Reindeer Romp 5k

Over a month ago I ran in the Ragsdale YMCA Reindeer Romp 5k. I had been looking forward to it mainly because I got to wear my red sparkly skirt! I had been wanting a sparkly running skirt and a Christmas themed race seemed like the perfect occasion. You can buy them online but I had this one made. Katie at RunsforCookies has a great tutorial on how to make them. I can't sew anything, not even a button! BTW, Katie's blog is awesome and she is one of my favorite running/weight loss bloggers.

Anyways, race day morning was chilly so I went with a long sleeve shirt.  Michael was still nursing an injury so he didn't run but Ryan did as well as my BIL and two nephews. Gaydon crew representing again!

I didn't have a goal finish time for this race but I hoped I would at least finish under 30 minutes since I had on the previous two 5k races in November. The race was a pretty good size with about 280 participants. A lot were kids from a local GOFAR (Go Out For A Run) program.

My official chip time was 29:57. Barely under 30 minutes but I did it! After the race everyone gathered inside on the YMCA's basketball courts for refreshments and the awards ceremony. My nephew who is 6 years old, won his age group! He got a first place award medal and this big Chick-fil-a gift basket! We were all so jealous of the basket. Next up my BIL placed 3rd in his age group and got his award medal.

We were getting ready to go but decided to wait since they were almost finished with awards. They gave out the kids first, then the men's and then the women's. I think they got off track somehow. Anyways, they got to my age group and OMG...my name was called for 3rd place!!! I could not believe it! I was so excited as I walked up to get my medal! Finally I got lucky and picked a race where my age group wasn't super popular! There were 14 women in my age group so I guess I didn't do too bad. My first winning medal felt great.

The next weekend several of us Breathless Babes participated in another Christmas themed race called "Running of the Balls" (yes that really was the name). It was an evening race that goes through a neighborhood which has tons of those lighted tree balls. It was really cool! The race was raising money and donated food for a local food bank. Over 1500 people participated by either walking or running. You could choose to be timed but most didn't (including us Babes) since it was really just about having fun and supporting the charity.

I dressed in my red sparkly skirt and was even more festive with my green Reindeer Romp 5k shirt and striped socks. After the race we went out for Mexican food and gave our BB leader Kathy a present from us Babes (a big basket full of goodies). Kathy surprised us with a personalized ornament that was so cool! I meant to take a picture of it before I packed away the Christmas decorations but I forgot. Each ornament was different since it was personalized and mine had sayings like Run for Chocolate! 13.1! Friends! Poblanos! Ha, she knows me well! I'm so glad I met this group of running girls!!!

Busy or lazy?

It's been well over a month since I've blogged and honestly, I'm not really sure why. I kept saying November was a crazy bust month, but now I don't really remember why I thought it was so busy.  I did run two races in November and finally posted race recaps for Race the Bar #4 and Turkey Trot 5k. I'm just a little Type A and felt I had to get those posts done first before I could just start blogging about current stuff. Weird, I know. Spoiler alert - I did accomplish a goal I've been trying to do for a long time (in both races actually).

Since I can't remember why November was so busy, maybe I was just being kind of lazy. After the half in October, I thought it would be nice to not have a running schedule. I was definitely looking forward to shorter runs. But then it started getting dark early and it was cold and the excuses to not run turned into valid reasons (at least in my mind). I kept telling myself, I didn't have a race to train for so why in the heck did I want to run in the dark and cold? My lazy self says, I don't.

So I guess my Type A side needs to have a running schedule or a goal race to train for. Perfect timing to start thinking about new goals for 2013 since it will be here soon! I've got some other exciting running and non-running news to share but I'll save that for later posts. Hopefully I can get back on track with running and blogging!

Turkey Trot 5k

This year our Turkey run came before Thanksgiving. The local Thanksgiving Day race is the Greensboro Gobbler 5k which we did last year and it was just okay. It’s good to do for fun, but it’s very crowded and the course is a hilly loop (not my favorite course) that you run twice. Instead this year we decided to do the Turkey Trot in Reidsville which was on November 10.

Pre-race with some of the WRS Royal Blue girls

Really Michael wanted to do this race once he heard they gave out actual trophies! It’s a small race and based on last year’s finish times (and the fact that he’s fast!) he had a pretty good shot at winning one. Actually based on last year’s finish times, I had a chance of placing in my age group and we all know I’m NOT fast! But last year’s results do not mean it will be the same this year.

I talked Ryan into signing up for the 1 mile fun run instead of the 5k. He wasn’t happy about it at first, but I knew that he hadn’t been running much and 3 miles would be much less enjoyable than just one mile. Plus it was his birthday weekend so I wanted him to be in a good mood (if that’s possible, he is officially a teenager now). My BIL and his crew came out to run and some of my running buddies from the Women’s Running School.

The 1 mile fun run was first and Ryan did great with a 7:30 mile! All the fun run participants (under age 15) received a medal which was cool. Even cooler was that they gave out trophies for the 1 mile run and Ryan won first place in his age group!

Ryan getting his trophy

Ryan and my nephew Britain who also won his age group for the 5k!

The finish times this year were nothing like last year. Michael finished sixth place overall even with a sub-20! He still won first place in his age group and got a cool trophy. Not quite the karate trophy first place overall male and female got…those things were huge! 

Michael and another trophy

I had a great run that day and set another 5k PR!!! My official chip was 29:07!! I was so happy to finish sub-30 again. So many times I have come close to my goal of finishing under 30 minutes and now I’ve done it twice! The last little bit was uphill and once I realized I was close to the finish line, I thought I might could even finish in under 29 minutes. I gave it all I had but there just wasn’t much left. My legs were seriously on fire!

Me at the end struggling

This year’s field was much faster than last year. I didn’t even come close to placing in my age group. My BIL didn’t place either and he usually does. It was still a good race and I’m very happy with my new PR. Ryan was sweet and said I could have his finishing medal since I did PR. Awwww… Maybe one day I will actually win a medal!

Race the Bar 5k #4

The final race in the Race the Bar series was a few weeks ago on Nov. 3rd. I debated about doing the this last race since I had dropped to 4th place for my age group in the overall championship after that horrible 3rd race. I wasn't that far behind in points and I thought there is always a chance, so I should at least give it a try.

It was another afternoon race and the weather was perfect. Instead of this race ending at a bar, it actually ended at a brewery. Pretty cool. Coming into the race, I thought I have to just go out there and give it my all. Run hard. Earlier that week I had decided to test it out and see how hard I could push myself. I always hear my husband and my BIL talk about pushing yourself to "puke stage". Well I know I've never felt like that at the end of a race and I don't think I really want to. But maybe this is how you are supposed to feel. I figured it would be best to try it out before a race, just in case I really did get to "puke stage".

So during a regular 3 mile run in my neighborhood, I pushed myself to run faster. I could definitely feel it was tougher. It was the first time I finished that course in under 30 minutes! I didn't puke (luckily) but my legs felt like they were on fire! I finally had hope that it was possible for me to run a sub-30 5k. After that run I knew I wanted to run this last Race the Bar 5k. Even if I didn't place in the overall series, I really wanted to see if I could run a sub-30 5k.

Pre-race

BIL with the photo bomb

 I felt great on race day. In fact, so great that I finally did it! I finished a 5k race in under 30 minutes! My official chip time was 29:23. And the course was legit...my Garmin had 3.11. YAY for me!! It was so great to finally accomplish this goal!


Adjusting my hat and my feet are actually in the air!



Right after finishing the race

Post race beer in the brewery

 I didn't place in the overall championship...I finished 4th in my age group. But I was so happy to finish under 30 minutes it really didn't matter. The medal or trophy at each race was a pint glass. For the overall championship in age groups, you got 4 bottles of beer each from the different breweries that sponsored each race. Don't get me wrong, I like beer, but personally I would much rather have a medal. I also think that if you did all 4 races in the series, you should have got something for that...at least a pint glass! Yes I'm complaining (since I didn't win anything).

Well I don't think I will do this series again next year, but I did accomplish two goals: Finish a 5k in under 30 minutes and I ran in all the races for the series. I'm happy with that. :)

USMCR Freedom 5k 2012

This past Saturday I ran in the USMCR Freedom 5k. The race is organized by my awesome running friend Kathy and her husband Sgt. Major Dan. It benefits the Hope for the Warriors which you can learn more about here. Even though I wasn’t running in the Marine Corps Marathon this weekend, I did get to run with several Marines!

Since I just finished my half-marathon on last week, I wasn’t looking to PR this race but just go out there and have fun. Plus, we got a sweet long sleeve dri-fit shirt! It was perfect running weather; cool, cloudy and a little misty at first. Several of the Off n’ Running Streakers were running, along with my hubby Michael, my BIL and his whole crew.

The route is, of course, hilly but what race route isn’t hilly around here? It’s not really too bad and definitely not as bad as the Race the Bar #3 route (officially my worst 5k ever!). I did this race last year too so all I was hoping to do was improve my finish time and I did! Chip time was 30:39 and last year it was 31:22. I have been very consistent this year with 5k finish times under 31 minutes but not under 30 minutes. 45 seconds doesn’t sound like much but that’s what I need to see a "29" in a 5k. No matter how I run, negative split or going out too fast, I still finish around the same time. Maybe I just need to push myself a little harder when racing.

Anyways, just about all of the Streakers (but not me) won an award for their age group! I actually came in fourth place, but third place finished well over a minute before me so there wasn’t really a chance. Michael finished fourth overall and first in his age group; my BIL placed third in his age group and my nephew placed second in his age group! Congrats to everybody for an awesome race!

Go Streakers!!

Another award for Michael, yay!

Somehow, I didn’t get one picture of me! I’m such a bad blogger. Funny because I kept taking pictures for everybody else. I must look like a nice person (or a professional photographer) since random people would give me their iPhones to take pictures for them. Yes, I still want an iPhone since apparently it’s the only way to take pictures (as I pull out my real camera that needs a new battery every 10 minutes). It always seems that I don’t get in any pictures when Michael and I are in the same race. I guess he’s too busy to worry about my photo needs!

Update: I found a few pictures of me taken by the race photographer. Yay!

Me (in red) with my nephew

At the end...we love uphill finishes!

I’ve decided to do the final Race the Bar 5k this Saturday. After the disaster in the third race, I dropped to fourth place in the overall championship standings. I wasn’t sure how I would feel after the half and I didn’t know if I really wanted to do it. But since I physically feel fine, I thought I should take a chance and do it. I’m not sure if I will do well enough to move up in the standings but I know there would be no chance of that happening if I didn’t even try. Maybe I could get lucky and nobody in my age group shows up, ha! I know that won’t happen.