’t just a quick picture before moving on. I estimated the line being about 30-40 minutes long, so I figured I would just get my pictures with the princesses during the race. I left the tent and walked the red carpet to the expo to get my race shirt and check out the vendors.

Disney really has the best expos. I walked down to the official merchandise area to browse. I was thinking about one of the princess Jacket since I have one from last year that I love. I changed my mind after seeing the $65 price tag and realizing they were pretty similar to last year. I ended up just getting an ‘I did it’ shirt ($25) before moving on to the rest of the expo.

I’m kind of bummed with the fit of the shirt, I liked the style last year better. At least I got a shirt when I did because when I was back the next day the ‘I did it’ shirts were practically wiped out!

I walked around for probably 45 minutes – 1 hour looking and shopping. Here’s a rundown of everything I picked up with prices for those interested!

One more mile visor -$12

Sparkly bondibands! I also got a red one, but I took these pictures while unpacking and the red one was in the wash. I think these may be my new racing bands, so much fun! 3 for $20

One more mile car magnet $4. I was excited to find a 39.3 magnet since they were either sold out or didn’t have any official ones during marathon weekend when I was at the expo.

front

back

Raw Threads tech shirt – $37

I also got a 26.2 travel mug from Lift your Sole for $10, and some sports beans for the race.

After the expo I was pretty famished. I ate breakfast before heading to the airport around 7, and all I’d had to eat since then were some snacks on the airplane. I decided to grab a bite at the Mara and enjoy the warm weather by the pool that evening.

I might have gone back for seconds on Zebra domes later in the evening. I LOVE these things. I ate them like they were going out of style when we were at AKL for our wedding/ honeymoon. I had forgotten how amazing they are! I decided to jump in the pool after a bit, but it was freezing! I ended up in the hot tub in less than 5 minutes. I tend to be cold, so hot tubs are definitely more my speed. It was nice to relax, but I smelled something burning, and I happen to love the smell of burning wood. I went off to search for the source of the smell and found a fire pit near the pool where they were letting people roast marshmallows. Having never camped growing up, it was a first time experience, so I did the opposite of what all the little kids were doing. They all had charred black marshmallows, but I’m happy to report that mine was had a nice tan color to it and was wonderfully gooey in the middle.

While I was roasting marshmallows I remembered that some WISH people were meeting at the Grand Floridian that night, so I figured I would head over there since my SIL’s flight kept getting delayed. I made it to the Grand Floridian in record time after realizing that the plan was the meet 30 minutes earlier than I thought.

It was great to finally put some faces to names of people that I’ve been talking to about this race for the past year. After the meet I headed back to the hotel to unpack and animal watch. I was glad I didn’t have an early wake up call for the 5k the next morning!

Next up, Princess 1/2 marathon race recap!