Leaning Tower Sprint Triathlon

This is all I really wanted to do when I started running last year.  Little did I know that the path I chose meant that I would be running so much more.

Leaning Tower was a great way to see if I really wanted to go further in my triathlons.  This was a good race for a first race and we had a great group out for this race.  (Wendy, Helen, Stephanie I, Stephanie B, Lou, Nancy and I race, while Dave and Judy cheered us on.) It's a 400m swim, 18K bike, and 5k run.  The swim was a breeze, I had no doubt about that. The bike was a little hard.  Getting my legs going on the bike and the heat starting to raise was not fun. 5 loops of that and I was happy I was off that bike.  Then it was off to the run.  OUCH!!! My legs felt like jello, I couldn't get myself moving at all. That was the worst feeling ever. Then it started to get really hot. And worst of it all they ran out of water.  I walked so much more than I wanted to but I went into survival mode once I hit the about mile 2 of the run.  I just wanted to finish and down some water.

The worst part of the race, if you can count it but I did, was that we were to get finisher medals and we got NOTHING!! I felt like I got robbed. We all were pissed because it was our first triathlon and the medal would've been a topper.

But overall a great experience with a great group of friends!!!

Official time:
Swim:      9:19.30 
T1:        1:55.75 
Bike:     48:04.15 
T2:        1:33.75 
Run:      41:56.95 
Overall 1:42:49.90

Frederick's Half Marathon

Nut Job Medal... HERE I COME!!!

Like I really need a medal to prove that I'm a nut job when it comes to racing, but this does prove it.  A 5K the night before and now a half marathon... what am I thinking :)

Well I decided to join a pace group and see if that helps me keep on track. The fact that I know the end of the race, thanks to the twilight, I felt I could tackle that pretty easily. It was more in having that team mentality that I searched for and go it with the pace group.  I chose the 2:50 pace group and it was really great. They had us walking during the water stop and the uphills. The kept us interested in the run and they said it was the first time that everyone stayed together (not falling behind) in the pace group.  When we got to the final hill, a nice steep hill before we turn into the race track for one final loop to the finish, I took off. I could hear the pace team yelling my name telling me I could do it. And guess what, I DID!!! And I even PR'd.  It felt so great. I knew I could do it, but the pace team helped me out so much I really enjoyed it :)

Official Time: 2:50:09.95

Frederick's Twilight 5K

This is probably the craziest idea I ever had.  Let's do a 5k the night before a half marathon.. Why would I do this??? For a medal, the Nut Job medal :)

It was great having a weekend away with Christin and Beth.  Frederick, Maryland is a cute little town and we found the Irish bar pretty easily.  Running this race, and then the Baltimore Running Festival in October means I will be able to get the Maryland Double medal.  WOW I can't wait to see if I can do this.

The race was fun. I managed to find Sid and hung out with him a bit before race time.  The 5k started at dusk and took us thru the end of the half marathon we would be racing in tomorrow. Overall not a bad race and helped me feel more comfortable for what was in store tomorrow

Official time: 37:37.40

CARA 10 Miler

As I continue on my journey towards my Spring Half Marathon, this race just fit in perfectly.  Just wish the weather cooperated. Leslie chose this race to run with me, and I thought it would be fun. But with the rainy ickiness, it didn't surprise me that she was ready to bail even before the race started. But since I was use to running in some of the crappiest weather it didn't really bother me. I just wanted to finish and then go home and veg... Plus it meant another medal to add to my collection.

So we started the race, only to have to deal with wet conditions from the rains that passed. Then we had the hill... Cricket hill as they call it. Oh that was not fun. I really wanted to just lay on my side and roll down the hill like a little kid in order to avoid rolling my ankle. Even thou the rain didn't start back up, we had the winds, and oh damn those sucked. I walked a little more than I wanted to but soon enough I realized I was coming towards the finish.  I texted Leslie to know I was coming and she was already changed and sitting in my warm car. She did come out to help bring me in and cross the finish. That was really nice and felt great to finish strong.

Official time: 2:12:34.5

Egg Shell Shuffle Half Marathon

Ok, so since I have to do 13-14 miles this weekend, I might as well just run it during a race and get a medal for it. So when Julie suggested we do the Egg Shell Shuffle I figured why not, I'll just do my thing and finish no problem. Little did I know that my "thing" would result in me PR'ing for the half.  YIKES and WOOHOO!

Race time was chilly so I opted to keep my jacket with me, but soon I realized it got pretty hot in the open when the sun hit and I had to tie it around my waist. It was definitely a long run. I had this walker dude next to me that just annoyed the crap out of me. Then my i-Pod crapped out and I had to switch to my i-Phone for some tunes. Who knew the hills we would have at Busse Woods but we did and can i say DAMN!!! I had fun during the run at least. I walked when I wanted ran fast when I could and just enjoyed taking pictures of the mile markers and sending them to Julie saying I wanted to be finished :)  But in the end I was happy I did it and I even got my picture taken with the Easter bunny!

 

Official time 2:52:05

Shamrock Shuffle 8K

Why oh why did I do this run... I was not ready for it. Lack of sleep, lack of good nutrition and a lack of heart for running this past month, and more this past week thanks to work, I knew it would impact my time. As I drove in to this race I just wanted to turn back around and head back home and say F* it! 

I started out ok, and then when we hit the bridges (less than a mile out) I was done. I started to walk. And once I did that I couldn't get back into my run. I just wasn't feeling it and it sucked. I wanted to cry. 

I was also dealing with a new toy... My Garmin 910xt and I couldn't figure it out. Just one more thing to screw with my running. I had trouble getting a signal then I couldn't figure out the alerts. I knew I should've played with it a bit before the race but with my work schedule that was just not possible. Ugh. Let's just get this done so I can have my beer :)

Official time: 1:05:43 

Lisle Sprint Sprint 10K

Team run at the Lisle Spring Sprint... Now this was a definite challenge for me.  There were hills, something I was not really use to, as I found out in Baltimore. But I had about 1 run at the Arboretum just before this race so at least I had a little more knowledge, but damn my body was not ready for it.  

10K's seem so much harder to do. With only 1 under my belt, and I did that with a double sprained ankle, I didn't know what to expect, only hoping to do better than DeKalb.  And honestly I did pretty well. I was on the slower end of the pack and I learned the impacts of that... They ran out of water :( And I was unprepared without my fuel belt so it killed me the last couple of miles.  Dave found me right around mile 5 and ran with me. Pushing me to move faster and concentrate. It was really hard because this whole time, my running has been affected by my work schedule. Late nights, no sleep and so stressed I just couldn't get my heart into my running. I just wanted to cry when, around mile 4 one of the managers called me when they were explicitly told not to call me directly.  I totally lost it and wanted to kill... This may have been a good thing because I just focused my anger into my run and pushed thru it.  Once Dave found me I was pushing as hard as I could. But the lack of water was really paying a toll on me. I didn't expect the big hill in the end of the run and it hurt... hurt bad. Dave pushed and pushed, he knew I could do it, even thou I said I couldn't. I wanted to stop. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to cry... Well 1 out of 3 ain't bad. I pushed thru it, swearing up a storm at Dave but I did PR (and I did throw up after I crossed the finish). Overall a great experience, but I need to learn to control my pace so I'm not dying (or puking) at the end of a race 

Official time 1:09:53.9