The Forest Hills 5K And A Commitment

I'll address my ineptitude in blogging momentarily. For now, here's a re-cap of my latest 5K adventure.

The Forest Hills 5K was this past Saturday. It benefits the schools I grew up in and runs through the 'burbs instead of the dirty, nasty streets of downtown Cincinnati like so many other races do.

Finishing time: 41:12

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

(Click on the collages to see a larger view.)


A few shots before it started. It was before 8:30 and already steamy hot. It was one of the first hot runs of the year and definitely the first hot race. Hello sweaty head!


Some signs, some firefighters (big and small) and me at the halfway point. I stopped running shortly after this because the course went back uphill. Oh yeah, this course was surprisingly hilly. Yikes! And I've lost my ability to run 3 miles without stopping. I can force 2 miles uncomfortably, but 3 alludes me once again. Turns out I reached my distance peak right before the Emerald Miles back in March (read the post here). Go figure.




Finish line photos. Check out the top left corner shot...I totally look like a runner there! That stupid Bengals mascot was all up in my grill, yo. Had to get around him.


Me and my photographer, my mom. The pile o' donuts at the finish line (along with bagels, water and bananas), me offering the donut to my mom, and some browsing after the finish. Ah the joys of freebies after a race! =)


The race also featured a mascot race. A mascot for each of the 9 local schools (6 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high schools) and some other local organizations like businesses and college and professional sports mascots. My high school track coach (the bee below) won the race last year and took the prize again this year. Go coach!


Me with the mascots. A picture with the organizations from which I matriculated, plus two. Clockwise from top left: Mercer Golden Eagle, Cincinnati Bengal, Xavier Musketeer, Ayer/Summit Bee (can't remember, didn't go there; my high school track coach), Turpin Spartan, Kroger Bagster.

This is the professional picture, taken by Cincy Sports Photos.

After the race-day events, I got some time to rest, get un-sweaty, and get dolled up to go to a wonderful wedding. One of my best high school friends, Anne, put on a beautiful event. It was so great to see her wedding come to fruition after so much planning and it was REALLY great to see all my friends (and a handful of parents) in one place. Here's a collage:




So, about my blogging slackertude. I'm going to remedy this.

Here's what's happened. Running, as I've said before, has become a full-on part of my life--pretty much un-spectacular. I forget to blog about it because of that, but I don't want to stop. I still love keeping you all up to date, and I definitely need the accountability to keep me going. You all have been so helpful until this point and I need your help.

So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to post. I'm going to post after every workout. It might be one sentence, two sentence, 8 paragraphs, 3 pages. Seriously. If I go out and run a ho-hum 2 miles or a crappy 1 mile, you're getting an update. It'll likely be from my phone and will likely be boring. But I'm going to do it.

Don't worry, I'm going to continue to do my classic over-long posts with pictures and such, but because they seem to be happening fewer and farther between, I need to do something else.

So there it is. My plan. Is that okay? I hope so, because I'm doing it anyway.

So, news:

• I got a new job! Big change. Big, BIG change. I'm scared and excited and scared. It starts on June 7.
  
• I start boot camp on June 6. I'm scared and excited and scared about this too. But I've been noticing my arms getting flabbier and fatter lately, so Imma need this.
• I'm doing the Redlegs Run for Home 5K again! This was my first 5K last year, so I'm excited to return to the scene of the crime to see how I fare. This day also marks the 1-year anniversary of my "road racing career." Woooo! (Last year's post.)
  
• My post-Pig toenails are still in less-than-stellar shape. I didn't lose them, but I still think that would have been easier. The big toe nails are still...um...oozing. Goodness. But I finished the antibiotic and I've been keeping them clean, so yeah...good stuff.

Alright, that's all I've got. I guess you'll be hearing from me tomorrow since I plan on running then. Wheee! What's up with you all? How's the running going?

Emerald Miles: Full Recap

So I had a bit of a goal going into this race. Blech. Goals. You know how I feel about those. I didn't make this one for myself, though. I kind of adopted it from Caitlin. I wanted to run the whole stinkin' thing.

Since she and I had a great 3.1-mile run two weeks ago, I knew we had a pretty good chance of making it happen.

So anyway, backing up a bit ...

I had some buddies in this run. Caitlin, of course. This was her first 5K and the one she wanted to complete before her birthday later this month. Matt also jumped on the bandwagon.

Caitlin in her first race T-shirt and race bib. YAY!

The three of us before the race. (Thanks for the pictures!)

We couldn't have asked for a better mid-March day to run the first race of the season. It was warm enough to leave the gloves, fleece vest, and ear-covering headband in the car. The sky was completely clear and the sun was shining.

The starting line at the start of the Purple People Bridge in Newport, Kentucky.

We found out mid last week that the mighty Ohio had overrun its banks so much that our race route was underwater. During packet pick up on Thursday, they assured us that there was a new path and that it was flatter than the old one (YAY!) Unfortunately, it wasn't all that much flatter. There was still a monster hill to climb during the last half mile of the run. Slow and long. Whew.

So yeah, unfortunately that hill had me pretty much convinced from the beginning that I wasn't going to be able to run the whole time. I'm wicked bad on hills, which should make the Pig really fun. I walked for a total of maybe 1:30 to 2 minutes in three different places. Two of those were really brief, one (on the hill) was much longer. I stayed in front of Caitlin until the hill up to the bridge where, as I predicted, she kicked my butt and got a nice distance ahead of me. Go girl!

As I finally got to the top of the hill (the middle of the Purple People Bridge), I could see the finish line and REALLY wanted to sprint to the finish. Yeah, turns out it was a bit further away than I thought. That was the hardest I've worked during a finishing stretch yet. My body just did not want to go any faster and I couldn't catch up with Caitlin.

Caitlin finishing. I'm in the white long-sleeved T-shirt over her right shoulder.

All in all, I'm pleased with myself. I set a new PR and I ran more than I could have dreamed I would at my last 5K. Very cool!

Me, post-run and post-post-run-snack, quite content to be sitting and leaving a monster butt print on the pavement.

Somehow they captured our finishing times and pace without timing chips. Someone will have to explain that to me. Anyway, here's the screen shot of mine and Caitlin's finishing times. Matt, the newest runner of the three of us, came in around 33 minutes (WOOHOO!) and kicked both of our butts.

There we are!

The good news is I won't be running another 5K until mid-May (Forest Hills 5K). That will be after a 10K, after a half marathon, and after completing another 4-week session of boot camp. I should be hot to trot! (Oh yeah, looks like Caitlin and I are doing the Rat Race 10K. Yikes again!)

And to wrap up, here's our group post-race picture.

Great job you two!

Pig Prep And Planning: Please Provide Pointers!

Hey folks, I need your expert advice. I'm starting to think about what I should do for the upcoming Cincinnati Flying Pig (half) Marathon. I certainly don't plan on running the whole thing, but I would like my total running time--executed through run/walk intervals--to be more than half my total time. So, what intervals should I do? Please, pipe up. I want to know what you think ... especially you seasoned runners and marathoners. I really think I'll do much better with a plan and my interval timer set to help me along the way. I like deadlines better than "winging it."

The good news is I think I'll be participating in a 10K two weeks before the Pig so I'll get to test the intervals out (Cincinnati Rat Race 5K/10K ... thanks Caitlin!)

So, give it to me! I need help! Thanks!

************

On an unrelated note, I have some congratulations to dish out.

First, to my pal Matt, who just completed the Couch to 5K running program. Matt has been toying with the idea of trying the program for some time now, but he finally took the plunge around 9 weeks ago and hasn't looked back yet. He finished the program in 9 weeks. That's how long it's designed to take. I took 9 months. So Matt, you should know that I'm hugely jealous and very happy for you! Judging by the distance and time of your final C25K workout, I'd say you're going to kick some major butt (including mine and Caitlin's) at this Saturday's Emerald Miles race. Well, they find a course for us that's not covered in the Ohio River (it's a little wet in Cincinnati right now, folks.)

My second congrats goes to my running buddy Caitlin. After our awesome 5K victory last week at Juilfs Park, Caitlin knocked out another huge run in her neighborhood this Monday. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what running for stress relief can look like:

48 minutes of running without walking! WHOA! Someone's ready for her first 5K.

Great job Caitlin and Matt!

Bridge To 10K: W1, D2 -- And My Race Schedule

Little victory: After my original running plans for the day were delayed for another time, I still got my butt off the couch and went for a run. Not an easy feat considering the weather. The temperatures climbed throughout the day from just below freezing to the lower 40s, but the wind and precipitation were pretty unpredictable. But I decided I could handle it, and since I took two days off (and because next week will be a roller coaster of weather and really unreliable), I went big.

Today I returned to the Bridge to 10K program. The app is now my favorite app ever. (Here's the link to its iTunes page.) I've had the app since early last fall but had only used it 1.5 times (one failed attempt, one successful attempt). Within the last month or two, I purchased the GPS add-on for $1. Best dollar ever spent. Like the iMapMyRun app, the app tracks your progress geographically. Here's a shot of my run today.

The purple pins mark the miles, the red and green pins mark my start and finish.

The app also does what the Couch to 5K app did: pipes in and tells you when to warm up, run, walk, and cool down. Like C25K, it beeps at halfway. Unlike C25K, it also chimes in for each running segment to tell you when there are 5, 2, and 1 minute left.

Today I did Week 1, Day 1 -- Warm up for 5 minutes, then run for 10 minutes and walk for 1 minute, repeat the 10:1 intervals 4 times, cool down for 5 minutes. That's 53 minutes. Woohoo!

Now, the app also has a nice journal feature where you can record a general "how do you feel," the weather, the path, and other notes. And, best of all, it keeps your stats straight. iMapMyRun does speed and pace, but this app breaks your pace down into walking segments and running segments. AMAZING!

Here's the journal screen.

Check out my run pace, y'all! I'm thrilled with that!

Okay, enough of my sales pitch. Go get the app if you're shopping. (I think it'd still be a good app for iPod Touch users, just sans GPS.)

It was good run! Gloves, headband, slimeys + running pants, "under armor" shirt + long-sleeved t-shirt (the usual winter wear). Because of the wind, I also wore my windbreaker (doesn't breathe AT ALL), which kept me super toasty. At one point I thought it might be too much, but yeah, no more sweat than in the middle of July. Thrilling, no?

Today I had to do something I haven't done since fall: I yelled at myself to get through my last interval. I think I've been pooping out too early lately because I haven't been yelling at myself enough. Well, let the yelling begin! I'm ready to bring the pain this spring.

Now I just have to wait for this next bout of winter to pass. I'm a pessimistic Cincinnatian, so I'm betting on one more winter storm before we can call this season over. It's okay, I can wait.

20 more days until Daylight-saving Time begins!

Oh, and here's the promised race schedule for this spring:

March 12 - Emerald Miles 5K
Caitlin and I picked this run because it meets a pre-birthday goal for her and because it's cheap. The Hearth Mini Marathon is the following week (which includes a 5K) but is incredibly expensive as far as 5Ks go in my experience. I know it's a good cause, but we have economic concerns to deal with here. Anyway, even though the Emerald Miles run is downtown, it seems like a good path. It stays on the Purple People Bridge and within the boundaries of Sawyer Point. No downtown streets. Blech. Unfortunately for my efforts of not disappointing myself, Caitlin has me wanting to finish this one without walking. Time to work on some hills! (For those of you that don't know, if a race goes across a bridge over the Ohio, those bridges are rather beastly hills, so be prepared.) Oh, and my co-worker's husband, Matt, might be joining in on this one too since he's rocking C25K right now. Fun fun!

The Purple People Bridge. I don't know this person, but I stole this awesome photo from this blog.

May 1 - Cincinnati Flying Pig Half-Marathon
Oh lord, here it is. I'm still completely petrified to do this but I still strongly feel like I need to do it. I'm guessing I'll be doing it alone too, which is sad. It'd be nice to have company the whole time ... it would probably make the 13.1 miles go much quicker. But it's expensive and it's long, so I can't really force anyone to join me. And I don't need anyone, right? Right? Psshhh... I do expect a cheering section of at least 1 somewhere along the course, hopefully at the end (cough, MOM, cough). If anyone wants to stand with her, I'm sure she'd appreciate the company. =)

May 21 - Forest Hills 5K
This one holds a special place for me for more than one reason. First, it's in my hometown. Not just Cincinnati, but in the neighborhood I grew up in. It supports the schools I went to. Alumni get a discount. WOOT! Second, last year was the first year for this race and I was too scared to do it. It would have been my first. Well, I'm not too scared this year. I'm all over it!

There they are, the next three races! Eeek! Should be fun!

So, that short post turned into a novel, and not a very exciting one. Sorry about that. Thanks for reading!