Tuesday, December 31, 2013

My Year in Running--2013

I got this from Run Stretch Go who got this from Shoelaces and Bibs and  Miss Zippy.

1) My main goal for 2013 was: to PR in my a half marathon and the ten miler (to get a good corral for the 2014 WDW marathon!) I PR'd the ten miler at the Evergreen Pumpkin 10 Miler and the half marathon at the Space Coast Half Marathon (I haven't written my recap yet)

Evergreen Pumpkin 10 Miler
 


Space Coast Half Marathon


2) My Running Shoes: I started with Brooks Ravennas, which I loved but when it came time for a new pair, they had narrowed the toe box.  Then I got the Saucony Guide 6.  I loved them too except the heel toe drop was too low and they gave me Achilles problems.  So they put me in Brooks Ghosts except they were neutral shoes and I wore them for one race and got knee problems (so I used the Saucony again until the heel problem kicked in again).  Then they put me in Brooks Adrenaline 14 which gave me ankle problems because they're stability shoes.  So now I'm in Asics 2000-2.  Let's hope this works!!

3)Favorite running gear item of 2013:  My Garmin Forerunner 10.  I love constantly looking at my watch to do the math to try to figure out when I am going to finish a run. 

 
 
4) Playlist screenshot: I have too many songs to take a screenshot but they're all upbeat.  I've also gotten into Rock My Run recently.

5) Number of Races: 28
 Break it down:
1 miler: 1 (Tour de Pain 1 Mile Sizzler)
5ks:12 (Dick Batchelor Run for the Children 5k, Lady Footlocker 5k, Color Me Rad 5k, Castaway Cay 5k, Dawn Brancheau Dream Big 5k, Run in the Garden 5k, Expedition Everest, Hilton Head Firecracker 5000, Splash N Dash, Tour de Pain 5k, Drenched 5k, Gridiron 5k)
6k: 1 (Subaru Distance Classic 6k)
4 miler: 1 (Tour de Pain 4 miler)
10ks: 3 (Winter Garden 10k, Winter Park Road Race 10k, Dumbo Double Dare Disneyland 10k)
15k: 2 (Gate River Run, Miracle Miles 15k)
10 miler: 2 (Tower of Terror 10 Miler, Evergreen Pumpkin 10 Miler)
Half Marathons: 6 (Disney's Marathon Weekend Half Marathon, Princess Half Marathon, Dumbo Double Dare Disneyland Half Marathon, chORD Half Marathon, Wine and Dine Half Marathon, Space Coast Half Marathon)

6) Most Difficult Race and Why: I'm not really sure.  Maybe a tie between the Gate River Run (because of the two huge bridges, one right at the end) and the Tour de Pain 1 mile Sizzler because I ran the whole thing as fast I could without stopping.

7) Favorite Fun Run:  Castaway Cay 5k.  It was so much fun to run on the island! 

8) Favorite Course: Wow--this is really hard.  I love all of the Walt Disney World ones because of running through the parks.  I can't pick just one! 

9) Race I want to do again next year:  Well, I'm already signed up for Princess and the Gate River Run again.  Might possibly do the Dick Batchelor, Lady Footlocker, Dawn Brancheau, and Winter Garden 10k.  The rest will depend on when we decide to start a family.

10)  Best Bling: I love my Princess Half Marathon medal

11) PRs:
 5k: Hilton Head Firecracker 5000: 29:44
10k: Winter Garden 10k: 1:08:20
15k: Gate River Run: 1:41:42
10 Miler: Evergreen Pumpkin 10 Miler: 1:43:38
Half Marathon: Space Coast Half Marathon: 2:21:38

12) Longest run: 19 miles to prepare for the Walt Disney World Marathon

13) Out of State runs: Castaway Cay 5k, Hilton Head Firecracker 5000 and the Dumbo Double Dare (Disneyland 10k and Disneyland Half Marathon)

14) Total miles ran: 642.50

15) Favorite motivational/inspirational quote of 2013:  I don't have one so I'll just use my mantra "Just keep running.  Just keep running."  Said like in Finding Nemo.

16) Lessons I've Learned: Nothing new on race day!! 

17) Injuries I battled and overcame: Achilles issues.  I am currently batting a knee issue and an ankle (possibly stress fracture) injury.

18) 3-5 Most inspiring people: List their blog, twitter, instagram- wherever you follow them"
Kristin from A Mom on the Run 
Justin from Always Running Forward 
Meghann from Meals and Miles

19) Favorite place on social media to connect with runners: Definitely twitter!  I have gotten so much great advice from the Twitter running community!

20) 2 goals for the next year: Finish the Walt Disney World Marathon and get another PR in a half marathon


How would you answer these questions?




Monday, December 30, 2013

Weekly Recap- December 23-29, 2013

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!  We certainly did!  It was so great to just relax and enjoy time with family.



I was going to run the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon on Sunday but I wanted to wait til the last minute to sign up to make sure I was feeling okay and I'm so glad I didn't.  I ran on Tuesday and Thursday and my leg was killing me.  I'm pretty sure that I've narrowed it down to the shoes.  Last time I got fitted, they put me in stability shoes, even though I'd always worn guidance shoes.  He assured me it was the right fit.  It wasn't.  Now my ankle is bothering me and I'm worried about a stress fracture in my upper shin.  I got new shoes today, Asics 2002 2.  I'm planning on walking around in them for the next 2 weeks but I'm not sure I'm going to run in them.  I want to rest my leg as long as possible.  I hope that's the right decision!

Tuesday--5.01 miles in 54:06 ( Mile 1: 9:50, Mile 2: 11:10, Mile 3: 11:14, Mile 4: 11:16, Mile 5: 10:33, average pace: 10:48)

Thursday--4 miles in 42:46 (Mile 1: 9:34, Mile 2: 11:26, Mile 3: 11:19, Mile 4: 10:28, average pace: 10:42)

Total miles this week: 9.01
Total  miles in 2013: 642.50
Total miles: 1067.99

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!

I hope your and your family have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Weekly Recap- December 16-22, 2013

I took this week, during the week off, too so I could try to get my leg to feel better.  I knew I had a long run on Sunday--20 miles.  And I was not looking forward to it!

I drove up to Jacksonville (where my parents live and where we spend Christmas) a few days early so I could run the Zooma training run with Kristin (A Mom on the Run).  The route was only going to be 10 miles so we got there a little early to get 3 miles in before the training run started. 

The training run was set up nicely.  They had several water stations and there was a van that would come pick you up if needed.  Unfortunately, I was a little out of my league.  I've never been one of the slowest in a group before.  I'm usually right in the middle.  But in this small group, I was definitely toward the end.  And I had no idea where I was.  They gave us maps but I'm horrible with them and I spent the whole run freaking out because they were so far ahead of me and I was worried that I was going to lose sight of them and get lost.  So I felt like I was pushing it to keep them in sight and that just made me tired more quickly.  At one point I almost stopped and called my brother to come get me since he lives right there.  But I kept on going and only lost them at the very end (luckily there was one other runner coming up behind me at that point and she told me where to go).  By the time we finished those ten miles, it was getting to be way too hot, and I was in quite a bit of pain so we decided to finish up the 7 miles later that night.

So after dark, I drove to Kristin's and we ran the last 7 miles.  I felt bad because I'm so much slower than her but she kept reassuring me that it was fine.  And I'm so glad I ran with her!  I was tired and needed something to keep my mind occupied so it was nice to have someone to chat with!

I actually feel pretty okay today.  I'm a little sore, muscle-wise but nothing too bad.  I don't have any stairs here like I do at home to test it out, but my knee doesn't hurt walking and my heel doesn't hurt at all.  I do still have that weird pain shooting up my leg bone though.  It got worse after the run yesterday. 

So I got the 20 miler done.  I just hope that it counts.  I'm a little worried that since we broke it up, my body won't be ready.  But I did the 19 miler and it was fine and I know some people only do 18 so I'm hoping I'm good! 

Sunday--20 miles in 3:50:13 (Mile 1: 9:56, Mile 2: 11:41, Mile 3: 12:11, Mile 4: 10:46, Mile 5: 10:44, Mile 6: 11:02, Mile 7: 11:50, Mile 8: 10:59, Mile 9: 11:25, Mile 10: 11:29, Mile 11: 11:29, Mile 12: 14:09, Mile 13: 12:13, Mile 14: 9:58, Mile 15: 11:36, Mile 16: 11:33, Mile 17: 11:24, Mile 18: 11:50, Mile 19: 11:59, Mile 20: 11:28, average pace: 11:30)

Total miles this week: 20
Total miles in 2013: 633.49
Total miles: 1058.98

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Orlando Yelp Event- Tony Roma's

Waaay back on November 6th, I attended a fabulous Yelp event at the Tony Roma's on I-Drive.


We met Chef Bob who told us quite a bit about the restaurant.  I learned that the headquarters for Tony Roma's is in Orlando.  I learned that they will soon be remodeling the restaurant (the Lee Vista location was currently remodeling.)  There will be a new location in Winter Park next year that will have a chef's table!



Up first--drinks.  I ordered a cantaloupe martini.  I'm not a fan of martinis so I asked for it to be super sweet.  This was perfect and delicious! (I had another later on).  You could also order a classic margarita.

While we enjoyed the drinks we snacked on some salted almonds.  I'm not a fan of nuts but I was hungry so tried some.  I'm not sure what it was, but the seasoning was sooo good!   I had quite a few!

Up first was an appetizer--Pigs in a blanket (pecan smoked sausage wrapped in bacon with bourbon sauce) and fresh jalapenos stuffed with chicken breast and cheese.  The pigs in the blanket were really yummy!  I don't like spicy food so I just tried the chicken in the middle of the jalapeno.  It was good but still way too spicy for me.

Up next: Pulled pork tacos--They smoked the pork for 5 hours.  The tacos had apple cider coleslaw and sriracha BBQ sauce.  These were good but still a little spicy for me.  I liked the shell they were cooked in.

Ok, I'm weird but one of my favorite things was this next appetizer: Charred onion dip with BBQ seasoned chips.  I LOVE dips.  And this one was so good.  And even the chips were addicting.  YUM!

For a salad, we tried the Smoked veggie salad with mozzarella cheese and portabella mushrooms with asparagus and a raspberry walnut vinaigrette.  I snuck a lot of cheese off this one!

 Next was a Vegetable pot pie with carrots, celery, bell pepper, and lima beans.  I'm not a huge fan of pot pies and I was starting to get full so I skipped this one.



White cheddar macaroni and cheese with breadcrumbs.  Cheesy goodness!


 For the main entrees we tried the Smoked prime rib with Yukon gold smashed potatoes.  It was served with horseradish and beef au ju.



And Lemon brined chicken with fingerling potatoes in rosemary butter.

Wood fired grilled salmon with 8 veggie hash, and couscous with red quinoa.

For the first time ever, I tried brussel sprouts!  They had bacon, balsamic, and pine nuts.  They taste a little like cabbage to me.
 
By this point, we were all ready to be rolled out.  And then dessert was served.  Ricotta Cheesecake served with fresh berries in agave syrup.  This was really yummy.

But the star dessert: Chocolate Mayhem!!  Cake with bourbon caramel coffee ice cream, Ben and Jerry's chocolate ice cream.  chocolate Kahlua mousse, and Snickers bars.  We were all sooo full but we couldn't stop eating it!



We had so much fun!  It was all served family style so it was nice to just relax and chat.




 As a parting gift, we got some Roma Bucks.


 We had to get a picture with Chef Bob!



Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Race # 40-- Evergreen Pumpkin 10 Miler

This year for the Walt Disney World Marathon, you had to submit a proof of time for a 10  miler race or longer.  So when Kristin (from A Mom on the Run) told me about this run, I signed up.  Plus it was on October 27, her birthday!  I was planning on using my best pace: the chORD half or this race, but since the half wasn't a true half, I knew this was going to be my only shot so I was a little nervous.


Kory, Adam, Kristin, and I headed to the race and got there pretty close to race time.  Kory was just watching so he held all of our stuff.  It was cold, so Kristin and I kept long pants on until the last minute.  And I do mean the last minute.  I'm used to Disney races where you have to be there super early and are in the corrals at least 30-45 minutes beforehand.  So when we were in line for the portapotties and I heard them say that they were about to start, I was freaking out a little.  We got into the corral with about a minute to spare.

 

I had been training by running the first three miles then doing my 2:1 intervals so that's what I did for this race.  Kristin and I ran together for those first 3 miles at a pretty quick pace. 
 

Then we said our goodbyes and she took off and I took a minute walk break.


 
This course is beautiful!  It's all shaded with huge gorgeous trees.  The course wasn't too crowded.  There was one out and back part that was a little congested but not bad. 




By looking at my watch, I knew my pace was pretty fast, for me.  But I was feeling good!  My knee wasn't bothering me, I wasn't that tired, it was cool and shady.  Pretty perfect race conditions.

Close to the end, I went to take a walk break.  I had about a half mile left.  I like to continue my walk breaks until about a quarter mile left and then take off sprinting.  But I met a friend.  He meant well, I know.  But he came up by me and told me I could do it.  I think he thought I was feeling exhausted and needed  motivation or something.  I told him I was okay and just taking a walk break.  He said we were too close to the end to take a walk break.  So I ran again but stopped after a minute.  And he wouldn't let me!  So by the time we got close to the finish line, I was too tired to really push it.  Oh well!  (You can see my "friend" in the finish line picture)


 My official time was 1:43:28 for a pace of 10:26.  I was really excited!  It would be a great proof of time for the marathon.


 I was 217th overall (I think they do it by gender) out of 361.  Lots of fast people!  I was 37th for my age and gender out of 56.  Not so great place-wise.  Lots of fast people running the race!

But I enjoyed it and I'd definitely do it again!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Weekly Recap- December 9-15

This week I ran 5 on Tuesday and 8 on Thursday.  For some reason, my first mile on Tuesday was almost a minute faster than normal.  And I got a really bad side stitch  So bad, that it was still hurting me on Thursday.  (This happened once before during my summer run streak).  I debated running or not, but decided it was something I could run through.  And it was.  It went away sometime Thursday and didn't come back.

But then I also noticed on Wednesday that I was having slight calf pain in my right leg.  Not that noticeable and I didn't really think much about it. But on Friday it started bothering me.  I can really pinpoint what it is.  It feel like when I put pressure anywhere on my foot (step with my heel, step on my tiptoes, step of the front of my foot), it sends a slight shooting pain (up what feels like my leg bone).  At first it was just up to my knee.  I thought maybe it was just tight calves so I've been using the trigger point therapy ball to massage the heck out of my legs and been wearing compression sleeves.  I decided to skip my run on Saturday.  I feel like a slacker, but I keep telling myself that it's only a 12 miler and better to rest now.  But today the pain is shooting all the way to my hip.  Anytime I go up a step or put pressure on it a certain way.  Its not a stabbing pain or throbbing pain.  Nothing extreme like my knee or heel pain or my shin splints were when I had them last year.  But it's there and its bugging me and I don't know if its something to run through or to rest.

I feel like I am a complaining machine.  I feel like something is always hurting.  And I hate being like that.  Physically, I want to run without pain again.  Mentally, I hate feeling like a complainer. 

I think I'm going to take this week off of running again.  I have a 20 miler this weekend and I want it to go away before then.

Anyone have any idea of what it could be???

Tuesday-- 5 miles in 51:09 (Mile 1: 9:19, Mile 2: 10:45, Mile 3: 10:11, Mile 4: 10:56, Mile 5: 10:25, average pace: 10:19)

Thursday--8 miles in 1:24:09 (Mile 1: 9:37, Mile 2: 11:00, Mile 3: 10:37, Mile 4: 10:54, Mile 5: 11:02, Mile 6: 10:22, Mile 7: 10:35, Mile 8: 10:00, average pace: 10:31)

Total miles this week: 13
Total miles in 2013: 613.49
Total miles: 1038.98

Friday, December 13, 2013

Race # 39- Tower of Terror 10 Miler

I was excited to run the Tower of Terror 10 Miler on October 5, 2013.  I love night races.  I'm much more of a night owl, so these are right up my alley.


We got to the race early since we hate stressing about time and we needed time to chalk our hair (it showed up so much better in Cori's hair) and put our rainbow stickers on.
















I had bought one of those iphone cases that recharges your phone because I planned to watch the Florida/Arkansas football game (I never miss Gator games).  But I forgot that due to all the people around, I can never get service.  And I had to miss my game.  Boo!

But soon we were ready to go!






 Soon it was time to line up in our corral.  I was in corral D.  For some reason, Cori was in E (even though we had the same proof of time and finish time estimation) but she showed her proof at the expo and she got switched to D.  I love how the new corral timings work.  It seems that just as soon as your corral walks up, they're counting down 30 seconds until the next corral is ready to go.

Soon it was our turn!







 
 
 
 
And we were off!  I felt pretty good at the beginning.  Around mile 3, my knee started aching a little.  By mile 5 it was killing me.  At one point I stopped to get some biofreeze from the medical tent.  There were some volunteers with goopy stuff on popsicle sticks.  I scooped some up and put it on my knee--only to discover it was Vaseline!!!  Oh man.  That stuff was so slimy since I was sweaty.  Ugh!  At the next med tent, I asked before I just scooped some up.  I put it on over the Vaseline but it didn't do anything.  So I ran in pain for the last 5 miles but I wasn't about to slow down or stop!!




  




 I like this picture because of the stars in the background.  But for some reason, I cannot remember where it was taken.

And here's my favorite race picture of all time!  I really need to buy this one!!  We had talked about doing this before but weren't sure we could get the timing right if we were in the middle of a run.  But we saw a photographer, counted 1-2-3 and jumped!



 Even though I was in pain, I still love runDisney races.  Nothing compares to them!!



We got a new 10 Miler PR by 8 minutes and 11 seconds!  Official time was 2:04:36.  Overall, I was 3750th out of 9480 so well in the top half.  For age, I was 352nd out of 1003 (top half) and for gender I was 2013th out of 6134 (top third).  Not bad!





And some fun finishers certificates



After the race I met up with Kristin who had been watching her hubby run his first Disney race.  We chatted for a bit the Cori and I went to get some food.  My knee hurt but overall, I felt pretty good!  My back-to-back-to-back weekends of racing was done.  I had 2 weekends off before my next race!!


Thursday, December 12, 2013

Tower of Terror 10 Miler Expo

 
I love runDisney expos.  There are always so many vendors and I can always find so many fun things to buy.  The Tower of Terror expo is smaller than the other Disney ones but still fun!



The first thing we always do is head to the runDisney merchandise area.  We have several things we have to get each race:

The "I Did It" shirt (these were tech shirts this year.  And long sleeved.  I wear the I Did It shirts just as normal clothes so I wish they were cotton and short sleeved.  Oh well)
 












And the necklace plus the medal for the runDisney Mickey Vinymation
 

Sometimes we'll get other shirts but not this time.

Then we head over to get our race race bags (if we didn't have to pick them up in the other location) followed by getting our race shirt.  I seriously dislike the runDisney race shirts.  They're unisex and even though I get the XS, it's still too big, long and boxy.  I am sooooo happy that starting with Marathon weekend, they will be doing gender specific shirts.  Anyways, here's the shirt this year (and we got a Cliff bar in the goody bag)
 

 
Then we start on one end of the vendors and make our way up and down the aisles.  Here are the goodies I got.  The peach tea Gu chomps are my fav and I have a hard time finding them, so I bought a couple.  The salted caramel Gu is another fav so I had to pick up one of those.  Then we headed over to Lasting Commemoratives to get our free art card.  We have one from every runDisney race we've run in.  We stopped by the Sweaty Bands booth.  I'd seen the mint one with the bows at the Dumbo expo and I regretted not buying it--I wanted it for the outfit I wore for the Miracle Miles 15k race.  And I loved the fireworks one and since it was on clearance, why not?  Not like I don't literally have over 25 Sweaty Bands or anything.  I love them!
 

We also stopped by the Raw Threads booth to chat but we had already bought the shirts we'd been wanting (oh how I love these tees and tanks!  I'm addicted to them too!!!)

We stopped by a prop of the Tower of Terror elevator to take a picture. (Notice my shirt--it was a preview of what our costumes were going to be).


When we got home, Cori noticed that we were in the race brochure!



It might be hard to see but I added an arrow for you!  I'm a big dork but it was exciting for us!


I got out all my goodies I would need for our costume the next day












Who were we going to be???




Rainbow Brite!!!  Cori made the shirts.  Aren't they amazing?!?!?  The arm warmers were actually socks that went too high so she sewed them up.  Then she got the skirt material and we sent them to Rock City Skirts and she made them for us!  I loved our costume and couldn't wait to race in them the next day!!