4/11/2010-10K results

Today was the Gumbo Limbo Green Turtle Gallop 10K in Boca Raton. First time I've done a race at this distance, all others have been 5K or half marathon. Day was overcast and humid. Wind wasn't really a factor until the last couple of miles when it was right in your face (but it sure helped cool things a little, temps were mid-70s but with the humidity the sweat was pouring down). Quiet route for the most part, some down A1A and then into a little community for a lot of it, then back out onto A1A again. Wound up finishing in 1:33:27, a 14:58 pace. However, my "official" time was 1:33:44 since it was based on "gun time"...no timing mat at the start (I started my Garmin at the cone that marked the start line). I'm not too fond of these kinds of starts, it is not accurate based on the distance you are doing. Yes, it was only a 17 second difference but at my speed I need to take whatever I can get LOL. Think I'll stick to the D-tag timed races so I get accurate results based on the actual distance of the event.

3/7/2010-13.1 Miami Beach Half Marathon race report

What a fantastic day for a race! Sunny with some scattered clouds and a real nice breeze. 52 degrees at the start, 60 at the finish. Gotta love South Florida in the winter!

Got up at 2:30am to have breakfast and get ready. Didn’t wind up leaving the house until just after 4am for my hour drive down to Miami Beach. The race started and ended in South Beach; when I arrived down there just after 5am, there were people still out from the night before (a few in some rather provocative partying clothes). Ah, South Beach LOL. Got parked and made my way over the the starting area. Walked around for over a half an hour trying to stay warm before making my way over to the corrals. This was set up like A1A was with poles marking the different pace times. We started on time and I headed out at a slow jog for the first block before starting my walk/run intervals. I was again doing my 3 minute walk/2 minute run intervals, adjusting to the water stops and bridges as needed.

The first 3 miles wound through the streets of Miami Beach and brought us over the I-195, AKA the Julia Tuttle Causeway. I did make one port-a-potty stop about 2.5 miles in (didn’t want to take a chance and there were no lines, only wasted about 40 seconds). We did the JTC over and back (about 6 miles total) which included 2 bridges, the 2nd (western) one steeper than the other. The bridges wound up being not too bad, I was still able to keep up a 16 min/mile pace going up...and of course ran down both of them! So actually four bridges with the out and back. We could see the cruise ships docked at the Port of Miami from the JTC...too bad that wasn’t the reward for finishing!

I kept a pretty steady pace for the first 10 miles between 14:30-14:51 min/mile. The last 5K though, I was getting tired (hey, I did just do another half marathon 2 weeks ago) and slowed to between 15:03-15:34 min/mile. The last mile or so was along a boardwalk-type area (but not wooden, was a brick-type walkway) and there were a lot of people just walking along it that weren’t part of the race...they didn’t get in the way though, plenty of room for all of us.

When I hit the 13 mile mark I picked up my pace again and ran the last bit to the finish line. My chip time wound up being 3:16:51, a new PR for me (3 half marathons, 3 PRs). Considering I made the one potty stop I’m very happy with my time on a course with 4 bridges to do. At the finish they were giving free salsa lessons and there was Latin music (all along the course too as well as many drum lines), free arroz con pollo, cafe con leche and free Samuel Adams beer (again no thanks but that booth sure was popular). They were also giving out free bags of “Corn Thins” at the end, they are like rice cake but made out of popcorn instead...got two of those (Flax & Soy and Lemon & Cracked Pepper)...really yummy and actually good for you.

I had a great time and would definitely do this race again, although next year I’m going to try to make Disney’s Princess Half first!

3/3/2010-Coming soon...my 3rd half marathon

That's right, I've gone ahead and signed up for another half marathon. This coming Sunday 3/7/10---13.1 Miami Beach. The course starts at 11th and Ocean Drive, winds thru Miami Beach over to Alton and then onto the Julia Tuttle Causeway-over and back, then winds down back to near where it started. The challenging part will be the JTC as there are two nice-sized bridges on it, so since we are going over and back that's like having 4 bridges. *shaking my head* What was I thinking? (Yeah, I know, I wasn't thinking at all, was I?)

I think I will have the wardrobe part fixed. Still will be wearing my skirt but will have other shorts on underneath that do NOT ride up at all. Haven't decided if I'm just going to wear the skirt over them or cut out the shorts that are already in the skirt before putting it over (so I'm not wearing 2 pair of shorts at once). I'll play around with that over the next two days to see what I can figure out. Tried shopping for more tops and bottoms but there is just not much in the stores out there for my size (warning-rant to follow). Don't these running clothes makers understand that there are bigger people out there running? And we shouldn't have to pay through the nose to special order things that fit? I'm working on getting smaller but you know, it takes time. And let me just say, what Target's Champion stuff says is 2X just ISN'T. #1, the other brands I've tried (Reebok, Adidas, One More Mile, etc) their 2X stuff fits-the Champion stuff is tight so NO, it isn't that I'm bigger than I think I am. #2, running wear in general (especially women's, especially wicking fabric) a 2X top is NOT the same size as a 2X t-shirt (in women's cuts even!). Not even close. I actually fit in XL's now for regular shirts but the 2X running stuff is still cut smaller than the XL regular clothes...where the heck is that coming from? I was extremely lucky to find some sleeveless running tops at my Reebok Outlet store in 2X that fit fine (but you can still see my tummy moving when I run)...but they're all gone now (I was able to get 2, one white and one a pretty sea green color, my favorite running top right now). Doesn't look like they have anything else like those. *sigh*

I will just have to exercise patience with the clothing until some more pounds disappear I guess. Sorry about the rant but sometimes ya just have to let it out, right? Anyway, my right hip area in the front of my leg has been a bit ouchy my last couple of outings (only on the run intervals though) so I may turn tomorrow's 3-ish mile interval walk/run into just a walk or forego it altogether to avoid screwing myself up for Sunday. Cause you know those bridges are going to be a challenge as it is.

2/27/2010-This running thing is addicting

For the first 38 and a half years of my life, I never ever thought I would be one of those people you see out there running for fun. For most of my adult life I've been overweight and almost never did any kind of exercise. I participated in one sport-bowling. Granted, I was pretty good at it, carrying a 196 average at my highest point, but still--bowling is not really a sport you need to be in shape for (for the most part). Then Hurricane Wilma came through South Florida, destroyed the bowling alley my league was at and I just stopped even doing that. I did eventually bowl again (2008-2009 season)...but wasn't really any good compared to before (average in the 160s which for me was frustrating after how well I used to do). During that time I started a lifestyle change using SparkPeople.com and began my weight loss journey. I started walking and eventually I was walking almost every day, gradually adding more and more miles. Then I heard about the Couch to 5K program and everything changed.

When I first heard about C25K I thought, hey, I could do that! Training for a 5K sounded like a great goal to shoot for and I knew that running would burn more calories than walking so I tried it. While I never made it past week 2 (week 3 just kicked my butt to the nth degree at the time), I started doing a 4 minute walk/1 minute run consistently. Set my sights on my first 5K (at Disney during the Princess Half Marathon Weekend) and had a successful outing which inspired me to keep it up. While at that event, seeing all the participants from the actual half marathon with their medals made me think, "Wow, I really would love one of those...I should try a half marathon!" And so the quest for the Disney Half Marathon for January 2010 began. I followed the walk/run plan in Marathoning for Mortals and with the support of all my new friends on the Running of the Ears forum, finished my first half marathon within the time requirements Disney set forth (my time was 3:22:13...slow, yes but hey, I finished and did it in the cold, snow and sleet---in Florida!).

Well, by then I was receiving emails from active.com about upcoming events in my area and had started looking at local running sites to see what other events I could find...and happened upon the A1A half marathon in Fort Lauderdale. That was last weekend and although I had a "wardrobe malfunction" that resulting in a nasty chafing issue that forced me to walk most of the last four miles, I still finished 2 minutes faster than Disney. And I discovered that I really like the half marathon distance.

That brings me to yesterday. When I realized, hey...if I do another half marathon by the first week of April, I would qualify to join the Half Fanatics. And so here I am, browsing the local race listings, searching for another half marathon. And to top it off, I have set a goal of the Disney FULL marathon for January 2011. 26.2 miles. All at one time. Yeah, this running thing sure is addicting. But I tell ya, it's the best addiction one could ever have.

2/21/10-A1A Half Marathon race report

I haven't posted anything since my Disney race report, I just got really lazy about posting entries after it was over. But I've still kept up with my running intervals and today completed my second half marathon, the A1A Half Marathon here in Fort Lauderdale. Here is my race report:

I arrived at the parking garage at about 4:45am...and the line for the only two parking meters to pay for my spot was about 50 deep when I got there. Waited about 40 minutes in line before a cop finally came over and told everyone “no tickets, no towing”, they were taking care of it so the runners would not be late to the 6am start. Yay! So went to my corral and wandered back and forth in the 13+ min/mile area until it was time to start. At least once this race started it only took about 3-4 minutes to cross the start line (race for half and full marathon total was capped at 6000 runners and they didn’t sell out). Started out walking, slowly building up speed then started my running intervals about 13 minutes in. I was doing 3 minute walk/2 minute run. We headed east on Las Olas to A1A. Right before we got to A1A we had our one “hill”-the Las Olas bridge (description of the course from the race website: The course elevation is flatter than a pancake! Sea level the entire way! Well to be fair you do have to cross one moderate bridge which counts as a hill, sort of. The Las Olas Bridge rises about 20 feet in the air and is just before mile 3 on the course). Once past the hill we turned north onto A1A as the sun was coming up. It was so pretty watching it rise over the beach (which was immediately on our right).

I was going strong for the first half of the race, I even had a 13:59 mile (mile 5), my fastest mile ever during a race. I also had four other miles well under 15 min/mile along with four more just over 15. During miles 5 and 6 we had a little detour through Birch State Park, it was really quiet and peaceful going through there. Then back onto A1A until just past Oakland Park Blvd...then turned around to head back south. Right about that time was when my running skirt started to really be an issue. Humidity all morning was extremely high (90% at the start, didn’t even drop below 70 until about 9am) and the shorts under the skirt were drenched in sweat and kept riding up. I had used body glide but even with it the shorts kept riding up and the chafing was horrible (I’m really ouchie right now). The running intervals were about five times worse with this than the walking ones so the last 4 miles I was walking almost the whole time. One of those miles was under 16 min/mile, the other three just over.

Finally the 13 mile marker sign came up, I pulled down the shorts one last time and ran to the end. Stopped my Garmin to see 3:20:13...exactly two minutes faster than my first half at Disney this past January. So, I’m very happy I was faster...but a little aggravated about the skirt thing as I know it could have been much better with all the miles that I was doing between 14-15 min/mile before my clothing became uncooperative. Regardless, I have my gorgeous seashell medal (and it opens up!) and half marathon #2 is in the books! At the end was a really good live band and lots of yummy food including pancakes if you wanted breakfast stuff or beans/nachos type stuff if you wanted something like that. And of course the normal fruits, bagels and muffins. Oh, and cookies and free beer (I got the cookies...no thanks on the beer, icky!). The weather for the race was 58 degrees at the start, 70 at the finish with a light breeze the whole time...sunny, clear...just gorgeous!

Now, what next? After I've rested for a few days I'll check around for my next half to sign up for. Just give my poor thighs a chance to heal from the chafing...now where's my Neosporin?