C - NO WALKERS

This past weekend was absolutely AWESOME. The Hubs and I journeyed to Philadelphia on Friday afternoon. We checked into our hotel at 3:00 after battling traffic for two hours, and then we strolled to the convention center for the expo for the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K. The expo was AWESOME - I'd never been to one before, so I was really impressed. This was also my first time seeing a SUPER smooth check-in process. RAM Racing has got this down. We walked in (and received a little chocolate square as we entered!) and showed our confirmation QR codes to any of the volunteers at the registration tables, and they selected a random bib for us, scanned it, and stuck on our stickers with starting corral assignments.

The biggest mug of hot chocolate I've ever seen!

After getting our bibs, we were able to pick up our hoodies and drawstring bags. They even had a "swag bag fitting area" where you could try on sample hoodies, and if your hoodie was the wrong size you could exchange your unopened hoodie at the "swag bag swap."

Then we had hot chocolate samples, chocolate fondue, and free sweet potato chips. They had vendors for headbands, compression socks, running belts, nutrition stuff, and even old Hot Chocolate merchandise at good prices. 

Post-expo, we decided to walk to the starting line area so that we could find it more easily in the dark on race morning. Luckily, it was an absolutely beautiful day - 66 degrees with a light drizzle - and we really enjoyed the walk. With all of our walking on Friday, we logged about 5 miles, plus the walking to get dinner and do a little shopping.

Saturday morning was an EARLY morning! We were up at 5:15 and on the sidewalks at 6:15 to walk a mile to the starting line. I was a bit nervous since it was still dark, but there were a LOT of people walking with us. It was about 50 degrees and really windy, and that did not change for a while. The only difference was that the sun came out right when the 5K started. 

The 5K was off and running promptly at 7:15. Each starting corral began 3 minutes after the previous corral. I had estimated a 10 minute mile for myself back in January when we registered and I was doing well with my training, but a 6 week break in training had caused me to struggle even running 2.5 miles straight. I was terrified when I saw my corral sign:

"C - NO WALKERS."

Something there made me decide that I really shouldn't walk this - at all - and I tried REALLY hard to believe that. I stood at the back of my corral, and at 7:21, we took off! There were a few hundred of us in our corral, so we were slow at first until we could get some separation. That separation happened about a mile into the event. We also faced a major headwind that literally pushed the runners in front of me... they all shifted from right to left! We assumed that we'd have a tailwind on the return trip, but that turned out to be a false assumption.

At a mile into the race, I realized my time was too slow to justify walking. If my first mile had been sub-10, I could have walked a bit to save energy to run another fast mile. Since my first mile was 10'55", I decided to keep running. I got to 1.5 miles in and realized I could keep going. I kept pushing myself, but at 2.5 miles I felt so exhausted. I contemplated walking, but I knew that I could finish the race running (not fast!) and that I would be really disappointed in myself if I started walking with half a mile to go. 

When we rounded the last turn, the finish loomed up a slight incline ahead of us. Because of the wind, the Start and Finish structures were down - one had blown over earlier in the day, so they kept them both down - so we had to guess, based on where the crowd was located, where the actual finish line was. After crossing, I headed straight toward the starting line. The 15K was going to start at any second, and I wanted to tell Jeff the good news -- I had run the entire race! I had set a goal of finishing in under 35 minutes, but I did better than that! He took off right after I got there, but since he was on the other side of the road, I didn't get the chance to tell him anything. 

Here are the stats:

Mile 1 - 10'55"                                     Mile 2 - 10'35"                                      Mile 3 - 10'19"

Gun Time: 39:39                                  Chip Time: 33:19
Gun Pace: 12:46                                   Chip Pace: 10:44

Overall: 1412/4042                              Female: 901/3112                                  Female 25-29: 190/488

I was THRILLED that my miles got faster as I ran. My Nike+ app shows a very consistent green line, which means I kept a pretty consistent pace throughout. This was my first time EVER running a full 5K. I sort of did in December 2013 at the Jingle Bell Run, but the course was shortened to about 2.86 miles due to snow.

While Jeff ran, I had the chance to sit on the steps of the art museum and think about the day. Looking out to the city and watching thousands of people finish was an awesome experience. Then I found Jeff at about 9:15, and followed him back to the finish.

After he had finished, we enjoyed our huge chocolate fondue mugs, posed with the Rocky statue, and ran up the steps at the museum. It was a great event!

I had challenged myself at the start of my event to truly belong in corral C - they said NO WALKERS, and I took that to heart. I met their expectations - and exceeded my own - to make this race my favorite race to date!

Rocky!

The steps don't all show up here... but there are LOTS of them.

Running the Distance - 2015 Goals

This year, I have decided to set my three main goals. Goal #1 is to be able to run a full 5K (in under 30 minutes) in the first half of the year. Goal #2 is to be able to run a full 10K by the end of the year. Because the distance is enough of a goal for me, I am not necessarily setting a time goal for that one. Goal #3 is to run a total distance of 579 miles this year.

I know some wonderful moms who made the goal last year to run to a certain point on a map. Many of them finished 2014 "on the beach" in Florida, having run the mileage to get from their homes in PA to a sunny place far south of us.

The distance from my house to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Indianapolis Colts play, is 578.6 miles. My plan is to cover that distance in 12 months, which comes down to about 11 miles every week. Since I'm starting my 5K training now, my typical weekly toll is about 6 miles. In January I have completed 27.3 miles, so I need to pick up my distance. Once I get closer to the end of the year, my runs will become longer. I also want to "up" my running frequency to 4 times a week instead of 3.

Here is my map - from home to Indy. The pink part maps the portion of the journey I've already completed. I'm really looking forward to seeing the pink line grow every month!

Week 1 Update - 2015

My first week "back on track" is officially on the books. I was able to do my first full week of "Couch to 5K" and log absolutely everything I ate. It was much easier than I remembered!

I improved my time and overall distance this week, and logged over 9 miles from Sunday through Saturday. My goal is to average 11 miles per week, so I figure we are off to a good start considering I will be doing longer runs later in the year.

I am also pleased to report that I lost about 5 pounds in the past week as well. It makes such a huge difference!

Just a quick update today - I've got some work to do, but I wanted to post for accountability.

See you soon!

Fresh Breaths and Fresh Starts

::[breathe in]:: ::[breathe out]::

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, can you feel it? Fresh breath, fresh air, fresh start!

It is a brand new year, and pretty much everyone is focusing on new starts, new promises, or the idea of a "new you."

I know my posting has been sporadic at best, but if you've been following, you probably remember that I had my own "new me" 2 years ago. In late 2012 I decided I was going to get in shape. In early 2013 I really started to enact my strategy - watch what I eat (and log absolutely everything) and complete at least one 5K or longer each month.

In 2013, I experienced a huge personal success. I went from 202 pounds down to 155 at my lowest weigh-in. I went from a size 14/16 to a size 8. I completed Warrior Dash, and I did a total of 15 events, including a 10K. It was also the first time I ever ran the entire length of a 5K event, and I did so while pregnant. Most importantly, I had energy, and I was strong.

I had a very different experience in 2014. Even while pregnant, I completed a 5K each month from January through May. I had a baby in June but was back "running" in July, August, October, and November. My main problem during 2014 is that I was hungry all. the. time. Between pregnancy and then nursing, and hanging around at my house for 3 months while I was off work, I ate constantly. I was still able to go from my max pregnancy weight of 220 down to 195 pretty easily, but that was a far cry from where I had been one year prior.

Since our newest arrival, I have been able to drop another 10-15 pounds. It seems to fluctuate each day, but I have consistently been around the 183 mark for the past 3 months. The goal, now that our holiday feasting season is over, and now that I am back to 190 as a result of ham, taters, and far too many cookies, is to get down to the 150s or 160s again.

Today I began the New Year, New Me campaign by beginning the ZenLabs C25K app. I truly enjoy this app because it allows me to start small. So many times my training is sabotaged by my own brain: I go out for a run and don't get far before my brain chants cadences of "you're weak" and "you can't." I feel defeated, and after 10 minutes on the road I am back on my couch eating cookies, and my running shoes get buried under the piles of clothes that, for some unknown reason, remain too small for my body. However, with this app, you spend your first week jogging 60 seconds and then walking for 90 seconds. You repeat this cycle for 20 minutes, or 8 total cycles. Your workout begins and ends with a 5 minute warm-up/cool-down walk. Because you only jog in short bursts, and you spend more time walking than jogging, it is simple to complete without feeling discouraged. In all, it is a 9 week program, and if you can keep up with the program for 3 days a week, you will be able to run a full 5K (in roughly 30 minutes) within 27 workouts.

I completed 2.09 quick miles today around my neighborhood. I was so thankful for warmish weather (about 45 degrees, but in January, that is awesome!) that allowed me to run outside instead of on a treadmill. My 2.09 miles were completed in about 27 minutes, since I did not do the complete warm-up run. And that little fact brings me to my next topic: GOALS!

Goals are so important. One of the first rules in teaching is to clearly outline expectations and know what you want students to be able to do. You have to determine your "essential question" before you can even start thinking about what skills you are going to focus on. It is crucial to keep the end in mind. The same goes for exercise: you have to identify both long-term and short-term goals before beginning your exercise regimen or you are not working toward anything.

My goals are simple. Long-term (by the end of the year), I want to be able to run a full 10K event AND be able to run a sub-30 5K. I have accomplished this on the treadmill, but I want to be able to do this in an actual race event. Also by the end of the year, I want to reach my goal weight. My last long-term goal is to run to Indianapolis by the end of the year. I don't mean actually running there, but instead logging my miles. It is 578.41 miles from my house to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts play, so I plan on logging that many miles through the end of the year. I figure I'll do about 578.5 so I can "finish" around the 50 yard line. Short-term, I want to start consistently logging my food intake again. I was great at logging before, but have done a terrible job of this since late 2013. I also want to be able to run a sub-10 minute mile by the end of January.

I look forward to checking back in after completing a few more days of C25K! Feel free to share your goals below.