Boo Run 5K, Honeymoon Half MarathoMyakka River 5K race recaps

Well, obviously I am very far behind on writing race recaps! I've been dealing with a pain in my shoulder that has made running difficult. With each swing of my arm, I get a sharp pain in my shoulder blade. Started to become painful with the Boo Run and got worse. Training suffered. Here are short recaps of the past 3 races.:

Boo Run 5K - October 31, 2015

The Boo Run is held in Lakewood Ranch every year. Since there were a few people from my training group signed up to run the race, I decided to move our Saturday run from downtown Sarasota to Lakewood Ranch. I brought my bike out, since I was just going to run the 5K and then get a long run in on Sunday. We got started just after 6am. I rode ahead/behind the group as they ran down Lakewood Ranch Blvd. It was nice to have a change of venue. It was a beautiful morning out. Not as cool as we would have liked, but better than it would be Sunday.

The location of the race start changed from the previous year. It started in the back parking lot, behind all the Main street shops. Gina and I got out there pretty early, and noticed the timing mat only covering half the road (slightly wider than one car). We figured they would put down the rest once the road was closed. Well that didn't happen! The hundreds of runners packed into the 2 lane road, had to squish over to fit on the one side, so they could all run over the timing mat. I didn't get to close to the start, since I wasn't planning on running very fast or going for a PR. My back had been hurting all week. I just wanted to get the miles in and focus on getting the back better for next weekends half.

Once we got going, I held back, while everyone surged forward fast. I felt the stabbing pain in my right shoulder blade. It was much worse than I had been feeling up to this point. I just tried to breath through the pain. The course turns right, out of the parking area, and heads down Lakewood Ranch Blvd. There is a water stop about a mile down the road, and then a U turn before heading back. There are lots of kids running this race, which I think is awesome, but it would be nice if they were given some advice on how to share the road. So many of them started at the front of the pack and then were walking by half a mile. Forcing everyone to move around them. One girl was running slowly, but weaving all over the road. She bumped into me as I tried to pass by her. I kept up a pretty consistent pace, around 8:30, which I was happy with, finishing with a strong kick in the last stretch to the finish.

Time: 26:05 (8:25 pace)

Honeymoon Half Marathon - November 7, 2015

This turned out to be a super hot day! I decided right away that I was going to take it easy. My doctor had put me on muscle relaxers and a strong pain medicine. Thankfully, I got a good night of sleep. It has been a while! The past week was the worst! The massage/cupping I had done really made my shoulder 10 times worse!

So, like I said, it was a pretty hot morning. The race was too loops, starting on Honeymoon island, running over two low bridges, and then back to the island. Pretty much zero shade.

The Pros:
Start of with the good right? Well, not much good here. Good friends to share the journey!
Pretty nice finisher medal.
Um, trying to think of a third.

The cons:
No race sweatshirt. When we registered during the low pricing blitz last year, we were promised a shirt AND a sweatshirt. They decided a couple of weeks before the race to not have the sweatshirts made. Didn't even tell anyone!
Disorganized race start. Very confusing where we were starting.
Limited supply of water on the course.
Poor post race food and drink. Only warm water and pizza. I don't eat anything with flour, so that meant I didn't have anything to eat! Not even a banana!

Needless to say, not one of us will run this race again!

Finish: 2:08:49

Myakka River 5K - November 21, 2015

I got a comp entry for this race, otherwise I wouldn't have run it. I was in no shape to run a race. Still on the pain meds, with make it hard to put in any effort. Mostly I was out here to support the runners from my training group, who were running the half marathon. For some of them, it was their first!

I pushed it hard the first mile, then struggled to keep a good pace for mile 2 and 3. I guess the muscle relaxers make my muscles not want to work.

Finished in 25:38.
5th overall! 2nd female and first masters female. :)

Next up: Space Coast Marathon, November 29
Yeah, so not ready for this. It's going to be another hot day in Florida. I'll just do my best to get through it! No PR's this year!

Skirt Sports birthday giveaway!

Lioness in the Safari print.

My birthday is in one week! As a special birthday treat for one of YOU, I'm so excited to be able to give one lucky reader the Lioness Skirt from Skirt Sports!

The Lioness Skirt is one of the shorter skirts that Skirt Sports offers. Here are some of the details:

Built in pocket on each leg!

- Skirt length (medium): 12 inches on front;  13 inches on back

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- Zipper pocket on middle back of skirt secures your running essentials

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The Lioness offers a pocket on the back of the skirt, too!

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Bill's Beer Run 2015

Casey Key, FL - October 25, 2015

Always excited for Bill's Beer Run weekend. Even though it's only 2 weeks post Chicago marathon, I've been feeling pretty good and had some great runs this past week. But, I did a stupid thing yesterday. That was: not drinking enough water! It was a beautiful fall day in Florida. I sat outside in the sun at my son's baseball game for over 2 hours. No suncreen and one little bottle of propel water and a giant iced coffee. Not a good move!

It's not a good feeling to be standing in the starting area of a race and feeling thirsty. It's a 5 mile race, so I didn't have any water with me. I had planned on trying to run the same pace as last year, which was a couple seconds over 8 minute mile pace. Once we got going, I could tell that would be a struggle. First mile was 8:06. It went down hill from there. I kept close to Gina and Ariana for the first couple of miles, but Gina pulled ahead and stayed there after mile 2. Heart rate started creeping up again ( had my HR monitor on) and got the numbness starting on the left side of my mouth. I slowed it down a bit more and tried to enjoy the race. I love seeing all of my running friends on the course! During the last half mile, I started to pick up the pace again and then finished with a strong kick.

Finish: 41:34 (8:19 pace), 8th in age group

Super happy with 8th in age group! My third year in a row. Sure I'd love to place higher, but this is always a tough race because all of the local fast runners come out for this event. So, 8th out of 48 in age group. :)

Best part of this race: the fun after party! Great time hanging out with friends, drinking beer and eating. :D

Me and Jackie after the race.

Chicago Marathon weekend

Chicago is such a wonderful city! Gina, Carolyn, Ariana, Chuck, Darlene and I arrived in Chicago Friday morning. Thankfully, Ariana knows her way around the subway systems. We were able to find our way onto the right subway, and head into the downtown area. Once we reached the hotel, around 11am, I was so happy to hear we were able to check in early! We dropped off all our suitcases, then headed out to find the expo. It took a lot of walking, but we finally found the hotel, where the race was providing transportation to the expo. A short ride on a school bus, and we were there. We got our bibs and shirts, then headed into the main room for some shopping. What a giant space! Lots and lots of vendors. We got some good deals, before meeting up again outside, then heading back to the hotel. It took a while to get back, because the bus driver got lost! Thankfully, he found his way to the drop off spot, then we walked back to the hotel. We had a little rest period, before heading out to dinner. Total walking: 5 miles!

Fun on the bus!

Saturday: We got up earlish, to head over to the shake out run at Fleet Feet. The run over ended up being almost 2 miles. A bit longer than I thought it would be. We hung out for a bit, took some photos with Bart Yasso and Deena Kastor, before heading out on the fun run. That run was just over 3 miles. We hung out for a bit after, then started the long walk back to the hotel. We stopped by a breakfast place, that someone said had gluten free pancakes, but they had an hour wait! We ended up at another spot, which had pretty good breakfast food. We then headed back to the room to relax for a bit. Another great dinner and then early to bed. Total run/walk miles: 8!

With Deena Kastor. My second time meeting her!

Running Bart Yasso.

Sunday, race morning: Another early start to the day. The 5 of us got ready, then headed out the door. Just under a mile walk to the start area. We met up with Mandy on the way over. She was also in our corral. We checked our bags, then got into the long porta potty line. We had about 25 minutes to get through it, before the corral closed. We inched forward and time kept on ticking. Soon we were near the front, but only had a few minutes left to get to the corral! We were yelling at everyone to pee faster! I got in, did my business, and got out quick. We started running toward the corral. Just as we got there, the volunteer was yelling at us to hurry, because she was closing the fence off! We just made it! We were at the back of the "F" corral, the "G" corral (with Carolyn) was behind us and already moving forward. We started the long, slow walk towards the start line, which was a few blocks in front of us, with lots of runners in between. At 8:35 am, we cross the start line.

Gina and I start off together, pulling ahead of Darlene, Ariana and Mandy right away. My first mistake. We go out to fast. Because of the tall buildings, our GPS watches are not working. I hope it will catch on, once we clear the long tunnel we run through, but it doesn't. We have no idea what pace we are running until we finally see the 2 mile mark. We had been running just under 9 minute miles! I should have been staying between 9:15 and 9:30! After another mile or so, I start to feel off. My lip is going numb on the left side. Now, sometimes this happens when it's very cold out, but today, it is not. The other reason this happens is when my heart rate is working in the very high range. This should not be the case during a marathon and at this pace! We slow down the pace a little, but the numbness doesn't go away. We are also, following the blue dotted line, which the race organizers put down for the elites. Follow the blue line and you take the tangents on the course. I need all the help I can get! Don't need to add extra distance. Gina and I are still running together, though I tell her to go ahead if she wants. I know I'll need to slow down soon, but keep going for as long as I can. We hit the half way point a little ahead of schedule.

5K - 29:01(9:20), 10K - 57:36(9:12), 15K - 1:26:47(9:24), half - 2:03:45(9:44)

No, I am NOT trying to push
Carolyn! I was trying to get her attention.

The race course is great, though I have no idea where I am at any point in the race. I know we head north, then come back south, then turn and run west for a bit, but I can never tell what direction I'm going. The crowd support is awesome. There is only one section, early on, were there are not that many people. It was in a park. But all of the main roads we run on are lined with many, many cheering people. It's fantastic! At some point, before the 30K, Gina pulls ahead, and I let her go. It's time for me to really slow down. I spot a spectator on the side with a jar of pickle spears, so quickly make my way to her to ask for one. So good! I loose sight of Gina for good here. :) I walk a little, then start running again, but at a slower pace. The numbness has gone, but anytime I start to pick up the pace again, the numbness comes right back! I am pretty freaked out about this now, so decide to be smart and just take it easy. For the rest of the race, I run for a bit, walk through all water stops and up any sort of hill. Before leaving the hotel room, I had written "I run 4 CJ" on my arm. I look at this writing often throughout the race. It helps to motivate me. I can get through this! At one point (not sure what mile) I hear someone yell out "go Ariana!". I look to my left, and sure enough, there is Ariana about to run by me. I work my way over to her side, tap her on the shoulder and say hi. She is having a rough race, too. We run together for a few minutes before I tell her I need to walk and to keep going. Sometime after mile 20, I see Carolyn pass me. I slowly catch back up to her before taping her on the shoulder. We also run together for a few minutes, and get a photo together, before she also pulls ahead. I wish I could have stayed with her to the finish! Finally, I get to the last little hill, start to walk up that, but see a photographer on the side, so run it. I take the turn to the left, see the finish line ahead and start to pick up the pace. I finish with a quick look at my arm, then raise them both in the air. So happy to be done!

25K - 1:28:12 (10:05), 30K - 3:01:35(10:28), 35K - 3:39:13 (12:04), 40K - 4:19:20(12:55)
Finish - 4:35:05

I won't lie, I'm very disappointed in my race. I trained so hard over the summer. I felt really strong going into the race, but it just didn't happen for me today. My goal was 4:10 to 4:15 finish. I finished way after that! I think a lot of factors lead to my high heart rate. Lots of walking/running in the days before the race. I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated going into the race. Looking back, I did not drink enough water. I am hoping I can recover quickly and get back to training. I hope to do better at Space Coast Marathon next month!

261 Fearless

With all the excitement of training and getting ready for the Chicago Marathon this weekend, I now have more exciting news to share. I've been named as a 261 Fearless ambassador!

Kathrine Switzer leads this great movement. The mission statement is this:

to bring active women together through a global supportive community – allowing fearless women to pass strength gained from running and walking onto women who are facing challenges and hence sparking a revolution of empowerment. 261 is the symbol that unites us as empowered runners and walkers.

This is a mission statement I can get behind! I look forward to inspiring others as well as being inspired!

For more information about the 261 Fearless movement, and where the 261 number came from, click on the icon to the left of this blog post.

#261Fearless #261runner #befearlessbefree

It's time to taper!

Since my really bad 20 miler a few weeks ago, I've had some great runs. My 22 miler, went very well. I started at 3:30 am, to run 2 miles on my own. Then, I met up with my Chicago girls, to run 10 miles. I had to be back at Fit2Run before 6am, to meet the training group. We kept a nice brisk pace, getting me back in time to meet the group. I had about 10 minutes of standing around, talking to members of the group, before I headed out with them. The rest of the run went well. I ran a little slower than the first 12, mostly because I was running at paces set by various members of the group. This was fine, I was still staying in my overall pace that I wanted to keep. I ran a little with a few different people, checked in with others, when I saw them out there. I ended up finishing the 22 miles faster than I had run the 20 2 weeks before!

Last Saturday, I had my longest run for this training session. 24 miles. My Chicago girls started out early with me, at 3:45am! We wanted to get in 12 miles, before getting back to the store just before 6am. Once again, I was going to need to go out with the training group. In order to get back in time, we needed to keep a 10 min mile pace. We headed south, towards Siesta Key. Before the turn around, Gina was falling back and once we turned around and headed back, she had fallen even further behind. I really wish I could have stayed back with her, she had done the same for me during my 18 miler, but, I had a work commitment, and needed to get back to the store before 6 to lead the training group! I felt really bad, but there wasn't anything I could do! We got stopped by the draw bridge for a couple of minutes, but still managed to keep a pace at just under 10 min miles, to get back to the store in time. The chicago group headed out, while I waited for the training group to gather and then we were off.

I started off slow with them, even though I was itching to pull ahead. I did get ahead a couple of times, but stopped, to wait for some of them to catch up. Most of the group split up into singles. Everyone seems to have a slightly different pace. I ran a bit with Roxy, and then with Edith. I pulled ahead to get to the turn around spot for the people running 9 miles. Waited there for a few minutes to check on runners and then direct others to turn around, before heading back. Added in a mile in the Golden Gate neighborhood, where a couple of other runners where adding in distance, then added in the last bit I needed, along the water front, towards Selby Gardens. Edith was having issues, not feeling well, so I got her to head back. Ran into Gina, who wasn't having a very good run and was on her own. Thankfully, there were only a few people that didn't have good runs today. Most everyone did great, even though it was pretty humid out. I had an awesome run. Finished my 24 miles in 4:02! I felt great for most of the run. Started to tighten up a bit towards the end, but that is good for me. Usually that happens around mile 20-21.

I feel like I am in really good shape this year. My training has gone well, so I am optimistic about having a great race in Chicago. Now, I just have to deal with taper madness. Starting to cut back on the miles will seem great at first, but I know I will start to feel a bit crazy from not getting the long miles in!

Chicago marathon training

Nike Chicago

Last spring, I entered the lottery for the Chicago Marathon. I was so excited when my training buddies and I, got selected. Even though the race is in early October, It didn't cross my mind that my marathon training for this summer was going to be different than previous summers. The last few years, I've run Fall marathons, but they've been in early November, or later. This is a full month earlier!

For most people, this might not matter. In other parts of the country, running in the summer, is the best time to run. In Florida, it is the worst time to run. August and September tend to be the hottest months of the year!

All through June and July, my training was going great. In early August, I had an 18 miler, that was slower than I wanted, but overall, not to bad considering the heat. Then, two weeks later, the dreaded 20 miler was on the schedule. As soon as we started running, at 4:30 am, I knew it was going to be a rough one. My stomach was a little upset. There was absolutely no breeze. And it was HOT! Around 80 degrees. I felt like I was breathing in my exhaled breath. Just nasty. We ran south for 4 miles, then back to the car. I tried a peanut butter hammer gel. My first time trying it. I had hopped it would be similar to the Gu peanut butter, but it was far from similar. It was really gross! I drank a bunch of water, then ate one of my extra nutrition products.
We then headed north, over the Ringling Bridge, towards Ken Tompson park. All I could think about, was the bathroom at the bait shop, that I knew would be open. I had needed to go for a while! By the time we got there, we were about 11 miles into our 20 miler. It all went down hill for me here. I ran for a bit, but then needed to stop and walk. I felt dizzy and over heated. Gina stopped to walk with me and ended up staying with me for the rest of the run. We headed out towards Lido beach. Once there, we stopped to get more water, and then started heading back. I had to walk a lot on the way back. I felt really bad about holding Gina back from her run, but she was stead fast in not wanting to leave me on my own. All I cared about at this point, was getting the miles in, even if I wasn't running them. I was so happy when I was done! But, I felt really down. I questioned my time goals for Chicago. I questioned my training for the rest of the days leading to the race.

Monday night (two days later), I headed out with my training group. I decided to try and push the pace, to help me get out of my funk. I ended up having a great run! The next morning. I stared my 9 miler, thinking I would take it easy, since I ran hard the night before. I ended up having an awesome run. Running faster and faster with each mile! This past week has been a great week of training. My spirits are lifted. I feel like I've been doing something right with my training.

This weekend, I've got a 22 miler scheduled for Saturday. I'm trying not to worry, to have faith in my training. but I've got to admit, I'm a little worried! The heat is back, after a nice little break this past weekend.

All I can do, is try my best. And know, that even if the run turns out to be not so great, my overall training will provide a solid base, for my marathon goal! It also helps to think of CJ, who is one of my inspirations, while running. CJ is a strong  little 8-year-old, who has Cerebral Palsy. He is a fighter and so am I!