Run The Crim

On Saturday I ran the Crim 10 mile. This is my second time running it. It's the same age as me, so at least I'll never forget my age!

I had to wake up pretty early to make the drive to Flint. My friend, Susan and I had a good trip up and got to catch up with each other. We found the perfect spot to park, and had plenty of time to get our t-shirts and race bibs, stop at the bathroom, head back to the car and have breakfast (oatmeal) and sit and relax for a few minutes. We went to the start line only to realize we were 30 minutes early, so we took that opportunity to use the facilities again. There's a university food court type building right next to the start line, so we went in there. For some ridiculous reason, they closed (and locked) the bathrooms upstairs, so we were only allowed to use the downstairs ones. I don't understand why. I'm sure the stores and restaurants that were open sold a lot of drinks and food and other items to the runners. At any rate, we made it out to the start line in the middle of the national anthem.

This years' Crim had a record breaking 10,000 runners. It took us about 5 minutes to get over the start line. Susan and I ran together for a while, and then we each went at our own pace. It was an incredible race. I was moved to tears multiple times. The people of Flint love the Crim. Thousands of people sit on their curbs and cheer on strangers. It's surreal. My first favorite person was the man who said he was selling maps of shortcuts for $5. He also said that shortcut would make you faster than the Kenyans!

The Salvation Army had a band playing at another spot. Beautiful music. The postal workers were outside the post office clapping and cheering us on. There was a man standing in his front lawn, with a microphone and a speaker singing Golden Oldies. He just happened to be singing "Dawn (Go Away)" by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons as I ran past him. That was one of my favorites. Then there was "St. Elmo's Fire" playing. There were a few churches represented there. Some were handing out water with "Jesus Cares" shirts (with big smilie faces on them), others were singing hymns, and others were playing hard Christian rock. From the hymns to the metal, they all were wonderful!

You see a lot of tattoos while running a race. There's the girl with the obligatory tribal sun on her ankle; you see the man with the crazy hair and the prison tat of a spiders' web on his elbow... then you see some unusual ones like the woman who had a butterfly tattooed on her ENTIRE back. It was actually quite beautiful. And then some everywhere and in between.

Then there's the water. I poured about 3 or 4 cups of water down my back and neck. It was great. Some people handed out ice cubes, which was fantastic! One group handed out water in plastic cups, and as you ran past, you heard the popping of the cups as people trampled over them. It was rhythmic. Other people were holding hoses and aiming them into the air, creating a sprinkler for those that ran under. I ran under nearly all of these.

This is the best race I've ever run. I'm still a newbie of a racer, I think, but this is such a great race. The people that cheer you on are wonderful... it's like seeing the best of mankind. The people of Flint are so nice, so friendly.

I beat my time last year by 2 minutes and 21 seconds. I did take 3 or 4 walk breaks. I ran until about mile 7, then took the walk breaks after that. While I'm happy with my time, I think I could have gone a little faster and pushed a little harder. There were so many time clocks in the second half of the race, and I would calculate how fast I'd have to run the rest of the race in order to beat last years' time. I would figure out that I had time for a walk break. Or four. Next year, I'm going to try not to pay attention to the time and just listen to my body. If I need a walk break, I'll take it, but I'm going to try to push harder and do even better!

I love this race, and I think anyone who runs, or is thinking of running, should go to Flint and run the Crim. This race does not disappoint!



Distance: 10:00
Time: 1:54:29
Pace: 11:27

Run Run

I went for a run after dinner tonight. I'd love to say it was really easy, but it wasn't. At this point, I should be running fartleks and tempo runs, but I'm still working on running the entire distance. I did it today, and it definitely wasn't an easy run. It had great moments, though, and it was nice to get out. I'm happy with my pace too!

As soon as I came home from work, I changed out of my work clothes and into my running clothes. I sat down on the couch and my husband asks me, "Didn't you just run the other day?" HA! That made me laugh. Funny guy.

I found a race to run next week, a September race, that starts at 7pm. That should be fun. I'd love to PR there, but it's not likely. I'm still going to hope for 32 minutes or under. I'm excited to have run a race every month from April through October. Maybe I can find a good one in November, too!

I found a couple of shirts at an outlet mall near here yesterday. I wore one tonight to test it out, and it fit well and was comfortable. My stomach's not nearly as flat as I'd like it to be, but that's ok, I guess! The only thing wrong with the shirt is that it shows the sweat a little. I had a darker circle on my stomach, and I'm sure that is super attractive. I might just wear the other shirt anyway (which I'm sure will have the same problem) and then dump water on me before pics so that you can't tell what is sweat and what is water. Mwahaha! Or, I might try to find some time on Friday night to go look at another store. Kinda irritating!

Distance: 5.6 miles
Time: 1:01:43
Pace: 11:01

Race Day Outfit

For some reason, I'm having a hard time finding a race outfit for this upcoming race! I think it's because I was so disappointed in the pictures from this race last year. Yes, it may sound vain, but I'd like to look as good as possible in my race photos.

I have one super cute pink shirt that I may wear... it looked better before I gained 5 lbs, and I'll bet it would look even cuter if I lost 10 lbs. So, it's not as cute as it could be. I might have to take a trip to the store this week to see if I can find something that fits me now, and looks cute now. Because, ultimately, that's why I run - to be cute. Ok, not really, but I like when that happens!

I ran a 5k tonight. I have not been sleeping well this week, so I slept in today instead of running before work. By "slept in" I mean, "got woken up an hour early by my husband saying, a little too loudly, 'I guess you're not running this morning!'" I responded with, "NO! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP IN! SHHH!!!!!!" I later sent a text message to him apologizing for my response. You'd think after 15 years of marriage he'd know not to bother me before 9:00 am. I digress.

I ran this evening instead of this morning, and I ran on empty. I was so tired, but I needed to run, so I went and did it. Not the best pace, and I took two walk breaks, but I did it, and I'm glad.

Distance: 3.11
Time: 35:21
Pace: 11:21

Wonderful

My run was wonderful today. After deciding to run the half marathon instead of the full, I felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. I was dreading my long runs, and that's no good!

I wasn't sure how long I was going to run today. I have a 10 mile race on the 28th, and want to do better than I did last year. The longest I've run straight this summer (without walk breaks) has been just under 7 miles. I decided to set my iPod for 10 miles, and see if I could run for at least 8 of those before walking. I figured I could stop at 8 if I wanted to.

At about 5 miles, my knees and hips started to hurt, but I kept going. I managed to run the whole 10 miles. I haven't done that since March! Looking at my Nike+ it shows my pace slowing after 7 miles; about 25 seconds slower per mile. I can handle that! I'm a little sore now, but very happy that I was able to do it! I'm feeling good about the race now. I really hope I can beat my time.

Have I mentioned how I love the 10-mile distance?

Distance: 10:01
Time: 1:52:16
Pace: 11:12

Reevaluating

Horrible, no good run today. While there was an Air Quality Alert today (and now my mouth tastes like exhaust), that's not the real reason the run was bad. It was bad because my training is not going the way it's supposed to.

My buddy Bart Yasso says if you do 90% of your training runs, you should be good for your race. I think have skipped one run every week since marathon training began. When you are only running 3 times a week, that's a lot. So I've only been doing 66%, roughly? Eeps.

My run today was supposed to be 14 miles. Well, actually, I should have run that on Wednesday, and today was supposed to be 7 miles of speedwork. I chose not to run on Wednesday. Today I ran 4 miles. I started walking after 2.

I am really considering doing the half marathon in October, and then doing a full marathon in either April or May. There's the Martian Marathon in April, and the Flying Pig Marathon in May. Either would be good choices - I'll have to do some research on them.

Last year, when I ran the half marathon, I had such a hard time running in the summer, and therefore, my race time was slower than I'd hoped and I felt awful physically during the race. I remember skipping a lot of runs last summer because of the heat. Guess what? Training schedules have runs on them for a reason. They don't expect you to skip every other one and still accomplish your goal.

My nutrition hasn't been the best either. I keep reading over and over how important nutrition is for runners. If I go to the half, and then do the full in the Spring, I need to commit to eating the right foods, and really nourishing myself.

In a lot of ways, I'm really excited about the possibility of going down to the half. I'd love to take last year's time and blast it out of the water. I'd love to run the whole thing, and do well. I'd feel like I conquered the half marathon, and ran a good race. Last year was not a good race. If I do the full, the way I've been training, I think it would not be a good race either.

I came home from my run and cried to my husband about how horrible my training has been. At first he tried to encourage me to keep going and that I could run the marathon this October, but when you look at it all, it might not even be wise. Poor nutrition + poor training = poor racing.

If I do the half, my hubby is going to help me shed a few pounds this fall/winter and get stronger. He says this is at least 25% his fault, because there have been times where he's encouraged me to sleep in instead of run, or he's made me unhealthy food, or encouraged junk food eating. I don't think his percentage is accurate, but it is encouraging that he wants to help! If I do the full in the Spring instead, I'm glad we know what I need to change, and I'm glad he knows how he can help. That is encouraging.

I have until October 1 to change my race. I might go try and do the 14 miles tomorrow morning - we'll see. Depending on how I feel after that, I'll likely make my decision.

Distance: 4.0
Time: 47:23
Pace: 11:50

Maintenance Week Continued

Another 10k tonight. A little bit slower, but still above training schedule pace. It felt more comfortable tonight than two days ago, except for the stitch I got in my side about half way through. Slow, deep breaths helped. My thighs hurt during the first 10 minutes or so, so I had to go a little slower at the beginning to work them out.

You know what's scary? During the marathon, after I've run what I ran tonight, I will have to run 20 MORE miles! That is scary. The marathon is 4-10ks and another mile and a half. It seems more doable than one 10k, and two 10-milers. So, I'd just have to do what I did tonight THREE more times and add another 1.5 on the end. I'll work on it! :)

I had to concentrate tonight on this run, and not the next few weeks of runs. I had to remind myself mutliple times, since I was starting to worry. "How am I going to do a 7-mile tempo run on Monday morning? Should I do it Sunday night? Will I be able to do it without walking?" "What about the 14 mile run? Wednesday or Thursday? How hot is it going to be?" "How am I going to do that 18 mile run in 2 weeks when I'm scheduled to work every day, all day during the week, and I have a 10 mile race on Saturday? I can't skip my 18 mile run!! It's an important one! Will I have to get up at 2:30am to have enough time??"

I will figure that all out. For tonight, I ran 10k, and felt good.

Distance: 6.23
Time: 1:09:33
Pace: 11:09

Side note: They finally posted the race results from the 10k I ran last week. Last year, I was second last of my age group - 16th out of 17. I noticed when I was waiting for the race to start this year, that it seemed like there were about half the amount of people there this year. I wonder why. It is a hard race, but you'd think people would want a challenging course. Anyway, this year I came in last in my age group, even though I beat my time by two and a half minutes. There were only 7 women in my age group. I came in 4th last in the race, which seems weird. I am always in the slower end, but I still think my time wasn't bad. I realize this race is more for elite runners (and really felt that a lot last year, moreso than this year), but it is still a race, and should bring local runners of all skill levels. Kind of disappointing. I wonder if it's worth it to run next year if it's only for the elite?

Maintenance Week

No long run for me this week, just maintenance runs at an easy pace. That does mean I have to actually get out and run, though. Ahem.

I took four days off since the race. My run today was supposed to be at a 12:04 pace. I decided to go out and just run easy, and hopefully stay under that pace. Sometimes when I take a few days off, that next run is really hard mentally. I start running and question whether or not my body was meant to run. It doesn't feel natural - walking feels natural. I wanted to walk quite a few times, but I kept remembering what my husband tells me. I always complain to him when I have a rough run, or walk more than I wanted, and he always tells me the same thing. He says that I could push myself a lot harder than I do. I find it encouraging that he thinks I'm better than I really am. So, tonight I pushed myself. Not to run faster, but to just run. I ran the whole 10k. And it felt good. There were parts that were hard, but for the most part, it was just good.

Distance: 6.23
Time: 1:08:03
Pace: 10:55