November 2017 Running Challenge

My laziness in recovering (and really resting on Tuesday and Wednesday) paid off today. Won a 2nd place AG award at the Gobble Gallop (no pie though!). My 9 year old was also the top finisher under 10. Managed an 8:00 min mile pace which is getting me back to feeling like my fast racing self again! Thankful to both of my physical therapists who’ve gotten me to this point!

11/1 - 8 miles
11/2 - 0 miles
11/3 - 0 miles
11/4 - 3 miles of horrible
11/5 – 10 miles of awesome
11/6 – 0 miles
11/7 – 6 miles
11/8 - 0 miles
11/9 – 5 miles
11/10 – 6 miles
11/11 - 0 miles state XC meet
11/12 - 4 miles
11/13 - 0 miles
11/14 - 7 miles
11/15 - 5 miles
11/16 – 0 miles
11/17 – 0 miles
11/18 – 6 miles
11/19 – 5 miles
11/20 - 0 miles
11/21 - 7 miles
11/22 - 0 miles
11/23 - 3.1 miles Turkey Trot 5K 5th AG

75 of 100 miles


Happy Thanksgiving!

I actually felt great today - about 35F at race time (1C). 10:12 pace, I was at 10:01 10:04 10:43 (which was up hill coming back). Pushed my friend to PR which I'm so proud of her! Saw lots of friends I haven't seen in a while. Just a fun morning.




Upcoming Races:
11/23 - Turkey Trot 5K
11/27 - Galaxy of Lights 5K

2018:
4/7 - Oak Barrel HM

This turkey trotted! There were 9,965 people in the race today. The fastest runners had already crossed the finish line by the time I got to the start. It was about 30 F outside. The baby (13 months old) was bundled up like the kid from A Christmas Story (I can't put my arms down!) and I was wearing long pants and long sleeves. I had my jacket on for about two minutes before I decided I was way too hot. I had no other pockets to carry my phone for mapmyrun and no watch tracker, so I'm still waiting on my official time. I know I finished about ten minutes before my husband and the stroller. Finishers all get an apple pie, so we collected our pies and got the baby back into the warmth.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the US runners.

@7lenny7 like Dory “just keeping running, just keep running” ha ha
Whoa @JessicaMcB those are some calves. I ran a race behind a woman with calves like that after the race I had to tell her she had some kick *kitten* calves.
@garygse thanks – So I got a call from the “big bosses” executive support person, she hadn’t heard the news on my job yet but called to tell me that she and “big boss” recommended me for a job and if I want it it’s mine. I told her I wanted to hear on the technical job first and she agreed if I could get back into the technie world it was a good idea.
I can’t get into any type of groove on the elliptical I hate the thing
@elise4270 sorry about the pain
@RespectTheKitty It truly hurts my heart to read about the issues you are having finding the right medication to work for you. I think of you all the time and keep you in my prayers. I hope your energy comes back and the side effects go away soon.
Oh my gosh @HonuNui your doggie certainly doesn’t like getting her nails trimmed, I hope that hurts less than it looks. I cut my dog one time, now she won’t let me near her with the trimmer.
@MobyCarp I would definitely need the soundtrack ha ha
@sarahthes you need to post a picture of the new hair do
“Coldasheckachusetts” ha ha @rheddmobile I need to use that word
Thanks @PastorVincent
I’m passed menopause and all I can tell your ladies is good luck ha ha. Speaking of OMG my Skip, she taking a new medicine and I think it’s giving her nose bleeds which is one of the side effects, today before we left for our race she came down the hall with the tampon in her nose, seriously a tampon. She said I had to get dressed and ready to go I didn’t have time to hold a towel that girl.
Yeah no niggles @Orphia
@hjeppley awesome job to you and the family!
Apple pie!! @eponine1984 that’s awesome

I think I forgot to mention in my other post that Skip got 4th in her AG, with a time of like 25 and change, she met up with a friend at mile 1 and they started to talk and didn't realize they were slowing down ha ha. But she had fun and she hasn't seen her friend since she went off to college and enjoyed running with her.

11/1 = 10 miles
11/2 = strength training
11/3 = 5 miles
11/4 = 19 miles
11/5 = rest day
11/6 = 4.5 miles and strength training
11/7 = 8.5 miles
11/8 = rest day
11/9 = 6 miles
11/10 = Vinyasa yoga class
11/11 = 13 miles (New Braunfels Half)
11/12 = 6 miles
11/13 = Kettlebell strength training
11/14 = 6 miles
11/15 = 8.5 miles
11/16 = Strength training
11/17 = 6 miles
11/18 = rest day
11/19 = 20.5 miles
11/20 = 3 miles dreadmill and strength training
11/21 = Vinyasa yoga class
11/22 = 8.5 miles
11/23 = 5 miles (Georgetown Turkey Trot)

Trotting with the turkeys this morning and freezing our butts off at 34 degrees. I had on a tank top, long sleeve tech shirt, sweatshirt like jacket, gloves, a ear head-warmer thing, and running tights. I still felt like I was dying of hypothermia until mile 3. I am just not made for the cold. Brrrrrrrrr

Happy Thanksgiving to all the US runners. Now, I am off to find pie.

122.5/175 (November goal miles)

Upcoming Races:
11/23 = Georgetown Turkey Trot
12/10 = BCS Marathon
1/6/18 = River Road Run Half Marathon

BOOM! RACE DAY! W00T!

So got up and checked my weather station. "Feels like 16, air temp 20." Erf. Quick gear change ( basically my Darn Tough wool socks instead of my UA Heat Gear ones, and pack extra warm clothes to change into in case I get wet). Grab gear and go!

No one on the roads, get to race well over an hour ahead of the start. Decide to sit in the warm truck until about 25 minutes before race starts. When we got out of the truck in the garage it was decidedly warmer than I expected. Started to consider leaving a layer behind but did not.

Exit the garage and the wind hit. Okay glad I kept my North Face Wind Barrier. A quick trip to the portapotty just to be sure and then find the starting line. Quick pre-race selfie...



And we have about 15 mins to spare. looking around the starting corral, saw some Pumpkin Pie:



And a Turkey.



There were a bunch of other costumes, including my wife in her Wonder Woman Cape and Tutu:



But I wanted to fight my way to the front of the coral so put the camera away. I found the 8 minute pacers and decided I would start with them and see how I felt. Well as you can all guess it was PACKED at the start. I had to be very aggressive to stay with the pacers for most of the race. The pacers were a bit faster than advertised but I was having no trouble staying with them so I kept my mouth shut.

When they called out that there was a 1/2 mile left, I had plenty in the tank so I picked up the pace and left them behind. Last quarter mile I was well under a 7 min mile, so I had plenty left in the tank. Probably should have run with the 7:30 group... but crossed the line in 24:17 chip time, PR ONE IN THE BANK BABY!


So I walked around a bit, ate a banana, and took off my coat to let the wind cool me down a bit. I started walking back up the course to find my wife to finish with her but noticed the time. 11 MINUTES till the five miler started. ACK! I did not even know where the starting line was. I asked a random person and got lucky, she gave me good directions and I made it to the starting line just as the National Anthem was starting. Well turns out the same 8 min pacers were doing this race, so I saddled up next to them. Figured why not try 8 mins again?

Once again had to be very aggressive to keep with them in the crowd, but I did it. Again, their 8 min pace was more like a 7:50 pace, but I was feeling good so stuck with them. The race was over the same roads as the 5k, with some added of course. That gave me confidence that I could push a bit harder if needed to. We even got to run by the big Christmas Tree in downtown Pittsburgh, so that saves me a future trip to see it.

Again, when the last 1/2 mile was called I pulled away from the pacers and told myself, "Tap that huge reserve you have form marathon training" over and over. Well, guess what? Crossed the line in 39:50 Garmin Time (chip time not up yet), with a 7:46 pace - which means, BACK TO BACK PRs!

Oddly enough, I ran the 5 miler faster than I ran the 5k. So that tells me that future PRs in both distances is reachable.

So Mission Accomplished PR two races for Thanksgiving! Now to go pig out and get fat.

Ran my 5k turkey trot this morning, and my husband beat me by four seconds. He's still crowing.

@bjderhak @skippygirlsmom It was definitely a lot of fun. His strategy of using me as a pacer and then speeding up right at the end worked perfectly. There were 1,700 runners, so my plan of storming ahead so he couldn't keep up didn't work because I was wasting all my energy zipping around other runners. And then at the end he did a fantastic swerve to get past a couple of people, and I couldn't react quickly enough to catch him.

My excuse is I'm still recovering from Saturday's half-marathon. Oh, and next year I'm entering us in a smaller race.