Race Report: 2012 Race the Roof 8k ~ 40.56

At the start line, getting ready to run.

Saturday (10/26) brought another race, the Race the Roof 8k. It was a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity and it was held in the beautiful Verandah community. Before I get started on my race report, I have to share R's (my oldest) race report.  She ran in her very FIRST race on Saturday. When I asked her about her race, she said, "Good". She is so very proud of the finishers ribbon she received. Since the tot trot was held during the 8k, my hubby had to manage getting her to the trot on time, film her running, and take care of A. He's superman! Here are some pictures of my awesome little runner!

Showing off her ribbon.

So proud of herself!

 

The Racing Crew

The 8k race for me was interesting.  My personal goal was to run at a 8.15 pace. At the 10k two weeks ago, I ran at 8.45 per mile and it was a good challenge. I felt winded and like I put in effort to accomplish that pace. Based on that, I thought an 8.15 would be an appropriate time challenge. I am horrible at pacing, so I kept having to look at my phone as I ran, but each mile I was right within my target pace, give or take a couple of seconds. I was so excited throughout the race. I was doing the math in my head and when my nike+ announced my split time at each mile, I literally was giddy - clapping my hands in excitement or doing a mini fist pump. (Yes, I know...kinda silly). I felt GREAT. I wasn't winded and my legs felt amazing. I kept passing people as I ran. Just like with the 10k, I kept mentally checking in with myself and found strength and energy. I finished in 40.56 (adjusted time) and was extremely happy with myself.

Until I saw the race results.  

The Results

I missed AG by one minute and one place. One.

If I had run a 39 minute 8k, I would have come in second in AG.  I went from thrilled with an excellent race to frustrated. I knew that if I had pushed myself, I would have easily been able to place in AG. I wasn't winded when I finished the race, it had been an easy pace. In fact, my nike+ said that my average pace for the race was actually an 8.08 because I ran two of the 5 miles in the upper 7s. 

This guy paced with me for the first 3.

I chalk up missing the AG partly to the fact that I am inexperienced in racing the 8k distance. It's an odd distance, but I'm also inexperienced with anything past a 5k. If it had been a 5k, I would have been able to judge, based on pace, what a good time would be. I also would have known approximately what I should have been aiming for time wise. With a race that was essentially 5 miles, I was afraid that I would tire myself out if I aimed for an 8 minute pace. I didn't dare aim for lower than 8, because I haven't put up consistent 8s. Plus, I'm not even sure what I'm entirely capable of right now and for what distance. 

R wanted to help me finish.

The other part is training. I've been consistent.  I've been adding mileage and I basically accomplished my distance goal in the time frame I had laid out originally. I've been getting consistently faster due simply to the mileage I've put in. But I'm not pushing myself.  I need to add in speed work and more tempo runs.  My tempo runs need to be at a faster pace.  I know that there are groups that I can join - Speedsters and Endurance Sisterhood - that would help me improve. The problem there is time. They meet at times that are not feasible for me to join them between what I need to do as a mama and what hubby does as a basketball coach. I also feel like I'm nearing a point where, if we had the money, I would visit a dietician and join up a local group that is coached. I know I can do a lot on my own and I simply need to push myself a lot harder in my own training to get there.  The race was a wake-up call in that respect.  No longer can I do a 10.30 minute warm up mile as I did last week on my tempo run.  My warm ups need to be in the high 8s and low 9s now.

The Big Finish

The feeling I'm left with after this race is a weird mix of happy with what I accomplished and irritated with what I didn't. Happy because I was right on pace and felt so strong during the race. Irritated because I didn't push myself and I know I could have gone faster since it was such an easy pace, having never felt winded at any point during the race.

I also know how to fix my irritation to a degree. I need to also find the mental fortitude to push myself.  As the quote goes, "running is 90% mental and the rest physical". With my last two races, I've discovered some of the mental toughness (those check-ins with myself), but I need to push myself harder to get there during my training runs. It's too easy at 4.30 am to slack off.

So that's where I leave this post...in kind of the same mental state I'm in right now...I know where I would like to be and what I need to do to get there to a point.  I just need to push myself.

2 for the price of 1: Race Reports

It's been busy. Rarely do I get a moment do sit down and actually write. In fact, I am down to approximately 30 minutes of personal veg time a day during the work week if you take out the time I need for sleeping. 30 minutes. And by the time I get those 30 minutes, I'm so exhausted that all I want to do is zone out in front of the TV. In fact, right now, I'm still un-showered from my race this morning.  I opted to write during nap time instead.

Training has been great. Here are some highlights of the past couple of weeks.

 - I recently rearranged my clothes' drawers by taking out my pregnancy clothes and replacing them with my favorite running clothes.  Clearly this is becoming important because I now have 2 running clothes drawers.

Favorites

- Ali and I have put in two consistent weeks of running around 20 miles.

- I definitely feel stronger and I'm noticing that our 4 mile runs feel easy - even with a bridge.

- My easy pace right now is around a 9.30. This excites me because just 2 months ago, I was struggling to run 10 minute miles at 2.5 miles or 3.

- The fruits of my labor in increasing my weekly mileage and putting in a long run are paying off already.


 - I'm really enjoying the couple new routes we've picked out and the versatility of them. 

- I'm also loving the weather. It's finally starting to cool down so that it's in the 70s now at 4.30 am instead of 90 something.

- I'm noticing that I probably need a 3rd rest day in my week.  I've been missing a run due to oversleeping each week. I think if I just cut myself some slack, alternate with recovery days, I'll be stronger for the days I do run.

In the last 7 days, I've done two races: a 5k and a 10k.  Here's a bit of a recap of them both - with pictures!


Lexington Cares 5k - 10/6/2012 - 25.34

Ali and I before Lexington Cares 5k

This was a on a golf course. With grass. And hills.  It reminded me of my old XC days. I feel like the course was about a tenth longer than it should have been, but it was a nice change of pace since it was such a well-manicured course. I went into the race wanting to simply PR for the season; beating my last time of 28.16. I smashed that time with a season PR of 25.34. I took 3 minutes off of my 5k time in a month. That's huge! Plus it was on grass which usually slows you down a bit. My first mile was fast, in the upper 7s and the other two were slower. I had more of a kick at the end this time, despite going faster overall. I was determined that I wasn't going to be beaten at the end like in the Dr. Piper 5k. It was difficult to push through the last 3/4 of mile 3 because I couldn't see the finish. Once I saw it, I was able to kick it on. This was a smaller race which resulted in me placing 3rd in my age group! It was exciting to get a medal again. I forgot how much of a motivator that is!

Medal for Third in AG

Race for FISH Sanibel 10k - 10/13/12 - 53.29

Ali and I before the Sanibel 10k

  Today's race was on Sanibel Island. It's such a pretty little island with, as Ali's hubby put it, an old-timey feel. This was my first 10k race and consider it a good check-in for how my training is going for our Half in November. The course was great! Mostly shaded, on the road or a hardtop and it was a giant loop so nothing was repeated. Ali and I stayed together for the first 3/4 of the mile and then I lost track of her and pulled ahead, I think. My first mile was at 8.45. I felt like that was a sustainable pace and wanted to see if I could keep it up. I really had to check myself from going faster. I felt extremely strong in the beginning and I had to keep reminding myself that I'm doing twice the distance. I really stink at pacing (something Ali is great at which is like reason # 456 why I run with her), but luckily I found someone who was sticking to an 8.45 pace for the first 3 miles. Once I got into the groove, I stayed close to that pace, even after the other girl dropped off. Miles 3-5 were all at around 8.54. It was an interesting race because with most of my previous races, I'm too involved in the moment. But I was actually able to check-in with myself and when I did, I kept finding that I felt strong and had fuel in the tank. My last mile was at 8.31 due, in part, to a girl who really pushed me the last half mile of the race. But doing a little

Sprinting to the finish

mental motivation, I kept reminding myself how strong I felt the entire race and I kept up with her. She would push, I responded, and vice versa. Eventually she dropped off and I finished ahead of her by about 30 seconds. I nearly caught the next girl - she beat me by three tenths of a second. I wanted to run at about 50 minutes, but also thought that 55 might be more realistic, so I'm extremely happy with my time of 53.29. (Especially considering the last time I ran 6 miles, it was at a 10.30 pace.) If I hadn't pushed the last half mile, I think I could have continued with an 8.45/9 min mile pace for at least another couple of miles. This gives me hope and strength for our Half which is in only 36 days!

I'm hoping to keep up this pace of 8.45 or 9 for the entirety of the Half, but will be super pleased with a 2.15 as that will be 15 minutes off of my first Half time. The fun thing about this race is that they gave us finishers medals. Love that! Yet another one to hang on my bulletin board at school.

(Side Note: Can I give a shout out to my girl Ali? She rocked it. Yet again, she tried to short herself on a time goal before the race, claiming she wanted a 65 min race. But she finished about 8 minutes faster (!!!). I nearly burst into tears while watching her finish. She looked so strong and she is just so amazing. From someone who's come from non-runner when we started 3 years ago to the runner she is now...it just floors me. I'm so lucky to have her - I wouldn't be so consistent or feel as bad about missing runs if it wasn't for her.)

Showing off our Sanibel 10k Medals

This month is a heavy race month because some great distances are offered. We are also doing an 8k on the last Saturday of the month. Although next Saturday will be a non-racing day, I will be volunteering at the race. I think it's important to give back to the running community, especially since they put on such great races for me to compete in. I'm really looking forward to the 8k. There are a lot of fun activities planned following the race and there is a Tot Trot as well.  My hubby will actually be coming to the race and I think R will be running in the Tot Trot.  She's excited to wear her running "alphabet" and get a ribbon like Mommy. (She loves the hardware I have come home with the last couple of races and likes to wear them around.)


Not that long ago I wrote about how I've struggled with disordered eating and thoughts. I weigh myself about once a week - I really try to limit myself to that because if I don't, the scale numbers become too important. I've been losing weight like crazy. Last week I weighed in at 124.5 and then this week I was at 121.  When I saw that number, my disordered thoughts did a little happy dance, singing, "you lost weight!". But very quickly, more normal thoughts took over; leaving me with questions. Am I giving myself the proper nutrition for running and pumping? What should my race weight be? I know I need to eat properly and I really try to, but I find it's difficult to find time, especially when I'm spending my lunch time pumping for A. I have taken to eating oatmeal or cereal in the car on the way to drop the girls off and then I start grazing my lunch at about 10.30 (while teaching my reading teacher center) until about 1.30. Ali mentioned that this might be increasing my metabolism, adding on the high mileage weeks, and daily burning an extra 500 calories (if not more since I'm a super milk producer) due to nursing. I just want to make sure that I'm eating properly and not starving myself. That would only serve to weaken my body's chances for recovery after hard workouts and races. Plus, it could affect my supply. I have to say that I'm extremely pleased that, while this is a vexing set of questions that I don't have an answer to, this is how I'm looking at my weight loss. My determination to make this life-change is starting to pay off.