Race Report: Hearts and Soles, Stroller Edition

Today was awesome. I don't even know how to write a race report/recap that depicts how much today meant to me. For the first time since Women's 5K in 2016, I had the opportunity to run a race, at my pace, pushing my baby in a stroller, at an event hosted by my club. 

I signed up for the "competitive stroller" wave, which meant I had to hold a 9min/mi, something I haven't done since... August. While this is something I'm completely capable of (my last stroller race was a sub-8min/mi), having been out of the game for a while with injuries made me a little nervous. Thankfully, I had another running mama, B, joining me. 

We made a pact to stay together the whole time, and I am eternally grateful for that. There were three entrants total in the "competitive stroller" division (which was a bit of a misnomer, since the division specifically excluded awards or points of any sort): us, and a guy who was surely clocking closer to 7min miles. Knowing we'd always have each other's support on-course made me so much more comfortable, and it made my race a lot more meaningful. I ended up spending my race talking to her, encouraging her, and thinking about how this race was really the culmination of so much for both of us. 

zoom zoom 

We met in ATC's training program three years ago. Since then, we've run each other through our respective pregnancies, coached other runners together, supported each other's marathon training, met at o'dark thirty for morning speedworkouts and #10KTuesdays, and spent almost every Sunday for the last year at the river, pushing our kids in their strollers. We've become mothers together, and our friendship has grown so much through sharing life as "working mother runners" together. 

The race itself went swimmingly. I was nervous about my foot (I'd felt some soreness in my left PF earlier in the week), but everything held up and I didn't notice it at all while running. We clocked an 8:03 for the first mile, and it felt SO. FREAKING. EASY. that I was sure my watch had to be wrong. Nope. Just the "race day excitement" kicking in. Thank goodness. That meant we didn't have to worry if we slowed down on the mile 2-3 hill. We would still hit the 9min/mi requirement. 

I could've gone a bit faster on the back half, but today wasn't about pace, it was about making the most of the opportunity we'd been given. I never felt like I wanted to slow down. The hill that usually takes a ton out of me on this course wasn't too bad. All in all, I was amazed to feel like I could have run another few miles at that pace when we crossed the finish line. This "no pressure" race style is definitely "all that and a bag of chips". I need to find a way to channel it more often! 
  

final time: 25:54 (8:21/mi) 

Slow Close to 2017, Part 2

Monday
Planned: nada
Did: stretched hamstring, but, basically nada
Had the best Christmas ever with my family. <3 

Tuesday
Planned:10KTuesday
Did: 6.32 @ 9:39/mi avg
After completing 6mi on Sunday, I decided I felt ready to attempt a full 10KTuesday. Did some glute activtation stuff pre-run and focused on using them the entire time. I think it worked because they were exhausted for the rest of the day... and I had no hamstring issues.

For the first half mile, I felt fine... and then I was ready to be done. Literally, if I didn't have B&B with me, I'd have considered stopping, turning around, and walking home. But, thanks to them (and the almighty hashtag), I pushed on, telling myself "just get to the 2mi mark-- you did that last week", then "just get to the halfway point". Took a quick breather at the halfway point, told B&B "we have GOT to slow down", and continued on home... and had enough left in the tank to want to "sprint" up The Hill. 

so much for slowing down... :/ 

Wednesday
Planned: 1mi run + bootcamp
Did: 1mi @ 9:08/mi + bootcamp, stretch session
Freezing rain coupled with a killer headache the night before = not getting up in time for the normal run before bootcamp. Instead, I managed to find time to do a quick mile on my treadmill (still one of our best family purchases to date) before jetting over to bootcamp.

5x through 45/15:

• modified pull-ups
• jump rope
• 53lb KB squats
• cross sit-ups
• mat sprints

then 3x through:

• 25 touchdowns
• 100 high knees
• 10 elephant walks
• 20 leg raise with hip lift

Definitely a solid workout. Hoping for some more weights/KB stuff tomorrow, though. 

Thursday
Planned: 1mi run + bootcamp
Did: 1.5mi @ 9:20/mi + bootcamp
Planned on a 1mi run, but forgot to turn around at the 0.5 marker. Felt good to get out and run, and I also finally felt like I could easily keep going for awhile at the end. Come January, I'll get back into mileage-building mode, and then we'll see if I can squeeze in some workouts before a February 5K. 

Bootcamp was awesome today. It was just B and I who showed up, so we got a semi-private training session... and it was kettlebell day!

Friday
Planned: 1mi 1.5 run + bootcamp
Did: 1.34 @ 9:25/mi + bootcamp
After Thursday's run, I planned on going a bit further today, but we ended up turning around a bit early due to other runners' sore legs ;) I'm really enjoying running regularly again, even if it's not much distance.

B and I had another semi-private bootcamp class, which was full of ab work! Awww, yeah. 

Saturday
Planned: 5-6mi
Did: 5.56mi @ 9:46/mi avg
It was 29 degrees when B, B, and I started our run in darkness. There's something awesome about getting up, getting out, and knowing you're going to run 5-6mi of hillaciousness. I love the badassery running has brought out of me; I'm the sort of person that leans into challenges now. I never did that before running. 

My right hamstring's still kind of funky. It doesn't hurt or ache any more or any differently when I run versus just standing/sitting around work all day, so I'm continuing to run, and continuing to focus on stretching and strengthening my glutes. Those steps took care of the same problem before mile training last summer, so I'm hoping for similar results this time around too. 

This was a hard run. It was cold, and my toes were freezing. I'm not used to hills (haven't run a single incline since mid-September beyond this week's single 10KTuesday), and we had a BEAST of one (see elevation map below). I had to slow our pace to feel like I could make it through the mileage, but we got to finish through some adorable "downtown/urban" streets that were all decorated for Christmas... and then grab coffee together. Great way to celebrate my first 20mi week in three months. :D 

. 


Sunday
Planned: rest
Did: stretching/yoga
It was too cold for Running Mamas to meet outside today. With a race on the schedule for tomorrow, I was happy to take an extra rest day and stretch instead. 

Slow Close to 2017, Part 1

Monday
Planned: 1mi + bootcamp
Did: 20min weights, stretching
Bootcamp instructor was stuck out of state due to airport closures, so I scrapped my morning workout plans the night before. Turns out to be a good thing. I'm still sick because my body slept all 9.5 hours. Plus, I woke up with some high hamstring issues in my right leg (similar to what I had back in July/August before mile training). Greeeeeeat.  

Did some hammy PT and strengthening during the day and in the evening. I can do back planks + leg raises without trouble, so I think I'm in much better shape than I was this summer. Hoping that this is just dusting off the cobwebs and not anything that will linger too long... 

Also did some upper body/arm weight lifting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfXElXtcOqs


Tuesday
Planned: 4mi easy
Did: 4.03mi @ 9:31/mi with 10KT, 2.5mi walk to/from sports massage, Yoga Ham Stretch
Rough night of limited sleep thanks to the kid and the cats. Had some residual hamstring aching, but decided to run with a brace anyways since it wasn't painful. Cardio is shot, and I found myself breathing hard and struggling to keep pace with the crew (and I wasn't even talking). Planned for a 4mi max, and was grateful to turn around at the 2mi mark.

Celebrated the holidays afterwards with decorations and hot chocolate.

Had a dull ache in hamstring at glute for the rest of the day. Walked to/from sports massage and the train to earn my #10KTuesday hashtag. Finished the night off with some much-needed stretching, and was able to sleep through the night without much glute/ham aching.  



Wednesday
Planned: 1mi + bootcamp, yoga for hamstrings
Did: 1.05 @ 9:23/mi, bootcamp (incld 0.5mi @ 7ish/mi), Yoga Ham Stretch
OMG, guys. Stretching works. I woke up with no aching in my hamstring (the last two mornings, it ached before I even moved). Was able to do an easy run, and bootcamp as prescribed, which included about a half mile of running... which I did pretty fast :) 

Feeling optimistic. Still made sure to include 30min of stretching in my day.

lots of exercises, but only had to do each of them twice!

Running after jacknife crunches = touuuuuugh

Thursday
Planned: swim? yoga? something cross-training-y
Did: MotionStretch, 10min abs
Planned on swimming, but it's so hard to get to the pool in the middle of the work day, so it didn't happen. Instead, I took advantage of a free stretch session at Motion Stretch Studio. I liked it and think it could be a good replacement sports massage for a lot of things (it's a bit more economical too, but more difficult to get to... we'll see what wins out). 

Did a quick 10min of various core exercises while watching a little Jeopardy with my husband. Called it solid. 



Friday
Planned: 1mi + bootcamp
Did: 1.25mi @ 9:25/mi + bootcamp (total running for the day = 2.42mi @ 8:37/mi avg)
This morning's run went so well that I didn't even realize we'd gone beyond the 1/2mi mark until we were well past it! Yesss, I'm finally getting some stamina back. 

Bootcamp seemed easy at first glance, but ended up being a challenge due to the longer time periods and the running mixed in with leg and core work. Still loving it!

5x 60s work/10s rest:

• 20" box step-ups (30s each leg) perfect for glute activation!
• bar push-ups (30s)/mountain climbers (30s)
• jump rope
• straight leg raise with hip lift/cross punch sit-ups (alt each round)
• ~0.2mi run

Saturday
Planned: 4-5mi
Did: ~2mi zoo walk, hamstring /gutestretching
Swapped Sat and Sun. Got some good steps with a few outings and a trip to the zoo. 


Sunday
Planned: rest
Did: 4mi @ 9:38/mi avg + 2mi run/walk @ 11:24/mi avg
Running Mamas are back in action, with a new member. I got in a solid 4 with B (and felt very happy to finish), but then found run/walk-ing and additional two miles with our new mama to be super easy. There's hope for 10KTuesday next week :)  Still having some ham issues, but very mild. 

Race Report: 4x400m Relay

Previous PR: 1:22 (2016, anchor leg)
Previous Race Reports From This Event:2016 1, 2016 2, 
Goal: don't get injured, have fun
Result: 1:17 (PR)

Atlanta Track Club puts on these awesome community track meets, "All-Comers", each year that are TOTALLY FREE on Tuesdays in May and June. For the past few years, they've also included some Grand Prix (year-long points-based member competition/series) events, which has boosted participation. 

4x400m Relay
The Running Mamas had planned on putting together a team for the 4x400m relay. Unfortunately, one of our members was sick the morning of, but we were able to substitute another mama's training partner as our fourth. 

We actually missed the first (and second?) call for the 4x, but were able to slide in and have another heat created just for our team... and then that filled up too, with some CRAZY FAST people. We ended up just trying to stick with a team comprising a single family (#lifegoals); with two adults and two kids under ten, they still ended up smoking us. Haha.

so, what do we do with this baton thingy? 

I took the lead leg because I knew it was my best chance for not feeling like I had to push the pace, and I didn't want to overdo anything after this morning's HAAAAAAAARD track workout. Still had to push a little to keep pace with the family's 10 year old, and finished in a strong 1:17, muuuuuuuuch faster than I'd expected. Definitely came off with some confidence for this weekend's mile. 

so proud of our team!

Also did the Shot Put (because was a Grand Prix event):

Had NO idea what I was doing, but Rachael, our former NCAA heptathlete, was super encouraging with last-minute guidance on form. Ended up doing reasonably well (or so I'm told?), though they haven't published points yet. Look for that in the weekly recap entry coming on Sunday. 

waiting in the queue
(but where's Brad?)

this ball is HEAVY

throwing