Accountability/Goal Check

Halfway through the year seems like an appropriate time to check in on annual goal progress...

1) PR a Mile
Accomplished 1/1/17 with a 6:14 mile at Resolution Run
Revised goal to 6:00 for the year and have had two other attempts: 

• Little Kings (injury siderailed training- 6:34)
• Braves (long course, no chip time, giant hill- 7:34 for 1.17mi by watch). 

Have two other attempts scheduled for fall, and will fall back on SpeedworkThursday track run of this if it doesn't happen at my September races. I know I can do this one. I can, and I will. Watch me.



2) Strength-train Regularly 
Measured by doing (2) - 30min strength sessions per week: 

• January: 4/4 weeks (9 total sessions)
• February: 3/4 weeks (6 total sessions)
• I fell off the wagon here due to our Groupon running out, work stress, and a lot of sickness. It was a conscious decision to "take a break", though. Fortunately, I had Brandi to pull me through again. She kept the consistency and her dedication encouraged me to get back to it so that she wouldn't be alone. 
• March: 2/4 weeks (6 total sessions)
• One of the "off" weeks was a continuation of my intentional "break". The other was just laziness. This is also the month where we tried out that other bootcamp that was NOT to our liking. 
• April: 3/4 weeks (7 total sessions) 
• Getting back to Matthew's helped solidify this month. 
• May: 4/4 weeks (10 total sessions)
• Heeeeeeeey, I'm back
• June: 3/4 weeks (8 total sessions)
• Had one week with only one session, but was, otherwise, "on the wagon"

This has been much harder for me than any of my running goals. You'd think that, after six months, this would be somewhat of a habit for me. Nope. I need a lot of motivation to keep this going. I need to pay money for classes (proven by our "let's stop paying for classes and see if we can do it on our own" attempt in February/March), and I need my accountability partner. Otherwise, I'd be pretty darn content to just stop. 

That said, I have seen a lot of benefits from the short time I've been doing this. Yeah, I'm more toned, but, beyond that, I feel better. I feel stronger. I run stronger. It's good for me. Now, if only it was as integral with my life as running... Maybe by December, it will be? 

3) Break 23:00 in a 5K

Accomplished 2/11/17 with 22:37 at Hearts and Soles 

Alright, so it would appear that my time-based goals were low-hanging fruit. I accomplished both within the first ~50 days of the year. My 5K training has taken a backseat to my chasing a 6:00 mile, but I'll probably aim for another race this fall to knock that PR down a bit more. Clearly, I'm faster than I give myself credit for...



4) Feel like an athlete.
...and prove it by racing in just a sports bra and shorts.
Accomplished 6/10/17 at the Braves Mile
Let's just say this meant a lot to me and leave it at that. Confidence = here. 




So with only one real goal left for the year, I'm finding my training a bit desultory. Considering adding something else, maybe:

• eat clean (no processed stuff- we're talking straight up nuts, veggies, fruit, and meats) 3x week- this is the most likely, since I've been feeling blurg about my diet and need something to "commit to"
• give it my all at a Spartan Sprint competitive wave- on the fence about this due to 1) money, and 2) FOMO of the Atlanta 10 Miler
• 10min of stretching 2x week- probably will need to do this in the mornings, since NOTHING happens in the evening
• PR a Thanksgiving 10K - super likely

2 Weeks 'til Peachtree

Monday
Did: rest day :)
Mmmm, rest day.


Tuesday
Did: ONB (30:26 out @ 9:38/mi avg, 25:59 back @ 8:13/mi avg) = 6.32 @ 8:56/mi avg, Big 5, 20min lunch yoga
It's gotten so humid this past week. We're all dripping before mile 2 these days... 

I wanted to have some sort of a plan for this run, so I opted for an ONB. Took the first half nice and easy, and pushed the back half. I always find it interesting that I can talk comfortably at the faster pace, but just don't feel as "easy" running it. 

Kind of pushed up the hill- not a true hill race, but a concerted effort to keep pace low up the incline for sure. 

Laps 1-4 = "out"
Laps 5-9 = "back"
Lap 9 = "the hill"

Wednesday
Did: 3 easy + bootcamp
When I saw "Next Alarm: 4:05am" before I went to bed last night, I thought I was good. Nope, that was for Thursday. I woke up too late to meet B for our pre-bootcamp miles (so now we're 1-1 on inadvertently standing the other one up... not bad for three years of running together). 

I was awake at 5:02am, and out the door by 5:08am, though, so not too shabby. Made it to bootcamp with a few minutes to spare. :P

1- enjoyed full push-ups for these :)

2- not a fan of either of these exercises :P

3- had a really hard time with mountain climbers during round 3-- not sure why; just felt like something was tired

4- plank was fun

5- chose heaviest weight available... unsure what it was, probably only like 20# over-the-shoulder pack?

6- chest-to-ground burpees are hard and suck the momentum out of life for me

Mixed in a few fence runs and 40 wipers on our instructor's callouts between rounds.

Thursday
Scheduled: 1mi WU, 4x1200/400, 1mi CD 
Did: 1mi WU @ 10:20, 3x800m @ 3:30ish, 3x800 @ 3:20ish, 1mi CD @ 10:11 = 6.85 @ 8:24mi/avg, followed up with LOTS of stretching throughout the day
Peachtree plan called for 1200s, but I wasn't up for doing such a long repeat distance after four months where my longest speedwork interval was 300s. C had 800s on her schedule, with the first half at about my pace, so I opted to join her instead. 

The last time I did 800s, my goal time was 3:36. This was based off my 5K PR at Braves last year. I know I'm faster than that (didn't look before, but indicator says 3:25 based on my Feb '17 5K PR), so when C said she was aiming for 3:30s for the first three, I figured that would be a good new goal to hit. I was right. The first lap of each of these was easy, to the point where I could carry on a reasonable level of conversation... before the second lap wore down. Between 400m and 600m was the hardest, and I was glad to have a partner going for the same splits. 

We took a brief water break between numbers 3 and 4 for "track math", where we figured out what our 200m splits needed to be for our goals, stretched, and regrouped for the harder half of the workout. C's goals for the second half were much more ambitious than mine, but it was nice to have someone just ahead of me to pace off of. I found myself consistently 1-3s slow at the 600m mark, but picking it up enough to come in 1-2s under my goal of 3:20 for the first couple.

The last one was hard. We had a couple friends stationed at the 200m and 100m marks, ready to jump in with us on our last push. This was huge. B helped me keep a strong kick to the end. I felt myself give several small pushes during the last 100, unconsciously hoping to "defeat" her enough to guarantee my "win" and just let me coast, but she wasn't having it. Every time I pushed a little, she kept right with me, forcing me to keep going and not let up... and pushing me to a wicked fast 3:13 for my last interval. Woo, teamwork!

I've started rewarding myself for hitting all my splits in a workout by walking up the big hill leading out of the track. That was really nice today :) 

Also, it was raining the entire workout today- just a light drizzle, and that was really nice. Hope we get similarly cool weather for Ptree in a few weeks. 



Friday
Did: 2 easy @ 9:14/mi + bootcamp
It's 1pm right now, and I don't even remember doing this workout this morning... It's been that kind of day. Run felt good, and then, evidently, we did a workout. 

Saturday
Did: 3.02 @ 10:34/mi with stroller
Lots of awesome stuff happened today. B opted to switch rest days, so I was on my own today. I'd heard about this #SportsBraSquad movement and found a local event for today's National Sports Bra Running Day (or something like that). It happened to be: 1) within a half hour's drive, 2) stroller-friendly, and 3) organized in part by the Decatur Chapter of Moms Run This Town. 

I recently joined my local MRTT, and figured this would be a cool opportunity to:  

1. Run somewhere new
2. Run with other strollers and maybe make some new contacts
3. Run in a sports bra with other women in sports bras
4. See what MRTT was all about (I had brief knowledge from a previous race)

The run itself was pretty ho-hum. I ended up being the lead runner, but didn't want to run alone, so I altered my pack to stick with another woman and enjoyed some new conversation. We also saw the Decatur ATC group out and about, and got some "Potato!" cheers, which is always fun. 

After the run, I was talking with another woman. When I mentioned Roswell, she asked if I'd ever run the Alien 13.1. I said I had, and that it was actually there, on the eve of my first half marathon, that I found out about Moms Run This Town. There was a woman there who ran it around the start of her third trimester, and just seeing her joy crossing the finish line (under 2:45, I might add), inspired me to run it pregnant myself, two years later.

...that was the woman I was talking to!!!

Turns out, she's actually the founder of Moms Run This Town, and not the local chapter, like, the whole thing, nationally. SO. FREAKING. COOL. 

Sunday
Did: Practice Peachtree Run @ 8:28/mi avg
B and I met up with a couple other "B"s for a Peachtree course run at the crack of dawn. It's really empowering to have become one of those people who gets up and does stuff like this on a weekend morning. :)

start line and finish line

We had no real pace goals for today, just wanted to remember the course, identify places that might trip B up on her way to her goal, and have a good 10K run. The guys were a bit more aggressive with their runs, but we knew we'd meet up at the end. 

Weather was A-MAZING: 67 degrees, overcast, moderate humidity, with a sliiiiight breeze. If only we could get THAT for race day! B started off much faster than I wanted to go, but, since I was here for her, I sucked it up and kept with her. I didn't check pace at all during the run, but, at the end, I learned our first mile had been a sub-9. :P

It's all downhill from there...
Well, until mile 3 :P

The run went great. I felt really good going up both parts of cardiac, and really good in general. Again, I never looked at my watch at the mile splits. I wanted to run by feel, and not stress about anything. Mission accomplished. 

When we finally turned on tenth, I had to recollect that there was still a LONG way to go. Making the only turn on the course doesn't mean you're about to finish; it means you're less than a mile from the finish. 

We had a couple start/stops due to crosswalks/traffic in the last mile, but finished strong.

Really proud of this. It didn't feel like a walk in the park, but it wasn't a pushed pace.
We conversed the whole way.

While we definitely had a GREAT run (less than 30s/mi off of race day goal pace, and my personal second fastest 10K ever), the best part of this morning was, without a doubt, seeing the other Peachtree participants out on their own course runs. Beyond the standard runners and walkers, we saw a half dozen Shepard Center athletes. These guys were incredible. Watching them push themselves up and down the course's serious inclines was so inspirational (especially the guy doing hill REPEATS). I'm so proud to be a part of Peachtree, and can't wait for the Ultimate #10KTuesday. 

Weeeee, finish line!

3 Weeks 'til Peachtree

Monday
Did: 2mi easy @ 9:33/mi avg, bootcamp
Felt good to run easy. Bootcamp seemed easy at first glance, but ended up being tough.

4x60s work/15s rest

• suspended chest press (30s)/suspended tricep extensions
• straight leg raise/toe touch
• lunge walks w/35# kettlebells in each hand (proud of this one, def felt it in my hams and glutes)
• sprints
• jumprope

and then 3x

• 25 touchdowns
• 100 high knees
• 20 chest-to-ground push-ups (did all these on my knees because I couldn't get chest to touch ground from my feet-- found it very challenging!)
• 30 cross sit-ups (really hard after the push-ups)

Tuesday
Did: 6.30 @ 9:09/mi avg
Brought up the rear on this one. The crew really picked up the pace on the back end, leaving me pretty far behind because I simply didn't feel like running that fast. Eventually succumbed and decided to just focus on my form the last half mile and see what visualizing running like what I wanted to look like would do.

Result: 8:00/mi pace without much effort

Sooooo, yeah. 



Wednesday
Did: 15min weights at home
misc back/chest/arm work



Thursday
Did: 2.63mi @ 9:19/mi avg plus bootcamp (total run = 3.43 @ 9:12/mi avg)
Swapped Thurs/Fri workouts since one of our girls is out of town today. Ran a little over 2.5mi to warm-up (sooooo moist-- oof), and then straight into bootcamp!

Pull-ups are HARD. I took the easiest variation (door pull-ups with two band assist) and still wasn't able to complete a full pull-up most times... even with a jump assist too. Lots of work to do here! :P

Chose a lighter KB than I probably should have for the swings, but am still not totally confident in my form, so it was for the best.

I really liked the windmills! Used 12# KB since it was my first time doing them and I wanted to focus on form. Could definitely go heavier next time.

Struggled with the KB front press with a 22# weight. KBs are so awkward to hold if you're not using the handle... 



Friday
Did: 1mi WU, 4x400m hill/400 recovery, 4x200m hill/200m recovery, 4x200m flat/200 recovery, .2mi(ish) CD = 4.84 @ 10:16/mi avg
Most of our SpeedworkThursday crew is on the track club plan. Since Birgit was out of town for work on Thursday, we flexed our plan and decided to do the hill workout (because "hills are speedwork in disguise") this morning. 

I was actually kind of excited to make a new route and challenge myself (and others) up some of the mountains in my neighborhood, because, really, when else would I have a reason (and a support crew!) to charge up some of these things? 

the elevation profile

400m climb = 55' gain @ 8:50, 8:32, 8:49 and 8:29/mi

I felt alright on most of these, but mentally challenged by the feeling that the hill would be over around each bend of the road... and having 3-4 bends to get through before that was actually the case

200m climb = 50' gain @ 10:14, 11:00, 11:57, and 11:51/mi

This thing is a 14% grade demon. The first time Jerry and I traversed it when we moved into the neighborhood, we were out of breath WALKING it. I felt incredibly tough running up it (especially four times), even if my paces are sluggish. 

200m flats @ 7:06, 7:13, 8:04, and 7:10/mi

Weeeeee, I felt like I was flying on these, especially after the hills.

Overall, this was a SOLID workout. I learned my lesson from past hill workouts and paid extra attention to warming up, cooling down, and STRETCHING throughout the day, too.  

Saturday
Did: 8.24mi with stroller @ 9:17/mi avg, Big 5
Time constraints meant that B and I only had time to run 4-5mi together. Started slow and easy, but needed to pick the pace up at the halfway point so that Brandi could get back to her car in time for her other Saturday obligations. I was grateful that she was carrying the conversation so I could keep the pace we needed while pushing the stroller, especially since we went from 9:50/mi to 9:10/mi. 

Stopped for a bit and stretched when we dropped B off at the trailhead, and then continued on with baby boy for another three. I was really proud of myself for continuing alone, and actually enjoyed the serene "solo" miles. My pace was solidly in the low-9:10 range for the remaining miles... except the last one, that I pushed on: 8:37. :)

such an awesome little training buddy 

Sunday
Did: 4.24mi with the stroller @ 9:50/mi avg 
This run was disgusting. It's the first time I've felt drip-tastic with sweat after only a mile. Welcome to summertime in Hotlanta. :P Still, our weekly stroller run is a highlight of my week. Fun fact: Fathers' Day last year was the first Sunday stroller running meetup. Happy One Year Anniversary, Running Mamas!

Beyond Braves

I spent most of the weekend ruminating on the Braves mile, and have made my peace with it. Three separate sources have confirmed the course was long, but almost a quarter mile... which takes a minute off my time, which means I ran a respectable 6:3x. I feel vindicated, but I want another shot.

Unfortunately for me, timed, certified, one mile road races aren't a thing in my area. We have no less than a dozen 5Ks within an hour's drive every weekend, but only four timed mile-long race a year (that I could find through Google, running groups, and word-of-mouth). 

Here's what's coming up:

7/4 Peachtree Road Race
Whoa. This is only three weeks away. Who knew it was the middle of June already? Not me. :P No personal goals here, but I am hoping to run another sub-50 alongside two friends who haven't done it yet. This means I'll be adding some hill training and long runs to the next few weeks. 


7/15 Decatur 4M
No goals for this one, only doing it 'cause it's free :)


8/22 Atlanta's Finest 5K or 1Mi 
The one mile isn't chip-timed or certified, and is really geared more towards beginner runners. Still, it seems like it could be fun if I can get some other people to "race" it too... 


9/3 East Atlanta Village 1 Mile (the only legit one mile race I could find in my metro area)
Provided we're in town for Labor Day weekend, this will be happening. Past years' results have TONS of sub-6 and a few sub-5 milers. I do wish it weren't at 6:45pm, though... 


9/16 West End Mile
Another of the few mile races in Atlanta. Pending the results of the 9/3 race, this may be my second (fourth?) attempt to break 6:00 this year. If it doesn't happen, I'll be looking to do my own race with the SpeedworkThursday crew during our 5am workouts and have one of the other girls time me. 


10/13-10/14 Bourbon Chase Relay
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee


10/21 Spartan Sprint Competitive Wave
My original plan for October was to race the Cardiac Challenge within the Atlanta 10 Miler. With course changes being discussed for the Atlanta 10 Miler, and this being YOT5K, I don't have much motivation to just go run 10 miles... especially if I have to pay for it (since I'm not run leading this year) and have zero goals for the race. Instead, I'm considering racing the Spartan Sprint. 

I've done a handful of mudruns in the past couple of years, and my favorite has been the Spartan. I finished in the top 2% of women when I did it in 2014, and I'd like to take that to the next level and see what I can do all-out racing one. Still, the $124 price tag is a bit hefty... If I'm not all in, it won't be worth while. 


11/23 Thanksgiving Run of Sorts
We likely won't be able to do the Atlanta Half this year, but will certainly be running something Thanksgiving morning since it's a family tradition. 


Mid-December 5K Somehwere
J and I are planning on taking a vacation somewhere between Thanksgiving and December, so, of course, we'll be checking another state off of our "Run All 50" goal.

hopefully, the next state will be somewhere out west :)

Braves Training: Week 3/3

Monday
Scheduled: couple easy miles or XT
Did: bootcamp
Was weird going without my training partner and going through the circuit solo. In some ways, it inspired me to work harder. In others, I was tempted to slack off. Got it done, and enjoyed it the whole time, though. Finished with two fence runs. 

Tuesday
Scheduled: 8x200hard/200easy, then 2x200 as fast as you can/200walk, plus remainder for 10KTuesday
Did: 6.83mi @ 9:12/mi avg, 400m relay leg in 1:17, 20min yoga, 2xBig 5 stretches
Wanted to actually do this workout instead of trying to half--- it as part of 10KTuesday, so I met up with A & C at their local HS. Both of these women are faster than me, so I was a little nervous about how much of a warm-up the 2mi jog to the track was actually going to be, but it worked out just fine, if a little hilly for my tastes.

There was another group (or like a dozen or so people) that regularly meets up at the track, which was different for me. I've never trained on a track that was also being used by people I didn't know. I was a little nervous about how to interact with them (from a track etiquette standpoint) since it looked like their paces varied a lot, and I was going to be doing a lot of start/stop every half lap of the track, which meant I'd probably be passing them at points and being in their way at others. 

I don't think I've ever done 200m repeats, so that was new. I didn't look at my watch at all during the workout, and, proudly, also never stopped for water. I did it the whole way through, fatigue and all, which is definitely different than previous workouts. 

Thoughts during the workout:

• I can't believe I forgot to eat breakfast
• This is hard
• Am I going fast enough? (by lap 4, I was feeling it)
• Maybe I'll stop for water between the "hard"s and the "as fast as you can"s
• Nah, only two more laps, just go for it and get it done
• Thank goodness my recovery on these is WALKING
• On the last lap: If this is "making it hurt", do I really want to do this for a whole MILE? Oof

Really proud of these. Quads, again, were sore/wobbly after the workout-- might need to strengthen those a bit moving forward on this speed stuff. I looked up my only other 200m time ever (from the 2016 ATC Track Meet); it was 35s, but that was also a "one and done". Getting excited and scared for Saturday's mile. 

thought this juxtaposition of cadence and pace was particularly cool

I've also had a LOT more leg and foot soreness/tightness (to be expected with all the additional speedwork), and some knee aches, which I attribute to the tight leg muscles. I spent 5min stretching post-run, and 20 additional minutes stretching during the day, but am definitely looking forward to tomorrow's massage.  

Also did an All-Comers meet


Wednesday
Scheduled: 3-5 easy
Did: 3.12 @ 9:44/mi avg, Big 5, sports massage
Slept terribly. Been waking up about every 30-60min during the night for no reason the past few days. Legs were sore, tight, and tired, but I got up and did a good recovery run with B&B before they were on to strength training.  

Knees were archy (might be relapse of the "runner's knee" stuff I had back in 2013, since I haven't been doing enough stretching/prehab), IT band felt tight, and it was a good day for a sports massage.


Thursday
Scheduled: off or easy or XT
Did: Big 5, 20min yoga
Didn't sleep well at all. Got some good stretching and yoga in to start the day, though. Knees ached a bit during the day, and I had tight quads and IT bands. Foam rolled and stretched a good bit before bed, and slept in knee brace overnight. 



Friday
Scheduled: 2-3mi plus 4-6 strides
Did: 2.57mi @ 9:23/mi avg with 5 strides
Slept poorly again (sick husband = baby duty for me). Got up and over to run with B before bootcamp, but opted out of the actual strength workout since I was worried about not having fresh, rested legs for tomorrow's hard mile.

Saturday
Scheduled: Easy warm-up, 1mi goal race, cooldown
Did: 2.71mi total @ 7:32/mi avg
Race Report


Sunday
Scheduled: rest
Did: 5.05mi with the stroller @ 9:18/mi avg
Had planned on being sore and broken from a hard mile on Saturday, but that was not the case. I felt totally fine. No soreness. No knee trouble. No tightness. Nada.

Jerry was part of a push-assist team for the Hotlanta Half, so the Running Mamas headed downtown to get our run done on the beltline and cheer on the ATC athletes doing the race. 

hopefully, a new entry will be posted shortly on his blog:
gazelleintraining.blogspot.com

I hadn't planning on running that far, but kind of needed some "redemption miles" after yesterday's disappointment. It felt good to casually beat a 9:00/mi pace with the stroller for my first two miles (solo), and then join up with a friend afterwards for more. 

#MotherRunners

...and cheering for runners is always fun, too. :) 

Race Report: Braves One Mile

Previous PR: 6:14 (Resolution Run, 1/1/17)

90% Goal: 6:45

50% Goal: 6:15

10% Goal: 6:00

Result: 7:34 (no, that's not a typo)

Goals:
After a 6:14 mile at New Year's Day where I still felt like I had more in the tank, I set a goal of hitting 6:00 in 2017. My first attempt (Little King's Mile) was foiled by an injury. When the course for the Braves One Mile was published, it seemed like a reasonable second attempt.

Training:

Three weeks of training, including three main workouts (300/100, 200/200, tempo), some slacking on strength training (due to holidays, travel, and work), and a LOT of stretching and foam rolling.

Preparation:

A week before the race, I was already preparing for the day. Jerry wasn't going to be there (since he was coaching the training program), but my parents were going to walk the one mile with baby potato in the backpack carrier. Though this freed me from finding a sitter and gave me extra time to spend with the little one, it also proved to be additional race-morning stress, because this is what my plan looked like: 

Night before: load stroller, diaper bag

·         5:00am up, bth, eat, stretch, dress

o   Black Lulu shorts

o   Lulu bra

o   Teal or black sweaty band

o  Singlet

o   bibe belt

·         5:30am get baby up, dressed, sunscreened

o   Plaid, ATC, Clem hat

·         6am Depart house

·         6:30am park

o   Stroller

o   Snack bin

o   Refills for snack

o   sunscreen

o   Water

o   Stuffed animal

o   Diaper bag w/(diapers, cream, wipes, mat, wet bag, spare shorts, spare shirt, sunhat, silverware, placemats)

o   Ergo

·         7:20am- pass baby off if able

·         7:30am warm-up or 5K

·         8:00am get baby adjusted in carrier

·         8:30am start

·         8:06am finish, recovery jog

o   Calf sleeves for recovery

o   Change of shirt

o  Change of shorts

Race Morning

I found out on Thursday that the 5K course had changed. Instead of being kinda hilly, it now included several killer hills. I was already on the fence about doing a 3mi warm-up for a 1mi race, and the course change solidified my decision to skip the 5K and just take an easy, unorganized jog for my warm-up.

After arriving at the venue on race morning, I found out the one mile course changed too. There were now six turns, one hair pin, and a demoralizing hill that encompassed about 1/4-1/3 of the course. 

Sent to Coach pre-race
Her response: WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

Race

I knew at the start line that my 6:00 mile was not going to happen on that course. Still, I thought I could manage a sub-7. Part of me still thought of that hill as "The Hill" on the 10KTuesday route. If I could sprint up that beast at the end of a 10K, surely I could get up this one at the end of a mere mile. The other part had already checked out. 

I was hoping to at least see a handful of other adults at the start line, maybe a Masters Elite or two, like there were last year. The one mile race wasn't chip-timed, and was really geared more towards older kids than adults, though. I think I saw maybe a dozen total adults... most of them running with their kids. Hahaha.

Oh, did I mention I finally decided to join the #SportsBraSquad?
At least there's one 2017 goal I accomplished today :)

The gun went off and it was me and two kids off the start line. I had one of them literally swerve in front of me when I was going to pass him. He shot me a dirty look, despite the fact that we had the ENTIRE road. I inwardly rolled my eyes and had the breath to say, "please don't cut me off, I don't want either of us to trip and fall" aloud.

As we headed towards Circle 75 from the start line, we hit a downhill. I don't know how to sprint down hills. I don't think I've ever done it. Normally, in a race, I do this weird gallop thing, that ends up being around a 6:30-7:00/mi, much faster than my typical race pace, so it helps. In this race, it actually slowed me down... and I didn't know how how to run run down a hill without slowing myself to something closer to my normal pace. Strike 1.

Turning onto Circle 75, I was completely and totally alone at the front of the milers. This was STRANGE. I found it hard to make the turns and keep pace, since they're much tighter than the turns on a track. I was also starting to wonder how much freaking longer it would be until my watch beeped to tell me I'd done 0.25mi. Turns out, it already had, but I didn't know it until I looked on Windy Ridge and saw a 0.38.

I'm glad I ran the course ahead of time. It helped me break it up into mental chunks, which wasn't quite as good as laps on a track, but was beneficial. Nothing really prepared me for the hard climb up the hill, though. I knew Blitz, a 10KT runner, was stationed there to help me, but, even that wasn't enough. I had a small climb to do solo before I met him, and I knew my paced had slowed too much to recover. 

He did a GREAT job trying to motivate me, but I'd already checked out. I kept a good pace up the hill, but not a mile race pace by any stretch of the imagination. As I turned into the stadium, I saw MORE 10KT-ers screaming from the stands, which gave me a little more drive... well, that, and it being FLAT. 

It's a pretty cool feeling to run a race in a stadium you were the structural engineer for.

Reflections

Can we pretend this is a half marathon finish pic? I'd take 1:12:05 :D

I crossed the line first, which should have been exciting... except:

• I literally had zero competition
• This was my slowest mile race EVER
• My mile repeats are faster than I ran this race
• This was nowhere near the race I'd wanted today

What Went Wrong

1) The course. I knew it was a road race, and would have some turns and hills. I didn't know I'd have six of them, a hairpin, and a beast of a hill to close. I also think the course was long. It was untimed and not USTAF-certified, so it makes sense that it wouldn't be exactly 1.0. My watch said 1.16, and that's not really within the tolerance I'd expect. 

2) The participants. I knew I wouldn't have many other adults when I signed up. I didn't realize how much that would affect me, though. I get motivation from competition, and the next time I do this, I need some other people running remotely close to my pace.

3) The responsibilities. For practical purposes, I felt like I was taking care of three people on race day: my parents and my son. I needed to make sure they knew where to be when, and that was enough to put my pre-race/post-race routine (and, therefore, my focus) in a funk. 

4) Work and other stress this week + poor nutrition + poor sleep, for various reasons, certainly didn't help either.

What Went Right

1) I had support. I had 10KTuesdayers pumping me up at the start, believing in me, staying late to cheer for me, helping my parents, helping with the stroller, running me up the hill, screaming for me in the stadium, etc.

2) I trained well... just not for the course I was given. I felt so strong at my 200s and 300s this past week on the track. 

3) I had a PR first 800m... by 20s. 

4) I still believe I can run a 6:00. Now, to look for other opportunities.... The best thing about the mile is that you need so little recovery time, especially when you really sign off at the halfway point. :P 

Blue = pace
Green = elevation