The cold never bothered me anyway

Yeah, so it was a chilly start to the morning of the inaugural Harbor Lights 5k.  I was expecting it to be cold, but not that cold.  As they say, the show must go on, so I grabbed some extra layers to wear while I warmed up before the race and planned to run a fast race so hopefully I wouldn't notice the cold.  

Ryan, the kids, and I got to Norfolk with plenty of time to spare.  We walked around a little, went inside to get warm for a few minutes, and found some friendly faces along the way.  The atmosphere was incredibly laid back and relaxed, and I ate it right up.  

There was plenty of space to get the blood flowing, and this time I brought my headphones  so I'd be in control of my get amped music.  For the occasion, I chose Salt-n-Pepa radio on Pandora, and each song was better than the last.

Since all I wanted to do in this race was zooma zoom zoom zoom, Wreckx-N-Effect was right on queue.  As start time approached and runners made their way to their corrals, I let Young MC's Bust a Move finish before heading over myself.  

It had warmed up to a sweltering 28 degrees by race time, and there was an excited energy as I waited in the corral.  This was the first ever Harbor Lights race, and it felt great to support J&A Racing in their newest endeavor.  Bob got the crowd pumped and ready to go (although there was no love for Corral 1 from those behind us!), and off we went.  

I had no strategy.  I just wanted to run hard and then run harder.  I am totally unfamiliar with downtown Norfolk, so the course was a mystery to me.  I had looked over the course map prior to the race and knew it was full of turns, but I didn't know what to expect otherwise.  I didn't realize we'd be running on cobblestone streets in spots (hey Norfolk, it's 2014...we have asphalt!!!), and it caught me a little off guard.  I felt like I was cheating a little, but I hopped up onto the sidewalk with most of the other runners until we got through the treacherous terrain of the cobblestones.  We came around to the water and right in front of the USS Wisconsin and Nauticus Museum*** before heading back up Waterside Drive and turning around to finish right along the water.  

***A little side story about how Nauticus scarred me as a child - one time during a summer vacation to Virginia Beach, we were promised a trip to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.  We drove all the way there from my aunt and uncle's house (an hour or so) only to find there was a bit of traffic getting off the exit for the park.  My father decided Busch Gardens would be too crowded, turned around, and brought us to Nauticus (a naval museum) instead.  Nothing against Nauticus, but it's not Busch Gardens!  I digress...

Since there were so many turns on this course, I must've seen Ryan and the kids at least three different times.  Seeing their frozen little faces made me want to run that much harder.  Just past mile 2, I could feel my throat becoming a little constricted.  I often experience this during a hard run, but it's usually as I'm running down the homestretch of my street, not with a full mile left to go.  I allowed myself to back off ever so slightly so I could try to kick closer to the end.  I was able to reel in and pass a few women I had my eyes on for most of the race, and by the last half mile, I was just trying to hold on.  I came around a tight turn and knew the finish line was near, but my view was obstructed and I couldn't actually see it.  I spotted Ryan again, and as I ran by him, he yelled "200 meters left...GO!!!"  

Gotta love race pics that make you look like you're power walking.  Or perhaps marching.

With the end now in sight and the sun at my back, I dialed it up a notch, focusing on my shadow in front of me in hopes of keeping my form in check.  I crossed the finish line, breathlessly thanked the volunteer for my medal, then almost puked.  Twice.  

Yeah.  That's never happened before.  I thought I would just burp, but it ended up being more of a gag.  And it didn't go unnoticed by one of the volunteers, who shooed me over to the other side of the barricade and away from the other finishers (but mostly himself, I think!).  I caught my breath and got my shit under control, then jumped back into the chute to collect my snacks and finisher goodies.  I finally looked down at my watch:

21:55

Yesssss.  My only goal going into this race was to do better than the Race for Breath 5k earlier this month.  I improved upon that time by 49 seconds and was more than pleased.  My average pace was 7:04 (16 seconds/mile faster than Race for Breath), and I know with a little bit of hard work, I'll get that back down under 7 minutes before too long.  

We stayed for chili, beer, and conversation with some friends we ran into (not literally), then made our way to the car.  I checked the results on my phone once we got in the car, and here's the breakdown of my effort:

Much like almost puking after a race, there's a first time for everything - first Harbor Lights 5k, first time placing first in my age group in a J&A race!  I think it was meant to be...the fonts J&A's graphic designer chose for this race logo were so Fancy:

I felt appropriately sore on Sunday, with the exception of this bizzarre big toe pain I've been having for the past week or so.  It feels like a minor (yet mysterious) sprain and only hurts when I toe off, but it's changing my gait enough that I won't risk running on it until it feels significantly better.  It's been steadily improving, and it has until Monday or Tuesday to be perfect because that's when training for the 2015 Shamrock Half Marathon kicks off!!!  I've set a challenging goal for myself, and I am praying to the running gods that my body responds well to the gradual increase in mileage.  

I'm excited and nervous about this new journey, and I hope I've learned enough from last year's marathon training and injury recovery to have a smart, successful training cycle.  

BRING IT!!!

Every day I'm hustlin

The Fanciest Season of All is in full swing, pushing this little blog way down to the bottom of the list of priorities.  I've missed writing, and I'm hoping at least one, maybe two of you have missed reading, so I give you 10 things before getting back to the Fancy:

1)  The snow piling up in Buffalo's got nothing on the laundry piling up in my house.  Gone are the days of giving all of our swim suits a good rinse and calling it a day.  Now the hampers are full (fine, overflowing) with pants, long sleeve shirts, socks, and more socks.  

2)  Mr. Fancy has half of our Christmas lights up already.  Weather permitting, Santa, Frosty, Chilly Willy, and friends will be welcoming you to our humble albeit blinding abode by the end of the weekend.   

3)  For pretty much the entire month of October, I struggled to wake up early enough to get my whole P90X workouts in.  I usually got in about 45 minutes instead of the full hour before it was time to get Brynn up and out the door for school.  Knowing it wouldn't last forever, I cut the slacker in me some slack and am happy to report I've completed 100% of my workouts for about 95% of the month of November so far.  

4)  Some days, Camryn still gets a little teary when it's time to leave for school.  She tells me it's because she just loves me so much and will miss me while she's at school.  That girl.

5)  I successfully planned, prepped, and executed a birthday party for Brynn in 6 days.  

If we're being honest, I think that's the least stressed I've ever been about planning and hosting a party.  I had no choice but to make quick decisions about the theme, decor, and activities, and I only spent a few days thinking about the party before it was over and done with.  Brynn had a blast, I think her friends had fun (even the girl with the bloody nose, but what's a party without a little bloodshed?), and all is right with the world.  

6)  I'm not ready for winter running.  Trying to figure out the perfect combination of layers stresses me out, especially for those long runs on Saturdays.  Remember when I broke out in huge hives after an 8 miler in 15 degree weather?  I think I am literally allergic to the cold because my legs were super itchy after a windy and cold walk on the boardwalk Wednesday night.  In all fairness, I was dressed to run for 30 minutes and we ended up meeting friends and walking for close to 2 hours, but still.  Allergic to cold.  It's a thing.  Time to find some fleece lined running tights.

7)  I've gotten a rather large chunk of my Christmas shopping done already.  I have learned from the past couple of years it's best to get it done before the flood of Fancy orders comes in.  I'm making a conscious effort to shop local small businesses whenever possible, and I hope lots of people do the same.  

8)  I have started to live up to and embrace the stereotype of the stay-at-home mom.  I live in my yoga pants (but I actually do yoga some of those days so there's that), I rarely wear make up anymore, and my hair is either up in a ponytail or under a hat.  Camryn's bus driver even told me I "look a lot different without yer ball cap" on a day I actually put some effort into my appearance.  I'll take that as a compliment, Mr. Gary, but I should probably take it as a wake up call instead.  

9)  I drink hot water every single day now.  My house is kept at a chilly 65 degrees during the winter months, so I need something besides layers of comfy clothes and slipper socks to keep warm while I Fancy on the couch, but I don't want the calories and caffeine of my beloved coffee.  The mug warms my hands and the water warms my belly.  Winning.

10)  Tomorrow is race day!  It's the inaugural Harbor Lights 5k in Norfolk (the half marathon is Sunday, but I wasn't ready to tackle that distance yet), and I'm excited for some new scenery.  I've had more good runs than bad lately, and though I still feel a PR is not within reach just yet, I do hope to improve upon my time from the Race for Breath 5k.  Ryan and the girls are sitting this one out but should be there to cheer me on.  This race is falling right in line with the stress-free racing mentality I've had since my return from injury...I get all the perks of a J&A race (the crowd support, the after party, the swag) without the pre-race jitters that accompany longer distances.  I should be all smiles, except for maybe when I try to push it at the end and inevitably have some ugly runner face pictures to laugh at next week.  

So there you have it.  Ten things.  Luckily tomorrow's race is a short one, so the race recap should be a quick one to write.  

Peaceful easy feeling

Race - run - run - race.

That was my running schedule last week.  It was my first time having races on consecutive Saturdays and I'll have to give it mixed reviews.  While the racing part was undoubtedly fun, it was the run - run in between that had me feeling a little off kilter.  

The Wicked 10k left me feeling really sore in all kinds of wonderful places.  I wasn't expecting to keep the pace that I did for 6.2 miles and was pleasantly surprised with a 2nd place finish in my age group (out of 602 women, no less...HUGE turnout for us!).  I was lucky enough to win my entry for the Race for Breath from Jess at The Fit Petite, just a week after the Wicked.  Normally, I'd jump back into intervals on Monday or Tuesday (depending on my schedule for the week) after a race, but I felt my legs deserved a little more time off after the Wicked and did a comfortable 4 miles with Camryn in the stroller instead.   My second key run of the week was an easy 3 miles in place of the 5 mile tempo run my training plan called for (my plan is geared toward a 5k later this month, so I had to finagle it a bit to take these other races into account).  

I went into this past Saturday's Race for Breath with fresh legs and zero expectations.  I had the mindset that it would just be great practice for racing in general, and I could count those miles as my speed work for the week to make up for the easy miles I did the week prior to the race.  I met up with our team leader, Jess, and met some of my other teammates while warming up for the race.  The purpose of the race was to raise money for Lung Cancer research, so there were tons of people and teams wearing shirts in memory of a loved one they lost to lung cancer.  I was reminded of a childhood neighbor of mine who lost her battle with the ugly disease a few years ago, and I got a little choked up thinking of the family she left behind.  It was around this time last year that we learned Peggy's cancer had returned with a grim prognosis, and I had to walk around a bit or else risk being reduced to a puddle minutes before race time.  Emotions were high, but I did my best to shake it off and get out there and enjoy myself.

It was chilly and windy, with the first half of the out and back course going with the wind and the second half coming straight into it.  Now, I've been working hard on not starting out too fast when I race, but that day was different.  I really wanted to push my speed, and I knew I could only really fly if I went with the wind.  So off we all went, and I felt my pace was quick but comfortable for the first half mile or so.  It was just me and the guys for a while, and with it being a small race, I was able to see past runners and admire the view of the ocean on a blustery first day of November.  

Perhaps I should have been focusing straight ahead because a dark horse came up from behind, her long ponytail blowing in the wind as she pranced past me with her hoppy gait.  The longer I was behind her, the more irritated I got...not because she was ahead of me, but because I couldn't understand how she ran so fast with such a high flying stride.  Regardless, I tried to stick with her as long as I could as we headed back north and into the wind.  Seabiscuit was about a foot taller than I am so I was hoping to draft behind her for a bit.  No such luck, as she continued to gallop along and I started to run out of steam.  Much like during the Wicked the week before, I was grunting and groaning for the last few hundred meters, trying to shave off however many seconds I possibly could.  I crossed the finish line in 22:46, then practically bowled over the handsome Marine who was handing out finisher's medals literally a foot past the finish line.  

Maybe I was being generous when I said a foot...this looks more like 6 inches!

My finish line photo tells the story of how I was feeling.  The Race for Breath left me completely out of breath, and the photog with the quick trigger finger snapped this before I was able to smile pretty for the camera.  This is the real deal, folks.  Exhausted.

As quickly as the lady in black came up from behind and passed me, she disappeared into the crowd at 24th Street Park.  I tried to find her to offer congratulations, but she was nowhere to be found.  I stretched for a minute, collected my post race snacks, found Jess to thank her (and ask her if she'd mind collecting any award I may have won), and dashed off to the soccer field to catch my girls' back to back games.  Turns out I was the 2nd overall female, and I won a nice little gift certificate to my favorite local running store.

I just ordered my favorite Sauconys from Amazon for $65 (!!!), so I guess I'll just have to treat myself to a splurge item with this gift certificate instead!  This was my first time placing overall in a race, as well as my first monetary award...considering I didn't pay for my entry into this race, I'd say I made out pretty well!  

My 5k time of 22:46 was 1:40 slower than my PR from last year, and while I don't feel great about that significant difference, I do feel good about my time.  The week leading up to the Race for Breath wasn't a typical race week as far as my training plan goes, and the race day weather conditions were less than ideal for speed (although gusty winds are par for the course at the oceanfront in November).  Until that race, I was basing my training paces around an imaginary 5k time instead of an actual one.  Now I can adjust my paces to a more accurate (and slightly faster) 5k time for the remainder of this training cycle.  The Race for Breath was my litmus test, so now it's time to put in a few more weeks of hard work and see if I can do better at the Harbor Lights 5k.  

After the tough spring I had dealing with an injury, I am so happy to be running strong and healthy again.  I was worried I would have a lot of ground to make up to get back to where I was pre-injury, but it seems as though I've been able to pick up where I left off.  It feels so good to attack my training runs, even on days I'm not sure I have it in me.  I've gotten lucky and placed in all three of the races I've entered since returning from injury, and it feels like I'm being rewarded for my patience while I was down and out, as well as the work I put in once I was back out there pounding the pavement.  

I've been enjoying this lighthearted approach to running I've taken in the past couple of months, and I think it's a much healthier way for me to race.  This approach has made finding balance in my life so much easier...training for these shorter distances isn't all-consuming the way marathon and even half marathon training is.  I feel good about giving my body more time to rest and rebuild when needed, and there isn't even a trace amount of panic that would usually come with doing so.  I am registered for the Shamrock Half Marathon and start training in just a few weeks, and I hope I can keep this easy breezy approach as I start to ramp up my mileage to places it hasn't been in a while.  And as much as I'm loving these shorter race distances right now, I still have not ruled out running another marathon...not anytime soon, but maybe someday.  I learned this past weekend that it's impossible to watch the New York City Marathon, this time as a marathon veteran, and not be inspired, not wonder what I would do differently my second time around.  I don't feel like the nail is in the coffin of 26.2, and it's a little exciting to think about when and where #2 would be if I chose to have another go at it.  In the meantime, I'll just keep running happy...in some new gear from Running Etc!