Race #47- Gate River Run

Yeah, this race was over 3 months ago..oops!  Time sure flies!

I really enjoyed this race last year and I signed up early since I was able to (just barely) make it into one of the early waves because of a 5k time.  And even though I was under orders not to run, I didn't listen.  But I gave myself to take it easy and just have fun.

Jenn (Runs with Pugs) had picked up my race packet the night before (Thank you!!) I really liked the shirt again this year!  2 years in a row!

Kory drove me and we arrived early and met up with some friends--Jenn, Kristin (A Mom on the Run) and some of their friends.

I was definitely nervous going into the race. At that point, I hadn't run in 3 months except for the WDW Marathon and Glass Slipper Challenge.  I had no idea how my leg would do or how I would feel.

Soon it was time to line up.  Kristin was in a wave ahead of me but her hubby was in my wave so we hung out for a little bit.

Soon it was almost our turn...ready or not!

As soon as the race started, I noticed one problem--my earphones were broken!  I guess I had thrown them in a bag somewhere since I wasn't running and using them and you could see where the covering was broken and the wires were all messed up.  I'm not sure I had ever run without them.  Usually even when I'm with friends, I listen to them during the run portion of my run/walk.  It didn't make for a very good start for the race.  But I learned that I almost didn't miss it.  Almost.  There were several bands and lots of people to keep my mind off of the no music thing.  I think I could handle races without music but definitely not solo training runs.

I ran the first mile and then started my 2:1s.  I was hoping to maybe run the first 3 miles like I had last year but I just wasn't in the shape.

There were some gorgeous views.  We ran right by the river.

And this race is like a buffet--there are foods and drinks everywhere.  I enjoyed a mimosa

But seemed to be on the wrong side for everything else!  I know there were ice pops (which I was so thankful for last year), donut holes, bacon, sausage, and lots of beer!!  Such a fun race!

Before I knew it, the end was coming up and the Big Green Monster was right there!

Since I didn't have my headphones in, I could hear the music they were playing.  When I was going up, it was the famous song, Shout!  Everyone was singing and raising their hands.  And you know I was too!  Once on top of the bridge, there was another gorgeous view..I loved seeing the Jags stadium in the background.

I knew that the rest should be easy, down the bridge and the ramp and the end was right there!

Towards the bottom of the bridge, the poor lady in front of me fell.  She just tripped over something.  My worst nightmare.  I stopped and helped her up and she kept right on going!  Now that's dedication!

I ran down the ramp faster than my normal pace, getting ready to take off to the finish line like I normally do. But I couldn't find the finish line.  It had changed from last year.  You actually ran farther after you got done the ramp than you did last year so I didn't have a burst of speed.

For a little while in the race, I thought maybe I would actually beat last years time. But going up the bridge, I knew that wouldn't happen.  Imagine my surprise when I got done and saw my time--I PR'd by 11 seconds!  Not much, but I'd take it--especially since I was injured and hadn't run for so long!

I quickly texted Kristin to meet up with her and set out to look for Gatorade at the end of the race.  And that's when we come to my big complaint.  There was only water on the course and only water at the end of course.  I don't remember that from last year.  But there it was.  It's Florida, it's hot and people need electrolytes, it's a huge race, and some people (me!) hate water!!  There was only water to be found.  I was not happy.  And the ONLY close up race picture (I looked through thousands and thousands and couldn't find any more!  ) is of me being pissed off since I can't find Gatorade.  Oh joy.

Here's the other one;

Oh well!  I quickly found my way back to the tent and chatted with everyone for a little bit before we headed out.

It's still one of my favorite races.  And I was so glad that I got a PR and my leg didn't hurt! (well, until I got home but that's another story).

My official time was 1:41:32 with a pace of 10:55.  (I weaved a bunch apparently!) Overall I was 8053 out of 15513, so not quite top half.  I was 652 out of 1445 for my age and gender so top half there.  Not to terrible for not having been training!

Race #42- Subaru Distance Classic 6k

I knew I wanted to run a race on Thanksgiving morning. I read so many people doing it the previous year, so I looked for one up in Jacksonville, where my parents live.  I found the Subaru Distance Classic which had a 6k and a half marathon.  I knew that I had Space Coast Half Marathon the following Sunday, but I didn't decide which Classic race I wanted to run until last minute.  I decided the 6k would be smartest.

I hate a cute Thanksgiving-ish outfit to wear, however I realized a little too late that it was going to be super cold that morning so I bought a cold weather outfit last minute.  (and apparently I forgot to take a picture of the race shirt...oops!)

 So Kory and I got up early and headed to the race

 This is my face when they announced that the start was going to be delayed because of last minute registration.  People, it was 34 degrees with a wind chill of 24.  IT WAS FREAKING COLD!!  A lot of people were not happy and talking about how they should have cut registration off.  If people wanted to run, they shouldn't have waited until last minute.

While we were waiting for our delayed start, we were told that we were not allowed to walk over the starting mats--we had to jump over them.  Apparently they had gotten ice on them and it wasn't safe for us to walk over.  Yeah.  No one was prepared for the cold apparently.

Anyways, the race started and we took off.  My original plan was to try to run the whole 6k.  I'd never run father than a 5k before starting my intervals but I figured I could do it.  WRONG!  By mile 1 my knee was killing me.  And I was so mad about that!  The knee pain had finally gone away during my long training runs, but apparently the cold weather brought it back.  Gah.  But endurance-wise, I was feeling good so I did 3:1s instead of my 2:1s. 


This is the only photo of me running...not so great

A 6k is supposed to be 3.72ish miles.  My Runkeeper said 3.6.  Who knows.  All I know is that I was expecting to go 3.7ish and then all of a sudden I turned a corner and the finish line was right there!!

Anyways, my time was 35:07 which is a 9:40 pace according to race results (9:45 according to RunKeeper).  Either way, I had to be running the run parts a lot faster than my normal time considering I was doing intervals!  So I was happy with it!  I was 245th out of 1052 for females...top quarter!  I think that's my best finish so far! And 32nd out of 141 for my age and gender (top quarter again!)

 

 

 

So while I wasn't too happy about the cold (I decided that if I lived up north, I wouldn't be a runner), I was really happy about my time!!

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!

Race #33- Drenched 5k

The Sunday after the Tour de Pain, I ran the Drenched 5k.  Well, more like walked it which was fine by me.  I ran with Kristin from A Mom on the Run and her son.

 

Thankfully Kristin had picked up my race packet the day before when she got hers.  There were also some water guns that I forgot to add in the picture.

The race was supposed to start at 10 but then last minute the night before I realized that in the very last email, they had changed the time to 9.  A little confusing. 

At the race, Kristin decided not to bring the jogging stroller, thinking B would be okay run/walking it with us carrying him some.

 

When we got there, B was ready to go. (My pictures are taken from inside a Ziploc baggie so it wouldn't get wet. So a lot of them are foggy looking..oops!)

There was a long line of people in front of us, but we could see the water spraying ahead and were ready to get wet!

B did really good for a while but there was one long stretch that didn't have any water or anything interesting going on it got to be a little long for him.  We took turns carrying him.

 













When we passed by the parking lot where the car was, Kristin decided to get the jogging stroller while I got us water from the event cooler.  Unfortunately, they weren't prepared and there wasn't any water left.  Boo!  We did score a few ice cubes though.  While B and I were waiting, a police officer showed up and asked if we were continuing since we were the last ones.  I said yes and she gave a big sigh and attitude like we were inconveniencing her.  Not cool!  We put B in the stroller and off we went.  I wanted to try pushing it while running some so I could see how hard it was.  I was surprised at how it was a lot easier than I thought.  I don't think I could run fast with it or for long distances but its not as bad as I thought. 

We got to the foam part and B jumped out to play.  There wasn't a lot of foam like we had seen in the ads, but we made the best of it.

The foam war was on!

There were a couple of more water hoses to run through and B seemed to get a kick out of that.  It was fun to see the race through his eyes.

When we got to the end, they had a bunch of bubbles right before the slip n slide.

I had done a race with a giant slip n slide at the beginning of the summer and I was telling Kristin how great it was.  They were watering it the whole time and Dawn (not big suds bubbles) on it so it was perfect slippery.  This one was shorter and the soap wasn't as good and there was all sorts of dirt on it.

 

B wasn't too happy with the soap in his eyes nor the dirt on him so we quickly rinsed him off.  We went over to get refreshments after but there was only water (which I don't drink) and bananas that had been ripped in half so they were all brown.  Not exactly appetizing.

 

While I enjoyed running with Kristin and chatting and seeing the race through a little one's eyes, I'm glad that I won this entry and didn't pay for it.  I'm not honestly sure that I'd say I'd do it again.  Oh well!

Tour de Pain Wrap Up

I really enjoyed this race series. I thought it was a fun challenge to have 3 races in 24 hours, but it wasn't over the top.  It was doable.  And it was so great to run with Kristin, her hubby, and brother.

The medal!

I forgot to post a picture of the tech shirt.  And in the race pickup bag was a full-sized jar of Biscoff Spread.  Yum!

Here are my final stats:
4 Miler time: 42:11
5k time: 30:10
1 miler time: 7:47
Total time: 1:20:07
Overall place: 122
Overall class place: 20

Not too bad!  There is a Tour de Pain Extreme in March.  You do a 10k on Friday evening, a Half Marathon on Saturday morning, and 5k Saturday afternoon.  I just might want to do this!  I just did a 10k and Half Marathon on back to back mornings so it might be doable for me!

Race # 32- Tour de Pain 1 Mile Sizzler

We were back at the race at 4:30 Saturday afternoon.  This time it was at the Landing. 

There were 4 waves: Men's Masters, Men's Open, Women's Masters, and Women's Open.  We didn't start until 5:15.  And it was soooo hot!  I thought the heat would really affect my running, but luckily it didn't.

The boys went first.  Damian was so fast!  I think he was around 7:05 or something.  And Adam was up there too!  I wasn't sure what my goal was.  I'd love to beat my quickest time running a training 1 miler which was 7:54 but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do it.  And I was nervous!

We lined up and took off.  Each loop was 1 block.  It went pretty quickly.  They had a clock set up at a couple of places and I knew pretty early on that I could beat my time.

Coming down the home stretch!

I finished and was ready to collapse!  My official time was 7:47 so I had beat my previous training time.  I was 103rd place overall and 18th in my class.   Kristin and I relaxed for a few minutes before we got our refreshments.

  We had such a fun group!

 Free pizza and beer after a race?!?!  I love it!  (oh, and they had Propel flavored water which excited me!)

When we got back in the car, we were talking about our times and how we felt faster than our official time.  Then we looked at our watches and they all said that we had run more than just one mile.  My Garmin said I had run 1.10 miles.

Mile 1: 7:11
Mile 1-1.10: 6:11
Average Pace: 7:05

That was more like it!