HopeforRDU Spring Saunter 10k

Heading back to the Triangle in just over a week.
I'm excited a friend told me about the "Spring Saunter 5/10k" coming up in April.
When I lived there prior to 2007, I attended the Summit Church. They are doing this race and all proceeds are going to the house they are building for Habitat for Humanity.
I am excited about continually making a difference, in just little ways, in my old/new community. The Triangle will be a different place with the gospel of Jesus!
I'm going to be hitting up the 10k. Who is in it with me?

Half Marathon - Downhill at Dawn

This is so pretty - I can't pass it up.
Ridgecrest is one of the prettier places in NC. It is so quiet and it will be great to run on. I'm looking forward to the challenge of the hills and different terrains. Also, good training will come on Lake Lynn and Umstead in Raleigh.
And - that means I'll pay less than 100$ for both of my halfs this year. That is definitely a great bonus - and both of them are on Saturdays!
Anyone in TN or NC or SC or VA wanna do it with me? I'd love a running buddy? Or KY - wanna make the drive?

Turkey Trot Half Marathon - Thanksgiving Day

Why are so many of the races on Sundays?
This does me no good. So...
I won't be doing the Half at Virginia Beach over Labor Day because its on Sunday. I won't be doing the Raleigh City of Oaks Half in November because its on a Sunday.
So...when is the next race I will run (at least big one) at this moment - the Lake Norman Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day - that's right. I'm going to run - then eat! :)
Looking forward to it - and a good cause. If you are in the NC area - I would love a training buddy for this - and if you wanna give up your Thanksgiving Day morning (of watching the parade) - come run it with me!
Update: I've talked my parents into coming and having Thanksgiving in Raleigh - so hopefully, I can talk to my Dad and he can run one of the smaller races...

Anthem 5k

There are many things I would love to say about this race:

1. It was cold. I had 4 layers on top on. Then knee length running capris - very comfortable Nike! And fingertip-less gloves. I couldn't feel my thumbs about halfway through mile 1. Then you just press on. It was a good amount - I didn't feel bulky and I didn't get too hot. It was about 32 degrees, though sunny and windless. That was a blessing!

2. Run with friends! I had my friend Sarah and then her two friends. Sarah kept up with her friend for about the first mile, but then her other friend stayed with me the whole time and we pushed each other.

3. Again, didn't run with an iPod. I think I run better when concentrating on running and not on the music. And I can talk to people and be more aware of my surroundings.

4. New Shoes. All last week my left ankle was killing me. On Wednesday I couldn't even put my food straight - it would only go sideways. With tennis shoes on. My old running shoes have bit the dust. I went to Kohls on Friday night after picking up my bib and shirt at Louisville Slugger Field and bought new Nike socks and shoes. They were so comfortable! I walked around in them at dinner and really felt like I owned them forever!

5. Train. I hadn't trained at all for this race. Ok - 3 runs earlier in the week, but not like I should have. I had hopes and plans for the first 2 months of the year, but the weather in the Ville got the best of those. I don't know what would happen if I actually trained for a race now and if I actually pushed myself!

6. Time: 36.03 - I was only 14 seconds off my PR. I am quite happy with that given the above circumstances.

Now, onto the next one. I may do a smaller one but the next one I am doing is the Virginia Beach Rock N Roll Half over Labor Day. I need to get signed up for that!

Go Run!

Christina 5k = PR

Whoohoo! :)

The weather started out a little chilly this morning: 46 degrees when I left the house to head to the other end of town to start a 5k. The weather started to warm up and was maybe mid 50s by race time.

There were about 160 people running the 25th annual Christina 5k in South Lakeland. I saw some fmr school mates (soccer and cross country stars) from my time at Lakeland Christian. That was fun. They definitely still beat me.

I gotta keep running. I started out in the back and just minded my own business, noticing some people passing me, then I would pass them. No big deal. I like running with not many people around me.

First mile: 11.40

Second mile split: 23.20

I looked at my phone sometime in between there and thought I was on aim for about a 38 pace, I was a little bummed. Then, I could hear the cheers from way ahead and new the 3 mile marker had to be up there around the next bend.

When I could see the finish time clock, I got excited and sprinted the last to make it under 36 minutes.

My last PR was 37.38 I think. This time it was 35.49. I will take it. Next race (maybe the anthem in March, but may squeeze in another one) I want it under 36 minutes.

The LRC people were really nice and it was organized. There were no bibs - which is disappointing because I have a bib from each race. But, they had yummy FL oranges!

Kings Island Diamondback 5k

Well, let's see.....

1. Not my best run - somewhere between 36.5-38.5 but the exact results aren't up yet. We'll see and I'll post updates on here.

2. Most disorganized race I've been to. Granted it was the first one, but computers weren't working, you had to go through 2 check out lines (that means standing in really long lines twice), ran out of 5k medals, were giving folks the 10k ones, no plain water after race, luke warm Vitamin water to drink, no bagels, bananas, etc. 1 hour after race had some granola bars, ran out of t-shirts, started 30 minutes late, ran out of water at aid stations along race course, had almost 90 minutes of down time from end of race till the park opened.

3. I did good stretching before hand because I wasn't sore after race.

4. It was HOT and HUMID that day - everyone was just drenched in sweat!

5. After about 3 hours after race...I had only drank 12 oz of water (that I bought before b/c there was no plain water) and then with the mid-90s temperature, and the roller coasters - I was sick! Finally after laying down on a bench for about 45 minutes, I was better, got some water in me, then finally ate something about 3pm.

Eden's Village 5k Run

Today, Aarica, Jaime and I went up to Pekin IN for a 5k Run with all proceeds going to an orphanage run by Christian missionaries in Zimbabwe, Africa. How cool - running and missions!

It was raining the whole trip. At about 5 till 8 the rain stopped. It was nice for the run. I haven't run at all since the Hubers 5k in June. I could tell it - especially getting up the first hill which was about the first 1/2 mile. Thank goodness for downhills!

J and A did great and passed me once they hit the turn around spot. There were about 80 runners in this race, so it wasn't huge. Most of them new each other.

I finished at 37.28 - which is 1 minute better than my last 5k time. I'll take it. My 2 mile split was 24.02, so that is a 12 minute mile each time. The last one was the hardest since a lot of it was uphill and it was getting warmer, and I was more tired. Gotta push harder in those last miles in any race. Then came the trophies - really we were just staying around to see if we had won any of the door prizes. We didn't. BUT

We all came in 3rd in our age brackets. Now, I don't know how many women 30-39 ran today - but I was happy to come in third! :)

So, my next race is in August at Kings Island in OH. Can't wait. And I'll start doing some more running. Gotta beat my time each time.

Update and one more summer race

Hello!
Well, just signed up for another 5k in late July in Pekin, IN. This race really combines two loves: running and missions. How cool is that. 100% of the profits is going to the above children's home in Zimbabwe.
Vegetarian eating is going good. I am liking it, but think I will need to get back to eating healthier proteins (meat: chicken, turkey) in September. Legumes and Lentils don't do a whole lot for me.
Kettlebells are good. I call mine Mr. Blue Bell (and because I like ice cream, and the kettlebell is blue).
Weight is staying below 165, but not working really hard at watching what I eat right now with traveling - it makes it harder. And going out. This is a lifestyle and I have to be able to live. I can't eat egg white omelettes every meal!

Hubers 10k - UPDATED

I love a 10k! Hubers was a great place for it. This race was well-organized, great volunteers, cheerleaders around every bend it seemed like. Weather was overcast and foggy - so it was cool and didn't get warm till my last .3 miles.

I hadn't been training really because I had been housesitting, but I did pretty good. For 3.5 miles of I was talking to people instead of running, but that turned out well. I talked to Carol and Leah most of the way. Got to talk to them about life and church. I started off with Kari (whose husband took this picture) and stayed with her for the first 1.4 miles. Then she kept running (go Kari) and I took a walk break.

I did pretty well the last 2.5 miles. My first mile split was 11.04. I thought that was pretty good. Just wish I could keep that up.

My final time was 80.30 - and I was pleased with that because it beat my desired time of 82. We got these really cool tshirts made of the wicking material to keep us cool.

I will definitely be doing this race again next year. Now, I'm really going to start training for another 5k in OH in August - I want to run as much as possible!

UPDATE: I just saw the results from the race on the Pacers and Racers website. I did finish last in my age bracket but I also finished faster than I thought. The time they had 79.10 - I'll take it! That means it was a 13.15 10k/mile split. The second mile was definitely the worst!

Berea 8k Trail Run

Berea was good to me. Sloan and I went to Berea (about 1.40 East of the ville), home of Berea College and Papaleno's (Italian goodness) for the first ever Get Healthy Berea 8k Trail Run. There were only about 50 people there for both the run and the walk.
The trail was the actual BC CC trail. We went around fields, through the woods, through creeks, on gravel, over stumps, etc. The gravel was the hardest thing to run on, and running with wet shoes isn't fun.
But, it gave my legs a workout! And, I wasn't last. A 55 year old lady finished about 10 minutes after me. Hey - I finished. 67 minutes for a 8k - that is about a 13.50 minute trail run. I'll take it.
Next week - I'll be thankful to be back on pavement!

Zoo 5k Results and Thoughts

This one was tough. Couple of reasons. Good news: I beat my time from my first 5k by 40 seconds. Finsihed around 38.20 (we didn't have a chip on our shoe).

1. It was cool but amazingly humid for Louisville at 8am in May. We were sticky just getting out of the car. And more humidity made it much harder to run fast.

2. Hills. The zoo is all hills with one really big one. And curves that tons of people are trying to get around at the same time, so you are basically stopping and then starting again. not a great starting line to have to do that so soon when not everyone has spread out yet.

3. No chip. I like having a chip on my shoe so I can know exactly what time I've done. Oh, well. I finished at 39.50, but we didn't cross the start line when the first ones did (we don't even know where the start line really was?).

4. Stomach cramps. For about 1 mile in there my stomach hurt so bad. I have no clue what it was. I drank water before the race, at the same thing I eat before every race, at the same time I eat it before each race. All I could think about what how much my stomach hurt. But, then about mile 2.5 it stopped and didn't hurt again the whole day.

After we ran, we did get to look around at the animals and have a great morning at the Louisville zoo. And enjoy bananas and Calistogas' bagels. Sloan and I split one. Blueberry! And water.

Well, the next one is a little under a month away. Prepare better! And hopefully no stomach cramping!

My First Half Marathon

It is done! :)

On Saturday, bright and early (ok, just early) - I got up at 515am. I ate a whole wheat bagel with pb and honey on one side and pb/preserves on the other side. Got dressed, put my chip on my shoe, pinned my bib to my shirt, and hitched a ride with the parental Dawkinses to the Laura and David's house. Our whole group finally got there and we headed out to Iroquois to the start line.

By 730 it was already 75 degrees - wow it was going to be warm. (If that tells you anything, the men's marathon winner from this year finished 20 minutes slower than last year's winner.) It was in the 80s by the time I finished!

But, we were off. I ran most of the race with a new friend (and Gator fan) Emily. We ran and powerwalked. I found out from her that the two (running and power walking) use two different sets of muscles. I found it hard to keep up with her running distance and she found it hard to keep up me at the speed of power walking.

My first mile was 10.5 - the fastest I've done by 1 minute. I think I came out of the gate a little fast though.

I finished in 3 hours 7 seconds.

Here are my thoughts from my first half marathon:

1. About mile 12, I realized (while listening to the second time of All Because of Jesus on my iPod) that if I didn't finish this in 3 hours flat, God was not going to love me any less, and I wasn't a better person, more worthy of love, if I did. It would be ok in the end. In the words of Franscesca Bottecilli (or however you spell her name): Perfection is my enemy.

2. Running with friends is great. I had my cell with me and receiving texts the entire time and sending them out was a great source of encouragement for me. Having Laura, the parental dawkinses, and others at the finish line was so encouraging as well. They all finished the half faster than me, but we were still waiting on David and Reid's marathon to finish.

3. It was very neat to see marathon runners finishing with half marathoners and patting them on the back, encouraging them to keep going.

4. I was crying when older women would finish the half, or when 7mth pregnant ladies would finish the half, or when relay teams would hold hands and finish all together. Running is such a community sport - in the broader sense of the term.

5. My stomach didn't fare too well the rest of the day.

6. I need to prepare my quad muscles - strengthen them. I will be doing that more before my next half.

7. Train hard, run harder - I didn't do this and I need to do better at it - without injury - for which I'm so glad and thankful.

8. I will never be a pretty runner.

9. I need to work on toning my arms.

10. When looking at these pictures you would never think I've lost 40 lbs - can I lose another 40?

10b. I love this running skort - its an Adidas one and I got it for a really good sale price at Kohls (I love Kohls). So this may be something I run in a for a while for races! Especially when it is this hot!

11. I love to run! or power walk or interval. Its good exercise! :)

11b. Can't wait for the Zoo 5k in less than 2 weeks!

12. I'm thankful for these friends and the many in FL and NC who are such an encouragement to me!

Compliments and Other Good Things

This week has been full of great compliments for me. I always don't know how to take them, because I definitely don't believe them all. I've learned just to say "thank you" and keep going.
1. You are seriously skinny!
2. You are shrinking!
3. You are so pretty - people have it easy to make you look pretty.

These are hard to take. But I keep them and thank them.

Also...
1. I ran the furthest w/o stopping - 1.3 miles. Gotta keep adding to that!
2. Tonight I ran the fastest I've run a mile - 11 1/2 minutes. Whoohooo! :)

Mini is only 3 days away! I'm so excited. Picking up bib, driving route on Thursday!

Goals - Updated in Moleskin 4.17.09

I took some time today to write down some of my goals. I have a moleskin (love those things) for weight, how I feel each day, and my goals. So, I thought I would share the goals with you (for all who read it - which isn't very many). But this is a tangible way for me to stay on track.
Races:
Mini-Derby - 4.25.09 - 1/2 Marathon - less than 3 hours.
Through the Zoo - 5.9.09 - 5k - under 39 minutes
Berea Trail Run - 6.6.09 - 8k - 1.10
Joe Huber's - 6.13.09 - 10k - less than 1.19
Bluegrass 10 - 7.4.09 - Under whatever my Hubers time is...

These are more general goals:
Goal Weight by Erin's wedding (8.9.09) - 9 lbs to go!
1 diet coke or carbonated beverage per/week - right now I'm at about 3, so I need to cut those down.
Stop eating when full. This will do me good because some times I eat real fast and don't take time to think about why I am eating.
Memorize Scripture about food, my body, healthy living, etc.
Snack healthier - I don't need to consume processed foods.
Try new grains. Wheatberries, etc. I need to broaden my horizons when it comes to good-for-me grains.
More veggies - this will be much easier in the summer! :) Bring on the farmer's markets
Sale Produce/meat - even if it means trying new things or maybe eating a lot of the same things cooked in different ways - at least I'll be doing good on the checkbook!
Eat on small plates. I don't like big dinner plates - because I fill them up!
Toning - I do 200 weighted twists/punches each night. I need to keep that up - get that core and those arms in shape!
Body Fat - I need to get that in a good range and first need to get it tested. I've already put out an email regarding that.
Cholesterol. I'm having that checked in 10 days. See where it is. See what I need to do with it. If it is not in a healthy range, then make it there!

Ok - now to get to it! :)

Goals and Changes

Sometimes I get clearly ahead of myself and don't think things through. Oh, well. But, there is always grace.
I had planned on doing the Sprint Tri in Chapel Hill in August. I was fine with the 50$ entry fee, but then I would have buy a helmet, a good suit to swim in, make sure my bike is in good biking order.
So, I just don't think it is going to happen - just financially not a good decision right now.
So, here is what is coming up:
Mini-derby (3 weeks out)
Throo the Zoo - 5 weeks out
Hubers (maybe) - June
Lexington Bluegrass 10k - July 4
Louisville Marathon is a possibility in October.

Training: I do get my bike next wknd, so that will fun to take and do something besides running. Pilates is still going great. I love the toning work. I do a cardio class usually once a week - and that is a great sweat producer. I'm running this week about 1.2 a day - just because of time constraints. I hope to get in a long one this Saturday before the bball games begin.
Eating: This week I've eaten many more vegetables and I'm definitely noticing a drop in weight. That is very good. The scale was below 170 - I love hitting those 10 lbs marks! So, I just gotta keep at it!

Anyway - those are just little things...

Missed Running

This week I've been run down with a cold (no pun intended). So, my last 2 mile run was Tuesday. I've been so missing it.
Yesterday I was going to do a long run but it decided to rain - all day.
So, today - I went to Cherokee and went for a 2.6 mile run - 35 minutes. Definitely not great, but it felt great to be out there.
So, this week - pilates and running, pilates, running, running, running, running, day off.
My new priority and goal - UNC Wellness Sprint Triathlon - August 9. Everything is better in Carolina. But, first...a mini, 5k, and 2 10ks. Good things to do with some of my Uncle Sam comeback!

My First 5k! New Personal Record

It's done! My first 5k. The Anthem was a blast this morning. I was nervous, dreamed all night about different people I would see, what would go wrong, etc. Everything went great.
We got a great parking spot, getting through some of the course before they blocked off the roads, headed up and waited for a while. The weather was perfect - 55 at starting time. There was between 9-10k people.
All of us were jabbering and all of a sudden it got real quiet. Everyone started turning toward the stadium and heard the Star Spangled Banner being sung. Amazing how so many people complain about America, but they were still quiet when that song is sung - and clapped.
Sarah and I finally got to the starting line and crossed at about 8.07 and change. We ran about the first 8 minutes, then started out intervals. The first mile marker was great to see and spurred us on.
I have 2 Brooklyn Tab songs on my playlist that are about 5 minutes each - we pushed it and ran both of those. Finally the 2nd mile showed up - and we were so stoked about our time - about 23 for 2 miles - amazing. The last 1.1 was hard, slight incline, tired, getting much warmer (temperature and sweating) - but we pushed it.
We both finished a little under 39 we think. The exact time hasn't been posted yet to the website - so we are waiting. But, I still had music on my playlist and it is in the 39 minute range.
Racing is very addicting. I would love to go run another one. My next one is the Half Derby on April 25. The mini-marathon - 13.1 miles. I got new running shoes today - white and pink - to start training!

Snow in Indy for Polar Bear

Well, I said all along that I would run in whatever temperature in Indy this weekend, but no precipitation. Its just not worth it.
Well, tomorrow in Indy it will be 32, windy, and snowing - ALL morning! So, I do not get to run my first 5k. But, no fear. Training will still happen, got the playlist all set, and now the race is the Anthem 5k in Louisville in 2 weeks. So excited!
Instead, I'll do a medium run on Sunday afternoon.

Anthem 5k - Louisville

Just signed up for my second race. This time I definitely get to do it with a friend - and anyone else who wants to sign up - go for it!

This is the first leg of the Triple Crown in Louisville - leading up to the Derby Marathon the end of April.

The Anthem 5k is dtown Louisville on March 7 - that will be a fun day - no matter the weather - and then ending the day by watching the second of the Tobacco Road series - Duke and Carolina - can't wait!