Winning with Wellness 5K Race Recap

Last Saturday I ran the Winning with Wellness 5K. After achieving my 10K PR goal at the Shamrock 10K two weeks prior I knew I had it in me to PR in the 5K distance so I signed up for this race. To say the odds were against me that day would be an understatement. We woke up to temps in the upper 30's with 20 mph wind gusts plus a chance of rain.

For some reason I decided I would get hot running in a jacket (not!) so I wore my light running pants and my wine and dine long sleeve shirt. It ended up being fine once I warmed up, but boy did the wind go right through that outfit! Once we got to the start line I hit the button to start my Garmin and it seemed like a short time later I hear the race director counting down 5-4-3-2-1 GO! I looked down at my Garmin and the location meter had only halfway filled! I wanted to cry. I then told myself, "You never used to run with a watch, you don't need your Garmin for this race. JUST  GO"

We started on the track and when we hit the second straightaway the wind was gusting against us and rain was pelting us in the face. IT. WAS. MISERABLE. I felt like I was carrying 100 extra pounds running against the wind. My mental game went downhill from here. I have never negative talked myself so much in a race before. Definitely not something that I'm proud of. Not even music helped out.

Overall, the course was pretty flat which was nice with the gusting winds. You ran around a building then there were two out and back sections and then you ran around a different building and then finished on the track.

So I was out on the course blindly trying to PR and decided to get as close to Cameron as I could during the race. He started slightly ahead of me and I ended up catching him and pacing off of him at mile 1. Mile 1.5 brought the first out and back section. Cameron went around the cone and I could see him turning to look for me and he couldn't see me because I was right behind him. The look on his face when he turned around to see me there was priceless!

At the second turn around I was able to count the girls in front of me and see how close the next female finisher was. I was currently the 3rd woman overall and there wasn't another female for awhile. I used that as major motivation to push through. Cameron and I started running beside each other at about mile 2 or so. He ran this race the year before so he coached me on what was left. At mile 2.5 I started to push with everything I had and pulled away from Cam. When I came down the last straightaway on the track I could see the timer was under 22 minutes and I wanted to finish before it hit 22 and I did!

As soon as I finished and was able to talk again I asked Cameron, "Did you let me win?" He pinky promised that he didn't which was a relief for some reason haha. Post-race they had water, granola bars, fruit snacks, apples, and Chick-fil-a chicken minis! We stuck around for the awards and I got 3rd female overall. They called Cameron up to get 3rd place male 20-29 and when he got to the table they apologized and said, "We're really sorry you got 4th in that age group." It was sad and hilarious all at the same time.

Official times weren't posted until late afternoon which killed me because I wanted to know my official time. My goal was to be under 22:51 which was my high school PR time (our races were 3 miles, not 5K). I ended up finishing the race in 21:50 (avg pace 7:03) which I am absolutely ecstatic about!

Have you ever surprised yourself when running in less than stellar race conditions?

That's all for now!

2015 Goals

I can't believe 2014 has come and gone in what seems like the blink of an eye. It's that time of the year again to set goals for the upcoming year. I have a lot of PR based goal that I have my eyes set on.

1. Complete a Marathon/Goofy Challenge: Hopefully I will accomplish this goal on the 11th day of 2015 :) I have truly loved marathon training and am already considering a fall marathon (go ahead, call me crazy!).

2. Run a Sub-2 hour Half Marathon: I was only 50 seconds away from accomplishing this at my second half back in March. I know if I train hard enough this goal can be reached.

3. Beat my high school 3 mile PR (22:51) at a 5K race: I was 24 seconds off from this at the 2014 Turkey Trot.

4. Set a new 10K PR: I've only run one 10K in my running "career" and it was 1:06:02. A PR in this distance is definitely attainable.

5. Become a Certified Med-Surg RN (CMSRN): This looks great on a resume!

6. Blog more Consistently: I enjoy blogging, but I currently don't make time for it/prioritize it.

7. Run in at least 10 races: I'm already registered for 4 races so far this year so finding another 6 races I want to run shouldn't be hard at all :)

What goals do you have for 2015?

That's all for now!

2014: Year in Review

2014 has been a pretty amazing year. I've traveled a lot and run in nine different races. I've proved to myself this year that I'm capable of far more than I ever imagined. With a positive attitude and determination anything is possible.

The Goals I set for 2014
Complete the Maryland Double   A+
Make more intention to stretch and foam roll   A+ I attribute this to a lot of injury prevention
Run at least a 2:25 half marathon   A+ New PR 2:00:49 at Reach Half in April
Try new recipes more frequently-  F: I definitely failed at this goal, I think I've tried maybe 4 new                 recipes this year
Read 6 books on my Nook-  D: I read 3/6 books on my Nook and started a fourth book.

Half Marathon Success: If you would have told me last September when I started training for the 2014 WDW Half that I would end up running five half marathons in 2014 I would have thought you were crazy. I also would have never believed I would be in training for the Goofy Challenge right now. One of my proudest moments was when I was 50 seconds away from running a sub-2 half in my second half marathon of the year back in April. I truly love the half marathon distance and don't find it overwhelming anymore like I once did.

Two 5K PRs: This year I had a PR in the 5K distance in July and then again in November. In July I wanted to PR, but wasn't going to be disappointed if it didn't happen. The course ended up being flat and it was perfect weather for a PR: low temps. In November at the Turkey Trot I had no intentions of trying to PR. I picked what felt like a fast pace in the beginning and just tried to stick with it and it ended up being a PR!

Two years of Nursing Experience: In October I celebrated being a nurse for two years. I've been on a medical-surgical (med-surg) floor since I started. In the nursing world I've reached that golden amount of time on a med-surg floor that will pretty much carry you into any path of nursing you want to go for which is exciting. My patients still tell me almost everyday that I look way too young to be an RN which always makes me laugh.

Travel, Travel, Travel: I started out 2014 traveling to Disney World for Marathon Weekend. In June Em and I went to LBI for a short beach trip. In July my parents, aunt, uncle, Cam and I went to our beloved Outer Banks, NC for a week at the beach. In August we went to Baltimore for a wedding. In October we went to Charlottesville for a concert and then went back to Baltimore for the Baltimore Half Marathon. In November we traveled back to Disney for Wine and Dine Half weekend. Whew! That's a lot of traveling, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

I've already started pondering goals that I want to set for 2015, but more on that in another post.

What was one of your favorite moments in 2014? Did you accomplish any goals?

That's all for now!

Friday Five: Five Things about Baltimore Running Festival

I can't believe the Baltimore Running Festival is TOMORROW! There's a 5K, Half, Marathon and Marathon Relay. Cameron, Em and I will all be running the half marathon. I signed up for this race back in January just four days after completing my first half. 

1. Expo- I haven't been to a big race expo since the Disney World Half back in January. I'm hoping this one won't disappoint. The only bad part is that we will be going during the last 3 hours of the expo so I'm not sure how much official merchandise will be left. 

2. Goals- Since I've been sick for the past 11 days I'm keeping my goals realistic and in perspective. At one point I was considering attempting to go sub-2 for this race, but when I got sick that idea went out the window. I don't want to put too much added stress on my body, I think running 13.1 miles will be stressful enough for it. 

        Goal #1- Run sub- 2:30

        Goal #2- Finish the race

3. Course- I've read quite a few race recaps and the opinions vary on the course. Some people say it was really hilly, while others say they didn't notice the hills. I'm hoping the latter is true for me. I live in an area where there are lots of inclines and running a flat course is impossible. Hopefully that has prepared me for anything this course throws at me. 

4. Medals- I just love the crab and MD flag aspects of this year's medals. The medal on the left is for the half marathon. The medal on the right is for completing the Maryland Double (running in the Frederick Running Festival in May and Baltimore in October). 

Photos from Baltimore Run Fest Facebook Page

                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

5. Post-Race Food and Fun- After the race we'll be spending the afternoon/evening with friends and family. Em's dad will be cooking up his famous ribs for us to enjoy. It will be the perfect post-race meal!

That's all for now!

Anyone else running a race at the Baltimore Running Festival tomorrow?

Plans Post-Half Marathon #3

You may or may not have noticed, but since the Frederick Half marathon at the beginning of the month I have not been running. About two weeks before my last race I could tell that my legs were fatigued and were ready for some time off from running. I realized I had been training for almost 8 months straight! Now is the perfect time for a break because, my next big race isn't until mid-October and full blown Goofy Challenge training doesn't start until the first week of July. 

8 months of training plans

It's been 20 days since my last run and my legs are enjoying the rest. I've been focusing on strength training especially for my legs because I know that they need strengthened to be able to withstand marathon training. For cardio I've been riding the bike and doing the elliptical as well as playing tennis.  

My first run back will be Wednesday. I'm looking forward to it. The time I've had off has made me appreciate my love for running. From now until July I plan to just run when I want to run and for the amount of time that I want to do it. I'm not going to put pressure on myself for time, pace or distance. This will be a welcomed change in mindset. 

Have you ever needed or taken a break from running/traning plans?

That's all for now!

Goals for 2014

I started off 2014 with a bang by running my first half marathon on the 11th day of the year. This was a huge hurdle for me! Since I've finished that race I began thinking about goals that I want to set for myself for the rest of the year. Goals help me to stay focused. When I set my mind to something I will do whatever it takes to complete it. So here goes nothing!

Goals for 2014

• Complete the Maryland Double (Frederick Half and Baltimore Half): I registered for these races when I came back from Florida. Frederick Half is in May and Baltimore Half is in October. 


• Make more intention to stretch and foam roll after every workout: A lot of times after strength training I rush out of the gym without stretching or foam rolling. I usually end up sore and wishing I would have stretched. I can also get lazy after running, but this doesn't happen as often.


• Run at least a 2:25 Half Marathon: I believe this is a doable and reasonable time goal for me for this year :)


• Try new recipes more frequently: It's so easy to get stuck in a rut of making the same meals over and over so I would like to try and avoid that. 


• Read the books on my Nook that I've never read: For me reading is something I enjoy. Taking the time to actually do it is another story. I go in phases where I will read 2-3 books in a row and then not read for a month or so. I would like to be more consistent. Also, spending more time reading and less time on facebook/twitter would be ideal.

What goals do you have for 2014? You have the power to make it your best year yet!

Something to think about: What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

That's all for now!