Best Damn Race - Safety Harbor

February 6, 2016

Finally, half marathon #60! I was unable to run the Clearwater Half last month due to very bad weather. And, of course, my car not starting when I needed to leave, didn't help either!

This race happens to fall on the same weekend as the local Music half marathon. By the time I thought about signing up for the music half, the registration was over $125! This is a course I run (in part) at least once a week or more. I didn't really want to pay that kind of money for it. Looking around on the internet, I found the Best Damn Race, in Safety Harbor. The medal was awesome, the drive wasn't very far (an hour) and best of all, I got in for $69, just 2 months before the race, thanks to a discount I found on Facebook. Lynnette, a friend and member of the group I train at Fit2Run, decided to sign up too.

Running goal: My training has not been very good the last few weeks. Total miles were not so bad, just had a couple of days were I ran 2 times instead of getting the longer run in. No speed work and my right hip and hamstring has been very tight and painful while pushing the pace, for a week or so. I got a massage a few days before the race, but it wasn't a good one and didn't seem to do much for me. My main goal was to try and push it, to get under a 2:00 half, which I hadn't been able to do in the last two half marathons I'd run.

course map

Saturday morning, we left Sarasota at a very early 4:30 am. We got up there, found a spot to park in the Library parking lot, just a block from the start and 2 blocks from the finish. We picked up our bib, goodie bag and shirt, then headed back to the warm car to wait for the race to start. i took 2 advil, with the hopes it would help dull the pain in my hip during the race. It was a bit cold outside, so we figured out what kind of layers we wanted to wear and what we wanted to check in with our bag. I decided on keeping with what I had planned the night before. Half Fanatic tank top, arm sleeves and gloves for my upper body. Skirt and compression socks on my lower half, which is pretty normal for me. Temperature was in the upper 40s, but was predicted to get to low 50s within an hour. At about 6:50, we headed over to the porta-potties, I then found Leah and handed off the bags with the Music half bibs and shirts I had gotten for her and her friends, then we took off our outer layer, stuffed it in the checked bags and hustled over to the start area. We just had a few minutes to wait before the national anthem was performed and then we were off!

Miles 1 to 6: The first half mile or so was pretty congested, as we headed out to the main road, turned right and headed north. I had a vague idea of what the course looked like, from checking out the map, so I knew we would be running to a park and looping through there before heading back. My hip was a little of the sore side, so I decided to try and keep the pace around 8:30 to 8:40 min mile, for as long as I could. Surprisingly, by the time we got to the park, mile 3ish, the pace felt very comfortable, just the nagging hip issue. We had a nice out and back in the park, which was along the waterway. I got to see Lynnette on my way out. She was doing good, hanging near the 2 hour pacer, which she had planned on doing. There were a couple of little hills, which I was surprised to see. They slowed me down a little. I hoped there wouldn't be more. Well, I was wrong. I had a couple more, before we headed down the main road, past the finish area.

Miles 7 to 13.1: we continued past the finish area, heading south. Got to see a lot of the 10K runners, making their way towards the finish. About a mile down the road, we made a right turn, running a big loop through the neighborhood. There were a few out and backs, so I was able to see Lynnette again. Just before mile 8, I saw the 1:50 pacer, who had started just before me. I figured he had about 2 minutes on me. I was pretty happy about that. I saw him again on another out and back, about a mile later, and it still seemed like he had 2 minutes on me. We headed back to the main road, ran on that for about a mile, before turning right again at mile 10. I was not happy to see a substantial hill. The steepest one so far. It wasn't as steep as the bridge, but after all the little rollers we had had, this one at mile 10, was really tough! The next 3 quarters of mile were my least favorite. The road was pretty slanted. I wanted to run on the left side of the road, but I had to move towards the middle, to avoid the slant. Finally we made the right turn back to the main road. I knew we only had a little further of running south, before we would turn around and head straight to the finish along the water. I really felt my legs and hips tighten up during the last 2 miles, taking me out of the pace I had been holding steady at. Finally, I made the right turn towards the finish line and pushed it hard the last few yards.

Finish: 1:53:16. My 3rd fastest half marathon!

Me and Lynnette after the race!

Up next: Gasparilla race weekend, February 20-21. I'm signed up to run 3 of the 4 weekend races! The 15K and 5K on Saturday and the 8K on Sunday. It will be fun weekend, running and celebrating my friend, Gina and Wendy's birthdays.

2015 year in review

What a year 2015 has been! Lots of races with friends, over 2015 miles completed and fun being an ambassador for Skirt Sports, The Mermaid Club, 261 Fearless and Nuun Hydration.

Races:
3 Marathons (Disney, Chicago and Space Coast)
6 Half Marathons
2 Sprint Triathlons
2 Ragnar Relay races (one as an ultra team)
3 10K races
9 5k races
1 5K Standup Paddle board race
Plus a 15K, 8K, 5 miler and 4 miler race

Going into 2016, I've decided to take on the challenge of run/walking 2016 miles. That's going to be harder, since I won't have a fall marathon (or 2) to train for.

My biggest new challenge will be doing my first half ironman in Augusta in September. Very nervous, yet excited. Lots of biking and swimming will be happening next year.

I also plan on running 6 half marathons in the first 6 months of the year.

I've really enjoyed coaching this year. I'm so proud of all the improvement and growth from the athletes I've worked with. I look forward to continuing on coaching. I hope to work more with people individually and growing my own business, Sunshine State Endurance.

I am so happy to continue on as a Skirt Sports Ambassador, 261 Fearless Ambassador and Nuun Ambassador for 2016. I've also been chosen to be an ambassador for Honey Stinger. Excited to be part of the Hive! Check out the photo links to the right of this blog for more information!

Space Coast Marathon

November 29, 2015

Marathon weekend! I am so not ready! Shoulder was feeling better, but still on pain relieving meds. The forecast was showing high humidity, warm and windy. Heading over to Cocoa Beach Saturday morning, I was not looking forward to running a marathon the next day.

Carolyn and I left early Saturday (7:30 am), so that we could get to the expo early. As soon as we parked the car, I found a facebook friend, that I had planned to meet up with! It was great meeting Kerry for the first time. We had belonged to the same mom's running group for many years. We all went into the expo, heading for bib pickup. Carolyn and I found Rob, who hung out with us as we did our shopping. We then headed over to the hotel, but couldn't check in, so we got some lunch and hung out on the beach for a bit. Then, it was off to the mall and then dinner. Carolyn and I got our race gear set up, then got to bed early. 3:50 am alarm set!

Sunday morning, we were out the door and in the car by 4:30 am. We arrived at our usual parking spot just in time. The lot was filling fast! I had a feeling it would. They had let more runners sign up this year. We hung out for a bit, before heading to the porta-potties. A bit more hanging around. Finally it was time to head to the start area. Carolyn went to stand with the 4:20 pace group. I went a little ahead of her to start near the 4:10 group. I knew I wasn't going to be with them for long, but I would stay that pace as long as I could. Once the played the video of the space shuttle count down launch, we were off!

Miles 1-7: I found myself running with the 4:10 Galloway pace group. I couldn't shake them, even though my watch was showing mile splits that were slower than they should have been running. It was a large group and they were doing strange intervals. Something like 1:45/30. So it was back and forth with them for at least 4 miles. It was hard to get by them once they stopped to walk. They took up half the road! Thankfully they eventually pulled ahead. I felt like the effort to keep a 9:30ish pace was much harder this year than my 9ish pace was last year. I knew right away it was going to be rough. We had a nice breeze for the first 6.5 miles. Once we made the turn and started heading south, the wind was at our back, the sun was rising and it was getting hot.

Miles 8-13.1: I started to struggle during this section. I walked part of the little hills, which I didn't have to do the last 2 years of running this race. I was having a hard time getting out of the funk I was in. Just feeling low, because I knew it was going to be a long day. I made it to the half way mark at 2:05, which wasn't bad considering how crappy I was feeling already. I really wish I could have taken the turn towards the finish, but I didn't realize at the time, that was an option!

Miles 14-20: By mile 16, I was feeling very overheated. There was little shade for the last couple of miles and no wind. I started walking a lot more. Around mile 17 or 18, Carolyn caught up to me. We ran for a little bit together, before I told her to head on. I was going to be walking a lot. She and I went back and forth a few times. Thankfully, we hit the second turn around, and started heading North.

Miles 21-26.2: The wind on the way back felt glorious! It helped to cool me down, so I was able to start running a bit more. But since I had been walking so much, I had stiffened up. It made running harder. It just wasn't my day! Carolyn and I ended up run/walking the last 5 miles together. She had a rough day as well. We pushed it to run in the last mile. I was so happy to make that last semi circle turn to the finish line!

Finish: 4:46:42

Post race thoughts: Running a marathon in Florida is rough. The weather in the winter is unpredictable. You never know if you will get lucky and have a cool day or if it will be summer time warm. I had planned on running the 5 year challenge for this race. If I go back for year 4 next year, it will be for the half marathon!

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

- Built-in Shorties inseam (medium): 4 inches

- Features Skirt Sports GoSoft Jersey (Skirt) and Endure (Shorties) Jersey fabrics with wicking      properties

- Elastic waistband with continuous drawcord puts you in control and keeps your skirt where you want it

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

- Built-in shorties have UPF 50+ Sun Protection properties

- Built-in shorties have two pockets, one on each thigh to carry music system, nutrition

- Light-weight, thin 5/8” silicone dot grippers hold the shorties in place

- 3M Scothlight Reflective Material elements for low light visibility; be safe, be seen!

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

So, what color would you choose if you won one of these awesome skirts? Check out the color selection below:

• 
  

Now is your time to enter! Click on one, or both, of the options below. The winner will be selected Monday, November 2nd. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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!