Clearwater Iron Girl Half Marathon

April 10, 2011

Race morning started off early. I got up at 3:45am, got some coffee and computer time in, then grabbed my race bag and purse and headed out the door to meet up with Gina and Charlotte. I picked them up near the interstate, then we headed to Clearwater. We got to the parking lot at 5:45 and saw Brenda heading to the super long line of women waiting to get on the trolley to take them to race start. I yelled "hello" out the window and then managed to snag one of the last few spots in the parking lot. We waited in line for almost an hour! Charlotte and I used the disgusting porta potties in the parking lot just in case we didn’t have time when we got to the race start. It’s a good thing I did, because we got off the bus to hear the National Anthem playing. Yikes! Gina and I speed walked toward to starting area. It was all blocked off on the sides, but Gina had the great idea to pull down one of the mesh like barriers so we could climb over and get in the starting area. 2 minutes to race start! I stretched a little and before we knew it, we were off.


I felt pretty good for the first couple of miles. I knew the big bridge was coming up quick, but was not afraid. I’ve run it at mile 12 of the Clearwater Halfathon twice. After the bridge, we ran south through a very nice neighborhood near the water. By mile 3 I was sweating like crazy and very happy that I decided to wear my belt with a couple of water bottles. I saw Gina a few times ahead of me for the next couple of miles, but then didn’t see her again until the end of the race. We had a short out and back on a side street around mile 4 that was just wrong. We ran down a small hill then had to turn around at the base and run right back up it. The next few miles consisted of beautiful big houses facing the bay and a few small rolling hills. I ate one cliff shot block at mile 4 and took 2 endurolytes at mile 6. Normally I eat 2 blocks, but with the heat, I didn't think it would sit well in my stomach.

Mile 1 – 9:12
Mile 2 – 9:34
Mile 3 – 9:13
Mile 4 – 9:41
Mile 5 – 9:53
Mile 6 – 10:03
Half way point: 1:03. I thought that even if I kept an 11 minute mile pace in the second half, I could make it in around 2:10. Nope.

By mile 7 my left periformis was showing its displeasure. I kept getting sharp pains that would strike my bum, then my leg would feel like it was about to give out. My left Psoas muscle was also acting up. I stopped around mile 8 to kneel down and stretch it out. I swallowed an advil in hopes it would help deal with the pain. When we turned the corner and headed west towards the next bridge I got a big surprise. I thought for sure that the bridge would be a drawbridge, which would have made it not much of a “hill.” Boy was I wrong! Another steep bridge greeted me. I made it up and almost to the bottom before I pulled off to the side again to stretch out my legs. While on the bridge I gazed off to the distance and noticed another bridge that I had forgotten about. I’ve run it a couple of times during the Clearwater Halfathon and knew I’d be running it again today. It was on the way to the finish! I tried to put it out of my mind, because I knew it was a steep one. At the bottom of the bridge I stopped once again to fill up my water bottles at the water station and ate one more (and last) shot block. From here on out, I started taking walking breaks often.

Mile 7 – 10:44
Mile 8 – 11:16
Mile 9 – 11:42

The last 3 miles were tough. I was feeling very hot. My feet were burning! My legs were cramping. I knew this was not going to be a finish time I would be happy about, so I decided to just finish and be proud of that fact. After each walking break, I would actually feel pretty good for a short time. I probably should have added regular walking breaks earlier. I swallowed 2 more endurolytes at mile 10(these help a lot!). Finally, just before mile 12, we came to the last bridge. I ran up about a third of it and then thought “screw it, I’ll walk it,” which is what I did. At the top I started running again. At the base of the bridge another Half Fanatic ran by saying “hi” as she passed. She motivated me to keep going. I stayed behind her for a bit, until her watch started beeping and she took a walk break. As I passed I introduced myself. She told me her name was Stephanie. Turns out she is Gina’s friend that we had tried to meet up with before the race started! The last mile went by quickly. I found some extra energy from somewhere and ran the rest of the race in strong.

Mile 10 – 10:46
Mile 11 – 11:42
Mile 12 – 12:16 (evil bridge)
Mile 13 – 9:58 (!!)
Mile .16- 1:25



I found Gina and Charlotte just past the finish line. A few minutes later, Stephanie came in. We all walked over to the food area, grabbed some grub, a table and dug in. Couldn’t eat the breakfast burrito or the muffin, but did enjoy a banana, yogurt and a bottle of Muscle Milk. We met a couple of other Half Fanatics and finally saw Brenda! The wait for the trolley was once again long. This time we were tired and standing in the sun.



Overall I am happy to have run my 28th Half Marathon. I wish my body would have held up better though. I think I could have managed the heat issues better if I didn’t also having to deal with the pain in my leg. I'll probably run this race next year. But I would either get there early or figure out a different way to get to the start. Maybe bring my bike and get a nice warm up by riding the 2.5 miles to the start. :)
Finish: 2:17:33 (official time is 2:17:30)
Age group 89/268. Overall 576/1640

Sarasota Half Marathon

March 13, 2011

Race morning started off with an hour less sleep. We had to "spring forward" our clocks before going to bed. I didn't sleep all that great and knew when I got up that I was in for a long day. Amy picked me up just before 6 am and we made our way to the race. We found a parking spot a couple of blocks away, which was great. There were a lot of cars on the road already looking for a place to park. We hit the porta potties (short lines) then looked around for friends that were running the race too. We talked with half fanatics Chester "Southernmost Walker" Kalb and Gerda Kalb for a little bit. Chester has completed an impressive list of races.

With 15 minutes to race start, Amy and I hit the porta potties again and then wormed our way through the packed group of runners in the corral. The closest I could get was to the 11 min mile pace. To slow. I had all my gear ready. Garmin, headphones plugged into my mp3, shot blocks in one pocket, Endurolytes in another. A last minute addition was my waist pack to carry water and my phone. Big mistake!

The race started just after 7am. It took about 2 minutes for me to cross the start line and then I had a lot of people to weave through to get out of the mass. Right away my waist pack was bothering me. I had worn it before with the running skirt I had on, but not with the tank I was wearing. The tank was to short, so the pack was riding up and rubbing my stomach. This was going to be a problem. As we came up to where we had parked I thought maybe I could toss the pack to the side and just hope it was there later, but my phone was to heavy in my pack skirt pocket. I took off my sweatshirt and as I ran to the side to toss it, I noticed Susan (my dentist's wife) on the sidewalk taking photos. I asked her if she would mind holding the pack for me and thankfully she said yes! So thankful to her! It would have been a miserable race if I had that thing on for 13 miles.

The next mile was a breeze. :) I ran up the bridge at a good pace and then took it easy on the downside. I didn't want to aggravate my hips. I grabbed a cup of water at the first water stop at the bottom of the bridge and then began the watch for familiar friendly faces of the runners heading back towards me on the other side of the road. At mile 3 we turned and headed back to the bridge. It was fun to see all my friends and call out to them as we ran by each other. I ended up running a bit fast during this time, but I slowed down again as we started up the bridge and into the headwind.

Mile 1: 9:43
Mile 2: 9:23
Mile 3: 9:24
Mile 4: 9:43
Mile 5: 9:52

From mile 6 to just past mile 8, we ran on one of the main north/south roads in the city. Very boring! It's also a big area for the local prostitutes to patrol. Only one Ho sighting. :) My hips and psoas muscles started to get tight during this stretch. At the next water stop they had a medical tent where I was able to get some tylenol and then was on my way again. The course moved off the main road and through a nice neighborhood near the water. The next few miles went by pretty smoothly. I slowed my pace a bit, but was still making better time that I thought I would before the race.

Mile 6: 10:10
Mile 7: 9:49
Mile 8: 10:05
Mile 9: 10:51 (stop for tylenol)
Mile 10: 10:08
Mile 11: 10:21
Mile 12: 10:11

With a half a mile to go, I noticed this woman ahead of me who I had been running near the entire race. My goal was to catch up to her. I did that by mile 12.75. I hung back a little, thinking I would pass her closer to the finish. But she slowed down, so I surged ahead. The last .1 to the finish was great. I had some speed left and turned it on. I passed a few people on my way in and passed 2 women just before we crossed the finish line. :)

Mile 13: 9:59
Mile .1: 55 seconds
Finish: 2:10:36

After finishing, I made my way back to the sidelines, so that I could look for Amy and cheer her on as she finished. She did great, breaking her previous record by over 20 minutes! We hung out for a bit after the race then headed back to the car. Luckily, both our tossed sweatshirts were waiting for us on the grassy area were we had left them earlier. Before taking off we had our photo taken with the Leprechaun from the Lucky Charms cereal. I can't believe he carried that box for the whole race!

Best shirt of the race: "Can't wait to finish... That's what she said!" :)

Beauty and the Beast Royal Family 5K

Epcot, FL February 26, 2011

This race was all about Aidan (my 7-year-old son) and keeping to a good pace for him to finish the race.

We got to the parking lot about an hour before the start. I gave Jodi( a friend from the WW marathoners group) a call so we could meet up. We hung out with Jodi and Kevin for a little bit before heading over to the start line. Aidan and I got in to the 11 to 13 minute per mile area.

Soon enough we were off! The huge crowd kept us from starting out to fast. Aidan was kinda frustrated with all the people blocking his way though. The first mile was mostly through the parking lot, but miles 2 and three were both through Epcot. We had numerous walking breaks, but they were quick and Aidan was soon ready to run again. We stopped for photos twice, when there were only a couple of people waiting. Some lines had at least 10 people in them!

When we reached mile 3, Aidan asked if he could run all out. I told him to go for it. He passed at least 20 people as his speedy little legs ran to the finish line. That was a very fun race. We have already talked about running it next year. Hopefully I'll be able to run the Princess half the next day too. :)

Aidan's finish time: 36:56
I was about 10 to 15 seconds behind him. :)

Cupid Shuffle 10K

American Red Cross Cupid Shuffle 10K, Tampa, FL
February 12, 2011

Amy and I headed out early for this race. It was a little over an hour drive up, so we left at 5:15 am. Registration opened at 6:30 am and Amy needed to register still. We got off on the correct exit and drove for a few miles but couldn't find the place where the race was being held. So we turned around and drove back to ask directions at a Circle K. Amy was told that we had to go the same direction we had been heading! We did find it and got a parking spot across from the registration area.

We got there way to early. They were still getting the registration set up even though it was after 6:30. So we hit the bathrooms in the clubhouse then came back out. I got my bib, t-shirt and goodie bag and Amy got registered. The webiste said it was chip timed, but the volunteers at the tables didn't know anything about it. We took our stuff back to the car and then settled in for a while to wait for the race. The 5K racers started at 8 am, so we got out to watch them start and cheer them on. We had one last porta potty stop and then headed to the start line. There were only about 50 people running the 10K. Most were running the shorter race. This is one of the smallest races I've ever run. It was super cold out, low 40s, so I pulled out the valentines long socks that Amy had given me that morning and put them on my arms. I was styling. :)

The race got started on time and we were off! I had no idea of my pace for the first two miles since I couldn't see my Garmin (covered by the sock). But I just went with what felt good. My legs felt a little stiff from the cold, but other than that I felt good. The entire course was on the road through the gated community and the road was brick. Not good on my legs, but I managed OK.

Mile 1: 9:07
Mile 2: 9:15

The socks came off after mile 2. It was still cool but the sun was out in force now. As we ran by the start again at the 5K, I got my first drink of water, tossed the socks onto the front of my car and carried on. The runners were very spread out now. There were only a few in my general area. One woman in a pink top passed me around mile 4. I thought she would be a good one to try and keep up with and pull ahead of. I ended up pulling past her at the water stop at mile 4.5.

Mile 3: 9:26
Mile 4: 9:39

Mile 5 and 6 were a little harder. I could feel my muscles tightening up like they have been latley. ITBand on my right leg was feeling tight too. In the last mile I did get passed by two guys and one woman, but managed to stay ahead of the pink shirt lady until the end! :D

Mile 5: 9:39
Mile 6: 9:23

Garmin time: 58:03



I can't believe I got 2nd in age group (40 to 49) with that time. That's what's good about small races I guess. :)
Congrats to Amy who got a PR for the 10K!

DeLeon Springs Half Marathon

January 2, 2011

I woke up race morning at about 5:45, 15 minutes before my wake up call. I played online for a bit and checked the weather. It was wet outside. Thin lines of showers were moving through. I was glad that I brought my older shoes just in case. I didn’t want my new adrenalines to get wet the first time out. I realized after a bathroom stop that I wasn’t as hydrated as I should be. I kind of had a feeling this would be the case last night when I was feeling dehydrated. I got dressed, made sure I had all my gear in the bag and headed out. There was a Duncan Donuts right next door to my hotel, so I walked over and got a coffee before hitting the road.

I managed to find the race start with some luck. I saw a car with a 13.1 sticker in front of me so I decided to follow behind him in hopes he was going the same way. He was! It was a good thing I turned off the main road when he did, because I did not see the sign for the park until I had already turned onto the correct road. I got a good parking spot and then headed over to pick up my bib and shirt. The shirt was kind of boring, but the type down the arm was cool. I was back in my car within minutes and had about an hour to kill before race start. I enjoyed my coffee and a cliff bar while reading the newest Runners World. With about 20 minutes to spare, I figured I’d hit the porta potty. I also found someone who could tell me how many water stops there would be. The guy said there was one at 1.5, 4 and 6. It was an out and back course, so I figured I would be good without my own water. (mistake #1) I got in a very long line for the women’s bathroom and waited and waited. Finally got a stall with two minutes to race start!! That was the fastest I’ve ever gone! I entered the crowd of waiting runners and found myself next to a group of fellow Half Fanatics! We said "hi’s" and "good luck’s" and then we were off!

I started off at a good clip. My pirformis was feeling a little tight, but I took two Advil earlier, so hoped that would carry me through. I also had two Endurolyte tabs in hopes that would help with hydration. The water at mile 1.5 was needed and hit the spot. It was feeling very humid already. Around mile two, one of the Half Fanatics, Kevin, caught up to me. We ended up running the next 2 miles together. It was nice having someone to chat with for a while. I had two Clif blocks while walking through the water stop.

Mile 1 – 9:04
Mile 2 – 9:34
Mile 3 – 9:50
Mile 4 – 10:07



My skirt bounces a lot in the back!
(thanks http://halftriing.blogspot.com/ for the photo)

From mile 4 through 6 I felt pretty good. I actually felt like my pace was better than it had been. It must have been the caffeine in the blocks. There was one woman running who would pass me and then would slow down to a walk, and then I would pass her. This happened a lot until mile 6 when I pulled ahead for good. One of my goals was to stay ahead of her to the finish and I did.:) At the mile 6 water stop, I had my endurolytes out and ready to swallow once I got my water. When I pulled them out of the baggie, one fell on the ground! I needed that sucker, so I picked it up, dusted it off and swallowed it! It was a good thing I was paying attention to the runners ahead of me because just past the water stop we turned left down a side street. No course markers and the 2 teenagers at the water stop said nothing!

Mile 5 – 10:08
Mile 6 – 9:58

Lots of great shade for the next half mile or so before we turned back out to the main road and started the run back to the finish. I was really regretting not bringing my sunglasses (mistake #2). The cloud cover was gone. The sun shining on the puddles and wet road was very bright and uncomfortable. As I got closer to the water station that was at mile 6 again I could see that some runners had missed the turn and were heading my way. A woman ahead of me waved her arms at them, pointed to the street and yelled that they needed to turn. They all gave the girls at the water stop a dirty look as the passed by the table on their way back to that side street. The next few miles were hard. It was getting pretty hot and there was NO shade at all.

Mile 7 – 10:31
Mile 8 – 10:23

We finally got shade around mile 9 and the water stop was a welcome site. I had two clif blocks in my mouth when I grabbed a cup water from one of the teenagers working this stop. I walked a bit then lifted the cup up to take a sip when I noticed dirt (or something) floating in my cup. Not just a few particles but a lot! I dumped it and walked back for more water. I looked in the cup this time before walking away. That was just so gross! Why would she give runners a cup of dirty water?! I really should have brought my own water. I was pretty thirsty at this point. There hadn't been any water for 3 miles which is just to long of a gap for such a hot morning. The next few miles were mostly shady with a bit of a breeze, so that helped a lot. The turn into the park was a welcome sight. At mile 12.3 we turned a corner which had us running in to a strong wind. I was hoping to pick up the speed a little for the last half mile, but I just couldn’t get going any faster with the wind. The final last little bit was just after a turn to the left. I say the clock getting very close to turning to 2:16, so ran it as hard as I could. I ended up finishing right at 2:16!

Mile 9 – 11:06
Mile10 – 10:28
Mile 11 – 10:45
Mile 12 – 11:27
Mile 13 – 11:09
Mile .13 – 1:19

They had our medals waiting at the finish line and a table set up with small cups of water. I understand why races don’t like to use plastic bottles, but come on! I wanted some good tasting water after drinking yucky tap water for the last 2 hours! Thankfully my car was right next to the finish line. I had a good bottle of water waiting for me in there. I dried off a bit with the beach towel I brought and then grabbed my yoga strap to find a place to stretch. I could feel my leg muscles were pretty tight. I actually felt pretty tight for the last 2 miles which shows in my much slower times. The only thing I could eat on the food table was a banana, so I grabbed that and then found a place to stretch. Before leaving I chatted with Kevin. He had a bad race as well and a few other guys in our area mentioned that they did as well. I didn’t stick around for the awards ceremony. I was no where close to the top 3 in my age group. Plus It was 11 am already and I had a noon check out time. On my way out of the hotel I ran into the Southernmost Walker, a Half Fanatic, and his wife. The race was a rough one for them too.

I wouldn’t run this race again, however I am happy that I did run it. I would recommend it to people who live close and want to run a small, community type race. They don’t have the volunteers or set up for a large group of runners. I plan on emailing them and letting them know that they should bring in porta potties next time. 4 stalls for all those women was not enough!

Manatee River 5 mile run

Saturday, December 26, 2010
Palmetto, FL
Last race of the year! :)

A great run! Not my fastest 5 mile race, but I am happy with it. My hips were very sore and painful yesterday. I went to bed thinking maybe I shouldn't go to the race. But I got up this morning and they felt a bit better. I think the massage Friday made me sore! She pressed hard on those trigger spots.

It was very windy this morning. 18 mph and gusting to 35! Temp at 50. The course was on paved roads and trails. The trails felt great under my legs. :) We had a brief glimpse on the Gulf and the Skyway bridge in the distance before running the last 1.5 in.

It was chip timed, but no starting line mat to read them. I was stuck behind a lot of walkers, so lost about 10 seconds at the start. I should have started further up but I didn't want to block any of the fast runners. This was the RRCA 5 mile state championship race also. The guy who won ran it in 25:29!!

Unofficial time (watch): 46:53.
splits: 9:19, 9:30, 9:42; 9:26; 8:53! (most of the wind behind me on the last mile ;)
Official time: 47:02.
7 out of 20 in age group. overall: 184 out of 334

Women’s Half Marathon

November 21, 2010
I got up at 4 am race morning to have a cup of coffee and watch a little TV before the drive up to St. Pete. The weather channel showed that the temp was already 69! It was going to be another hot run in Florida.

I made good time on the interstate and found a parking spot right away in the lot closest to the start. For some reason they had no one there charging for parking! Score! I made a call to Brenda and we decided to meet near the start line. She had parked quite a few blocks north of me. We ended up meeting near the porta poties because I couldn’t wait any longer for her! We got our photo taken a couple of times then headed over to the corrals. I decided to stay in the third one with Brenda instead of going up to the second corral. I planned on taking it easy. I just wanted to finish this race without injuring myself anymore than I already was. For the past week, my left hip was out of alignment, which caused pain all down my leg. Two visits to the chiropractor helped a lot.

We got started right at 7 am. Not even a quarter of a mile down the road, I saw my friend Gina. I made my way over to her to say hi and wish her luck, then I ran back to the middle of the road. I wanted to stay on the flattest surface I could find, so my plan was to stay near the middle. The first 3 miles were good, though I had a little pain in my leg.

Mile 1 - 9:20
Mile 2 - 9:13
Mile 3 - 9:37

Around mile 4.5 I stopped at the water station to eat my cliff blocks and swallow 2 advil and 2 endurolytes. That stop added to my mile by more than a minute, but it was worth it. Taking those endurolytes helped me keep the dehydration feeling away until the last mile. This was a beautiful part of the course near the water. The only downside was the road made of brick (I ran on the sidewalk) and low tide, which made it kind of stinky.

Mile 4 - 9:41
Mile 5 - 11:09
Mile 6 - 9:41
Mile 7 - 9:52

By mile 8 I could defiantly feel myself slowing down, but the pace felt good, so I didn’t push it. We ran down towards the Pier and back. There were a lot of people cheering us on for the next few miles. We then headed away from the water. This was a slight uphill. I didn’t mind to much because we now had a great breeze and I knew the downhill on the way back would feel great.

Mile 8 - 10:09
Mile 9 - 10:37
Mile 10 - 10:34

During mile 11 we ran through the parking lot of the Tropicana stadium. We then ran into the stadium and ran around the outside of the baseball field. Such a nice and cushiony surface! It felt great to be out of the sun for a short while also. By the time we headed out of the stadium, I was starting to feel dehydrated and in need of water. I was happy that I had made it so far in the race before getting this feeling though. Usually on a hot race day, this feeling hits much sooner. I had two more cliff blocks at the water stop just past mile 12. It was just what I needed to pick up the pace for the last mile. The slight downhill towards the waterfront helped a lot too. The last little bit to the finish line took forever! A woman pulled ahead of me with just a little bit left to the finish, so I picked up the pace and beat her just as we crossed the finish line. :) I grabbed a bottle of water and my finishers medal. Had my photo taken with it, grabbed a banana and yogurt then headed right to my car. I wanted to get home as soon as possible to spend a little time with my family before going in to work at noon.

Mile 11 - 10:25
Mile 12 - 11:10
Mile 13 - 10:28
Mile .16 - 1:29
Finish time: 2:13:29 (Chip)

I am very happy with my finish time. It’s over 6 minutes faster than last year at this race! So happy that my leg wasn’t too much of an issue. Looking forward to next year.

Stats: place: 1303/4746; Division: 234/793