The One Where It's My First 10-Mile Race

Soooo I guess when I wrote that down on my race schedule this year I didn't really think I'd make it to May. I swear May got here much sooner than I thought it would. 

I have trained and trained for this day. And while yes, this is a race, it's a training run for me. My "real race" the Wounded Warrior Half Marathon isn't until next month. 

Nevertheless, I've been training for this race since March. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Weekend Long Runs. 

I ran running errands Friday. More Fuel, More Protein Powder, another iPhone Arm Band. 

I got all my stuff ready. I typically put all my things into my hat, so it's all together: 

Hair Tie 
Sunglasses 
Sunscreen 
Arm Band 
Earbuds 
ID 
Race Bib 
Fuel 
Fuel Belt 
Gum 

I lay my clothes out: 
Shirt 
Bra 
Shorts 
Socks 
Shoes 

I set two alarms, just in case. I text to anyone I might be meeting and hit the hay! 


For the first time ever, I slept through the night. I woke up once to see what time it was, ended up dropping my phone on the floor. Didn't pick it up. The alarm would go off and I'd get up when I got up. :) 

Indeed both alarms went off. I jumped up, made coffee, got in the shower. I like to take a hot shower before long runs to loosen things up. 

I got dressed and double checked my race day items. It was gonna be hot, so I took two waters. My water pouch for the race and my liter for after the race. 

I knew that the race would have several water stops as well. 

I didn't eat breakfast. Normally I eat breakfast, but I opted to skip that and use my fuel instead. I drank my coffee, got my small back pack out to put all my stuff in. I was riding with a running club member so I needed to pack my things up. It's not like I would be going back to my car for supplies. 

I hugged my hubby and was on my way to the RRC. Met Kathy and we were off!! :) We made it down there in great time and we got a good parking spot too! I saw some people I know and we made introductions. I ate my Honey Stinger for a few calories to start the race. 

It seemed like time was flying. I made a pit stop and before you know it, it was 10 minutes to race time! :) Told Kathy I'd see her at the finish, she's a bit faster than me. 

The gun went off and it was time to race. I made sure to go slow.... there would be no darting out of the start and being too tired at the end. 

I made listened to the RunMeter carefully saying my pace. I wanted to keep it around 11-12. My goal was to finish in 2 hours. To walk through all the water stops and over the bridges. The White Rock Bridges have a lot of give. It's like running in jello! Not that I'd done that, but that's what I imagine it would be like! 

I ran with some great people around me! Talking, Excited, Feeling Good. I saw a few folks I knew running ahead of me and for a moment thought to pick up my pace to catch up to them, but didn't. I decided I'd save my energy. 

I was feeling great! I was a little concerned that morning because my right ankle was sore, it's been achey lately. It was achey today too. Drats! But I was feeling ok, I kept doing a 'soreness check' along the way. And thinking should I slow down, speed up, based on how I felt. 

I got to the first water stop. WOW, these folks had a lot of energy! It was awesome! They had water and gatorade. I took some of each. I walked through the stop and stopped to drink the water rather than pour out what was left. I was making good time, so I wasn't concerned about actually stopping. 

I headed out again. Two runner girls in front of me where discussing whether or not they would run the 10 or make the turn at the 5 mile race. The girl in the purples says to the girl in pink, I think I can make it for the 10, so they made the turn to the left for the 10-mile race with me. 

And off we went onto the first bridge. I was thinking along this route, this is the furthest I've been in this direction around the lake. :) Normally I race in the other direction because its a shorter distance. I wasn't sure if this was an out and back or if we were going all the way around the lake, but it was gonna be interesting since I haven't seen this side of White Rock... not while running anyway. 

The first bridge was ok until you got to the middle, so I walked when the bridge began to move, run when it stopped. 

At this point I've gone about a 5K, maybe a bit longer. There was another band and another water stop. There was a great volunteer who was cheering for us as we went by. He stood there the entire race! 

I was getting everyone messages throughout the race on my app, Coach Nancy, Jerome, a few of my runner girls too. Lots of woo hoos! Run Shelly Run! You can do this! Then I got this message: Good Luck, All of your hard work is about to pay off! And I honestly welled up with tears. I thought, yes! Yes it has! I'm really doing it!! 

Taking Jeromes advice from my 8 mile training run: 

How did you run your 6 mile training run? 

Me: ummmmm 

Jerome: One foot in front of the other! This is just 22 more minutes of running. :)

So when I hit the 2 – 2.5 mile mark I thought: Now it's just 8 miles, I've already done this distance and I can do this too! I'm a fourth of the way done! 

I made it to the 5K point in about 32-33 minutes and I was feeling good. There was another band playing and a water stop. Again I walked through, grabbed the water and gatorade and drank them both. I walked to the last trash bin and finished drinking before I headed off again. It was gonna be hot, it was already humid. I would need all the water I could get! 

It was a nice run. I felt good. I was keeping a good pace. Sometimes shocked with the 11mm pace I was keeping. And I wasn't concerned about the time I was taking at the water stops. I wanted to make it in under 2 hours, but if I didn't that was OK. Yes it was a race, but also a training run. I wasn't racing to train! I was training to race! 

I was going over everyone's advice; Mary's, Jerome's, Wendy, Becki, Nancy, Barbara, Kyle.... 

Take my time, don't rush, I can do this, Becki said she'd always known I could do this, it was just convincing me that I could. 

And I was really doing it. And I wasn't hurting, I wasn't injured, I wasn't limping, I wasn't dragging myself along, I wasn't walking. 

I finally started to see people turning around and realized it was an out and back and we wouldn't have to go over the hill at the spillway or the other hills around the lake. So I knew it would be relatively flat the rest of the way. YAY! 

I high fived the people I knew as we passed each other. It was nice to see them as we passed and get a “you're doing great” as they went by! :) 

I got to the turn around (FIVE MILES!! Half way done!!) and took my Honey Stinger Gold out of my pouch; At this point in the day I've run 5 miles on the calories of the Stinger Waffle and coffee! Maybe 200? 250? 

I felt a lot better after that. Still walking through the water stops and drinking slowly. I had my water pouch with me that holds 2 cups and I was taking sips from it as well. I don't swing my arm though when I'm holding it and my shoulder was getting tight. I began reminding myself to check my form. 

Chin level with the ground, Should Down and Back (Cuz I was wearing my shoulders for earrings!), Stand up straight, hips over the knees, One foot in front of the other! Breathe!! Kyle told me to do it like this: 

Breath in (one two three) Breathe out (one two three) to slow my breathing down and gain control. 

In light of the death of MCA Original Beastie Boy, I downloaded several of their songs. One funny Beastie Boy moment of the race was after the turn around I hear: 

NO SLEEP TILL!! 

BROOKLYN!! 

Just what I needed!! HA!! 

I kept thinking I saw a friend of mine ahead of me, she was walking and I thought something was wrong. I ran to catch up with her and it wasn't my friend but it was a sweet runner girl. About that time another runner caught up with me and said: I've been trying to catch up with you! I thought she meant the other runner, but she meant me! 

Said she'd been chasing my heels! WOW! Then she and I helped the other runner. We would say: We're STRONG women!! We can finish this!! We can do it! And she would run with us. :) 

We got about to the 10K point and she was fading and needing water. I asked her if she wanted some of mine, but she said she thought there was a water stop before the bridge. There wasn't, but there was a water fountain. 

So she stopped at the water fountain and said I could go on with out her. I said NOPE! I'll stay with you. We'll walk across the bridge and then we'll finish strong!! 

As we got on the bridge the Dallas Fire and Rescue Golf Cart was crossing the bridge too, so we had to yield a bit to them. After the bridge we made it to the next water stop with less than 3 miles to go. WOOT! We were making good time. 

This particular water stop was run by the White Rock Running Co-op. These people were a hoot!! They were super energetic, they high fived everyone! They said “this is the best looking runners we've seen all day!” I said yea I bet you say that to all the women! LOL 

Oh wait... I forgot a part before the water fountain and the bridge.... the same volunteer was in his spot cheering everyone on and he said this: Here they come, the long distance endurance runners... enduring, running strong. 

If I hadn't been with those other runner girls I probably would have stopped right there and cried and hugged that man! 

The ladies I was with saw two of their friends, noticed they were taking some walk breaks. I was talking to them about these ladies that had decided to do the 10-mile distance instead of the 5 and they looked like they were doing ok. I was telling them how awesome it was to overhear that conversation and how it encouraged me. Turns out... it was their friends! One of them is the pacer for the Dallas White Rock Half! 

We got to the last stop and they caught up with their friends and they were walking. I said I'm running in, we have less than 2 miles, are you coming? They said they were gonna stay with their friend. I said OK I'll see you at the finish. 

About this time around mile 7.5-8 my instep/ankle was getting sore and I noticed that I was really swollen. My fingers were like sausages and I was out of water and there were no more water stops. I kept thinking of what Jerome said: It's just 22 more minutes! :) 

And about that time I got a message from Nancy that said “you're doing awesome!” I kicked it up a bit, not too much, I didn't want to run out of steam and I didn't know if this was an injury or just soreness. But I didn't want to aggravate it since my Half is in 5 weeks. 

So I ran at about a 10.5 pace for a quarter mile and walk a bit (10-12 steps), then run more. I'd get my pace update, I had about less than a mile to go... and at least 12 minutes to get to the finish!! And cue the Beastie Boys: Paul Revere! Love that Song!! 

There were people lined up at the finish cheering!! Two ladies in particular said, you're almost there, you're doing good! Finish Strong! 

When I heard my pace update I had about a ½ a mile to go, I ran it in at 10mm pace!! WOOT!! I finished strong!! I looked at the clock as I ran past. It said: 2:00:20 

I was happy to have made the 2 hour mark! I did it with water stops and all!! I looked for my friends and didn't see them, I got some water. Much Needed Water! And made my way up to the clubhouse. 

I found Kathleen and Lynette found me. I made my way to the pizza and ate banana. Stretched and kept moving. I was sore but not hurting, so I was happy about that. As I'm eating and talking to friends one of the ladies I ran with the one who was struggling, came up to me and said she really appreciated me running with her. She was so glad that I came along at that time to help her through! 

WOW. I was well speechless. I said you're welcome! Anytime. It was my pleasure. I hoped we got to run together again! 

I hugged necks of friends and miss sweetpea and then we left. Kathleen needed to run a few errands and that was fine by me. We went to Lukes Locker and Starbucks! No run is complete until there's been coffee!! 

We drove back to my car and I went to the kiddos baseball game! Then home for a nap! I know there are so many other details I don't remember right now. But I'll leave you with some memorable music moments...well the ones I can remember! 


Good Vibrations – began the race with this!! 

Desperately Wanting – about mile one! 

Never Going Back To OK – this one was next. That's right!! I'm never going back to okay! :) 

More Than A Feeling – I laughed a bit at this... I woke up this morning and the sun was gone? Nope, it was beating down on me guns blazing!! LOL 

Run To You – why yes! I will run to you....and back in the day... run to you! Bryan Adams – Yum-O! 

Leaving Eden – the background words in this are “one more step away” and I was indeed one more step away from where I was the day before. I was really doing this!! “it's like I'm further away with every step I take and I can't go back....” there was no going back; no turning around, I was further and further from the start and closer to the finish with every step! 

Courageous – We were made to be courageous!! We were made to be courageous! Taking back the fight! We were made to be courageous and it starts with us tonight!! 

Let The Sparks Fly – There's no such thing as Maybe! Burn it like your fading! No more hesitating let the sparks fly baby! Drive it like you're racing! You can call me crazy! I'm just tired of waiting let the sparks fly baby! 

No Surprise – I've practiced this for hours, gone round and round, and now I think that I've got it all down, and as I say it louder I like how it sounds, cuz I'm not taking the easy way out!!! I'm not wrapping this in ribbons, I shouldn't have to give a reason why.... It's no surprise I won't be here tomorrow!!! …. you and I will be a tough act to follow, but I know in time we'll find this was no surprise!! WOOT! LOVE IT!! 

Our favorite place we used to go, the warm embrace that no one knows, the loving look that left your eyes, that's why this comes as no, as no surprise! - for me, there's no going back now!! It's onward! I've put 13.1 off too long. This should come as no surprise.... I'm going forward! 

Boys of Summer – always makes me think of Wendy! :) 

September – my birthday month!! - do you remember on the 21st night of September! :) Oh Oh Oh... On and On and On and On!! (or as jerome would say one foot in front of the other) 

My Desire – you wanna be real, you wanna be emptied inside, you wanna be someone, laying down your pride, you wanna be someone some day, so lay it all down before the King.... You wanna be whole, you wanna have purpose inside, you wanna be set free today... This is my Desire, This is my Return, This is my Desire, To be used by You! ….and I know my heart is to feel you near and I know my life is to do Your Will. It's to do Your Will! This is my desire!! 

Walk by Faith – From the first guitar riff I was about to bawl! Would I have believed you when you said Your Hand would guide my every way.... Help me to rid my endless fears.... your grace covers all I do... yeah! I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see.... Love the ending of this song... I will walk by faith! I will walk by faith!! I will walk by faith! 

Lost at Sea – Love this one!! I'm going your way, even though I can not see in front of me and I'm going your way even though I feel lost at sea! ….. Ride the wave, wave goodbye, by the way did I mention today that I don't know the way home! 

We R Who We R – Thanks Michellene for the suggestion! Great running song! :) Let's GO!! Tonight we're going hard! Just like the world is ours! We're tearing it apart! We are super stars! We are who we are!! :) 

Burnin' up – not sure this was such a good one since I was indeed burning up from the heat! LOL I tried to not think about that as I ran! And at this point was out of water! 

The Beastie Boys were a big player on the ipod, it was good to hear those old songs, it gave me a chuckle! :) As well as Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC And Push It! 

Anyway here are my stats..... hope you've made it this far! LOL 

Here are my run stats: 

Mile 1: 11.09 

Mile 2: 10.08
 
Mile 3: 11.09
 
Mile 4: 11.08
 
Mile 5: 11.28
 
Mile 6: 11.39 

Mile 7: 11.47 

Mile 8: 10.58
 
Mile 9: 12.05
 
Mile 10: 12.11
 
Mile .36: 11.11 

The One Where My Glasses Fall In The Toilet - Race Report

Race Day is here!! WOOT!! 

I had trained hard over the past few weeks. And in fact over trained. As I type this I'm icing my left ankle. I'd run 3.1 before this would be a breeze.... but I'm ultimately preparing for the 10-miler in May and the half (my first) in June and the Capital to Coast in October. 

So I'm seriously racking up the miles. Race week, not a good idea.... it is what it is.... I can use the rest! 

I laid out my clothes. I made sure I had everything. I put most of my smaller items in my hat so I don't forget them. earbuds, sunglasses, fuel, gum 

, 


Soooo, as always I can't sleep through the night! I tossed and turned. I got up and down. I drank more water. I used the facilities from all the water. I finally got up about 4AM! 

Saw the text from my cousin that she chickened out... BOOOO She wasn't coming with me after all. Oh well. That means I would get to the race site a little early and find out about my volunteer duties after the race. 

I took a shower, got dressed and began to re-check my things. 

I ate my breakfast. I drank my coffee and water, took my supplements. Made me a to-go cup. Filled my water pouch. Filled my water bottle so I'd have extra water. Checked and Re-checked my things. :) 

 


I made a pit stop before I left and how this happened I don't know... but my sunglasses fell into the toilet. O M G! I fished them out and put them in the sink with some soap and scalding hot water. Found my back up paid and headed out. Hoping this wouldn't be an indication of how the day would go! 

I drove to the race site, not in a hurry but a little anxious because they changed the parking around on us. I don't like that because now it's about a mile walk to the site and well, I'm a woman concerned about my safety quit honestly. 

I made it down there, got turned around and actually saw Jerome (www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=JM
ERLAU ) walking with David to the race site. 

I found a place to park and saw some other runners.... walked to the site with a new to the DRC runner, wish I would have gotten her name, and made it to pick up my bib and my sons bib without being assaulted or abducted. Which I consider to be a miracle! (just kidding....) 

I found Jerome... well he found me while trying to abduct me! LOL And my son found me as well. Jerome was talking with David and Amy and another Sparker came up as well. 

My sons fiancé was there and that was a treat because she's typically not available for race day due to her work schedule. 

We walked down to the start and talked for a bit. I lost Amy and Jerome somehow. :( 

I lined up with my son and had every intention of running the first mile with him, but they shouted GO and he took off! to the left and I went to the right. I was stuck behind the crowd. Bummer. I weaved in and out. Trying to find a place to "pick a pace" but it was just so crowded. And I didn't see the runner girl I normally pace with.... she doesn't know it but we generally end up running "together". 

All the while I'm listening to the run meter tell me the craziest thing. 

Your current pace is and it would say something sub-10!! WHAAAT?? This isn't right! 

But I wasn't through the first mile yet and figured this thing was wrong, I mean I was still trying to get out of the crowd. 

I was running with ease. I wasn't going fast and I wasn't going slow. I wasn't struggling and I wasn't sucking air. I was OK. I felt good. Nothing hurting and just a stroll in the park. 

I made it through the first water stop and got some water and walked through. Drank it, didn't gulp it. Still feeling fine, still hearing this unbelievable information in my ear about my time. 

As I kept going something happened....something bad!! I couldn't hear my updates. I messed with my headphones. I looked at my iPhone in the arm band it was a blank screen. So I tried to mess with it while I ran. Get my tracking back on and get my music going again. I'm not sure why it wasn't working but it wasn't. I've messed with this thing on the run before but for whatever reason I wasn't pushing the right thing and it was about to delete my run!! OMG 

Just as I got it fixed... my arm band unraveled and my phone fell to the ground with a pack of runners behind me!! OMG!! I'm scurrying to get my phone and water and get back going without injuring myself or other and protecting my phone....when I Jerome and David see me. Hollers out some harassment and we run together until the turn around for me! Jerome talked about how we never get this honor, he's normally ahead of me. But for about a quarter of a mile we ran together!! LOVED IT!! 

I turned around, shook off the crazy fall situation and made it back to the water stop. I walked through the water stop and still this run meter thing was telling me was running a lot faster than I thought. 

I got to the 2 mile mark and found a runner girl that was just about my speed. We paced together for a while. The weather was great. The runners were all doing great. The course is beautiful in the spring. I felt awesome! There were hills but I seriously have never run them so smoothly. It's like they didn't exist. Really. 

I heard the tracker say you're at 2.39 miles. WOOT and my pace was something stupid like 9.24! really this thing HAS to be wrong! 

I see the green tent just around the bend at the finish and pick up the pace a little. The lady beside me lets out a sigh and starts holding her side.... I stopped for a bit with her and told her to breathe deep and keep moving!! She was soooo close!! she could finish strong! 

I ran to the finish and tried to turn the thing off so I'd have a little better accuracy. 

This is to my amazement and a PR at that! 

 

WHAAATTT??? SHUT UP!!! That can't be true! 

I walked thru the water stops. I had a "fall" of sorts. I stopped with another runner. 

I found Erin and we moved into a better position to see Alex finish. I looked at my splits with awe! 

Mile 1: 
AP: 9.57 
FP: 9.16 

Not EVEN!! 

Mile 2: 
AP: 10.47 
FP: 9.00 

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!! I don't run 9mm?? 

Mile 3: 
AP: 10:30 
FP: 9.24 

Negative split? KA-RA-ZEE!! 

Mile .20: 
AP: 10.25 
FP: 9.26 

And I stopped for 40 seconds getting my phone off the ground. 

This app has "zones" so here are those stats: 

8-9mm 
Run time: .04 
Distance: .03 

9-10mm 
Run Time: 9.13 
Distance: .90 
AP: 9.44 
FP: 9.16 

This is what it calls my "comfortable pace" 

10-12mm 
Run Time: 21.32 
Distance: 2.04 
AP: 10;34 
FP: 10.00 

12-14mm 
Run Time: 1.56 
Distance: .16 
AP: 12.35 
FP: 12.01 

14-16mm 
Run Time: .14 
Distance: .02 
AP: 14.42 
FP:14.09 

16-18mm 
Run Time: .20 
Stopped: .40 
Distance: .05 
AP: 17.32 
FP: 17.32 

I waited for my kiddo to finish. I ran in with Jerome and David. I stayed to help clean up after the race. I ran back to my car!! WOOT! Total Milage: 4.38 

Here's my kiddo: 

 

Here's me, Jerome, David, Mimi, her hubby and another sparker: 

 

I need to write a training blog about my runs this past week. Cuz I've been keeping a right at an 11.5 pace in training runs. Now that I found this Zone thing, I'll have to look more carefully at my "comfortable zone"!! 

I have to say... I do look comfortable and wow, if I do say so myself. I LOOK GOOD!! 

 

The One Where It's The First Race of 2012

Yeah, Week 1. Although I went right back into my routine December 26th. Last week was really a better gauge for me as far as exercise. Monday I walked on the treadmill and I was within calorie range. Tuesday I went to FitKick and I was within calorie range, but barely because I was starving! Wednesday I ran on the treadmill and I was way under calories! I know that's bad Thursday School was back in session, I went to FitKick and got my butt kicked, it was a hard workout! Again I was way under.... Friday Rest Day, I managed to stay under although I had my usual pre-race meal, In-N-Out Burger! Friday Night I wasn't really nervous. I guess I though I would be or should be because it's the first race of the year. My usual peeps wouldn't be at the race, so I was gonna be alone. Going to Dallas alone sometimes creeps me out. But later that night I learned my oldest was coming to run! WOOT!! Soooo happy he's still running and that we get to run together! I got my race clothes out, a couple of different options depending on the weather. I got my water bottle filled up and ready, I got my sunglasses, my hat, my hair band, my socks, my shoes, my purse, my snacks, made sure my phone was charging, my alarm was set. I went to bed on time, I didn't lolly-gag around. I slept well. I drank a lot of water and herbal tea. The alarm went off, I jumped up, grabbed my pile of clothes and headed to the bathroom to get dressed. All dressed out I made coffee and taped up while it was brewing. Then I made breakfast. Oatmeal with walnuts and protein powder I put all my stuff in a pile on the counter, to be sure not to leave anything. I drank some coffee, made me a to-go cup, stuffed my purse full of my things and headed out. It was foggy. I was hoping it wouldn't be like this all the way to Dallas, and it wasn't! The sun was out it was warming up a bit. I made it to Winfrey Point and still was able to get a good parking place. I went to grab my things and realize two vital things are missing! 1. I didn't grab my water off the counter; and 2. No Headphones!! O M G I was worried about the water because there would only be 2 water stops around the mile point.... and I generally require more water when I run. I drink anywhere from 2-3 cups of water on a 5K run. So that dixie cup was gonna have to carry me through! I know what caused me to leave it. My future DIL left her jacket at my house over Christmas and I stopped to get it....saving me a drive to Denton. :) The Headphones.... Well, in my old car I kept a stash of headphones for talking while driving and for races. I have a new car. It's all technical and I don't need my headphones to use the phone..... so there are no headphones in my glovebox! Another thing I would have liked to have and thought about brining but didn't. Gloves. I'll explain more in a bit. I get out of my car a little disgruntled and head up the hill with the rest of the runners. I get in line to get my number.... the DRC has a new system for tracking and they this is the first run though. There was a long line. But I was in good company with the other runners, we became fast friends as we huddled together waiting our turn! I saw a friend of mine and we chatted, caught up. Then my oldest showed up just as we were getting to the porch and getting our instructions! They announced that they were pushing the race time back to 8:15, which was good cuz runners were still in line. It was gonna be a while before we could get through the line and get our number as well. He needed to get someone out of his car and we headed back down the hill. Got our gear on and ready to head to the start. The sun was out which was nice because i was a little chilly. But Hey, it the Frigid 5K, what did we think the weather should be!? We get there and I'm thinking....did the race start? Where are the runners? They delayed the race to 8:30. We notice this interesting cloud formation, it looks like mountain peeks, we're all discussing how odd it looks but enjoying the sunshine. We all get lined up again, most of the runners are ready to go. They announce we're just about ready, the computers are syncing with the bib tracker thing and we're gonna start!! YAY!! It's about 8:35. And the mountain peaked clouds are now hovering over us, the temperature has dropped about 10 degrees..... the wind off the lake....wow. Yes. This is what they mean by Lake Effect. Something as a Texan I don't have to deal with much. :) Annnnnd they announce the computers have crashed, it will be about 20 more minutes. If we want to have race results we'll have to wait until 9. They ask us if we want to ran anyway, we all cheered!! So they said if you wanted your race results to stick around and wait for a "second start" otherwise 3, 2, 1 GO!! Alex runs much faster than me so I told him "I'll see you at the finish!" My goal I guess was really to run it in under 40. I thought I'd do a bit of a run walk action, but really I had no plan. I know, did I really just say that? I had no plan. As I ran, weaving through some of the runners and walkers to be in the space I wanted to be in, I found that I was pacing really well with a woman about my size. She has a long dark pony tail coming out of her cap, she had a white running jacket on, she had headphones and water! I was matching her step for step. Sometimes in front of her, sometimes behind her, sometimes beside her. We were like a machine. Because I had no headphones, I had no idea what my/our/her pace was, I just kept running. I know I run much faster outdoors than on the treadmill though and was comfortable with this pace. It wasn't too fast or too slow. I decided to keep pace with the runner girl! We made it to the 1/2 mile mark and I wasn't tired and I wasn't feeling like I needed to walk. We made it to the water stop and well I lost her in the crowd, cuz I really needed a drink. Ahhhh the water was so cold and I was warmed up by now. I walked through the stop and drank the water....I didn't swish and spit. I drank it. And kept going..... now her comes the hill, not a giant hill, just steady. I kept looking for my pacer girl but couldn't find her. Bummer. But I just kept going. Listening to the conversations going on around me. I was near two couples who were doing C25K during the race. One who was doing very well, the other ummmm not so much. Which was a little frustrating for me. The woman was running too far ahead of the man, then would stop right in front of me. Clearly someone needs to explain some running etiquette! I made it past them and back to the water, I had a water AND a gatorade cup this time. I was thirsty. I walked thru and back to my comfortable pace. I was practically alone and I heard my run keeper say something. I thought it said 2.90 miles. I kept telling myself just two tenths of a mile to go! I was making good time! Then I saw around the bend this white tent top looking thing in the distance and was thinking, again not much further now, that's the finish! I kept running and running, thinking this is the LONGEST 2/10's of a mile I've ever run, when I see my pacer!! YAY I found her! But she was walking. She looked worn out. I tried to run to catch up to her, but there were too many other people around me to do that. She started running again and I matched her! :) That one couple came by and said to one another, how much longer it this! I said look at my phone....it'll say how many miles I've run. She said 3.02! YAY! I said, we're almost done now!! As I said that I look up to see the "tent thing" was an RV! LOL I had a chuckle to myself about it, cuz the tent at the finish is Green!! I'm really close to my pacer as we come across the finish, but I lost her in the crowd, bummer. I see my kiddo and we head to get some water and to buy some shirts!! :) Still I'm not tired. More importantly, I'm not hurting anywhere!! I feel good!! I could have kept running! :) Here are my stats: 3.22 miles 36.33 minutes 11.21 AP 5.28 AMPH Mile 1: 11.19 Mile 2: 11.36 (water stops) Mile 3: 11.11 Mile .22: 11.11 At 3.1 I was at 35.13! WOOT! The timing thing never worked so I have don't know what my official time was. Alex ran it in under 29! We got a snack and some muscle milk and headed back to our cars. He went home to denton and we made plans for next months race! :) I got home just in time to get ready for the scout hiking/service project. There is a great walking/biking trail near our house. It's 6 miles! Ups and downs, great place to run....but I'm a little leery of doing that alone, since is it wooded and secluded. I found my water bottle and packed some snacks for the hike! Went out to pick up trash and get some more exercise in! I went 1.87 miles with the boys, at a Much, MUCH slower pace! Week 1: I lost .80 pounds I ran 13.2 miles I burned 1753 calories I stayed on track nutritionally I read my bible Feeling pretty successful with week 1! Week 2 Sunday is a rest day, Monday I spent the day cleaning the house. After the long school break it was time for me to get things back in order. I mopped, dusted, vacuumed, wiped down baseboards, threw things out, did 3 loads of laundry and made Pad Thai for dinner! YUM-O The kiddo left this morning for 5th grade camp, it's bitter-sweet, Neither parent is with him. This is the first away from home trip he's taken without relatives and without a way to contact us. No electronics. No phones at all. :( We won't see him again until Friday late afternoon. I left the school about 7:20, headed home to get ready for FitKick. I got a good workout, but I still feel like I need something more. Crazy I know, but I'm thinking of hitting the elliptical here in a bit. Or a nap, Or more laundry, or well..... I do have a sink full of dishes to tend to. Better get started! To keep with the thankfulness of last week: 1. For a great run during the race 2. For the rain, we need it desperately 3. For the week (somewhat) off.

The One Where I Run With The Littles

Saturday I got up early. Got dressed. Had my coffee. Drank more water. Hubby and kiddo got ready too. Kiddo was running the 5K Race for the first time! At first he was gonna run it with his friends, then his teacher, then his friends, then me. Oh well, he'd run with whomever. 

The race atmosphere was great! I was excited! A friend of mine found me and asked if I'd run with her daughter and I said yes. I was hoping we'd keep a good pace but I was happy to just be running!! :D 

We started off and kept a good pace up to mile one. My running buddy wanted to walk a bit. So we decided we'd run/walk between the mailboxes. We'd run to one mailbox walk to the next one. 

I love this race route. It's awesome. It has just enough challenge and just enough scenery. 

Our Mile One Pace 13:05 

We made it to the turn around where I met up with my kiddo. He was really tired. He was sprinting... and walking and SPRINTING.... and walking. He didn't want to do run club this year so he was not prepared for this distance or the hills. 

He said I just can't run anymore. I said oh yes you can!! So my running buddy and I helped him to do the run walk, only this time we went between the telephone poles. :) 

His walking was reallllly slow. By the time we made it to mile 2 out pace was 14:38

Past mile two it was a struggle for my small people. They were done. And wanted to walk a lot. But I made them stick to the run walk. Our Runs were about 12mm pace, our Walks were around 17mm. 

We got to the bend where we were at the home stretch and I said OK, it's time to give it all we've got!! RUN RUN RUN!! 

My Running Buddy was in front of me and she ran fast!! Walked a bit but with some encouragement from her mom, darted off!! She came in 8th in her age group! 

I was right behind her! I came in 13th in my age group! 

My Kiddo was behind us by a few minutes, he came in 15th in his age group!! 

It wasn't an ideal race but I helped two young runners push through and achieve their goals!! 

My Time was 46:42 3.19 miles 
Official Time: 46.01 

The One Where The Earth Moves Under My Feet

But the sky didn't tumble down. No it was a hot one yesterday!! 

The alarm went off at 5:30 and I hopped up and got ready. Had my coffee, made me a shake and gathered my things. 

Water 
Coffee 
Sunscreen 
IcyHot 
Knee Brace 

You know the essentials. 

I set the GPS to the race location and I was off!! At 6:30 it was already 75 degrees out! It was gonna be a hot day! 

I text to Alex (my oldest) and Jerome (my Dallas Team Leader) that I was on my way. I got down to the race site and parking was a mess!! I found a spot though and headed up to find Jerome. Alex was still on his way, but it was still early. 

As it ended up he got there with plenty of time to spare! YAY!! I picked up his number and his chip timer when I arrived and we were ready to go! 

I was so excited to see him, it had been a while! He's training for www.4deserts.comthis was his first race of the year! I got to run with my son! So so exciting! 

I was a bit nervous because I hadn't been able to run much, I didn't log many miles in May and this was my longest distance race to date. I've run four miles before, but not at White Rock. I didn't know the course or what to expect. 

Because I hadn't run much I set my pace at 14.30, hoping to beat it, but happy to stay there if need be. 

The gun sounded and we were off!! WOO HOO!! We ran at about a 9mm pace for the first 1/2 mile I said to Alex this is too fast we'd better slow down I don't know what's up ahead on this course. So we settled into an sub11 - 11mm pace. We finally came up to a water stop and I was seriously needing water. We continued on at an 11mm pace until the bridge! Oh Meh Gah 

Ummmm..... this thing is like trying to run away from an earthquake!! You have NO idea where you're foot will end up on your next step! Up or Down!! This this is wobbling all over the place, like a hammock!! Oh but it's concrete! And a big batch of craziness, about a tenth of a mile beyond the bridge is the turn around and then the it's up hill for quite a ways. 

This is where I nearly fell apart. I was still feeling off from the bridge and now I have to run uphill. And the water stop isn't for another mile. 

I had to take a few walk breaks just to get over the wobbling feeling! We carried on but at a slower pace. I wanted to go faster but I wanted to have the energy to finish so I slowed down considerably. sub 13 - 13mm. 

Alex was telling me to remember everything I'd taught him....breath normal, correct my posture and form. He was right I was practically bent over, not wonder my feet hurt. Plus I still don't have these zip laces correct. My foot was going numb, either from the tape or the laces. So with every step my foot on the up step would 'wake up' and on the down step 'go numb' quite the weird sensation. 

We made it to the water stop and I was feeling like I could carry on! 

We rounded the corner with 1/2 a mile to go and I was tired and we were on a slope that was very strange to run on. We had to maneuver our way around that and get to the end. 

Alex asked if I wanted to sprint to the end. I told him I could go a bit faster but I couldn't sprint. Mainly because my foot was numb!! At this point nearly completely numb! I was concerned I'd fall down! 

We finished!! Chip time 50:07!! Woo Hooo!!! Better than the hour I though it would take! We got some water and started looking for my friends. We found Jr Miller from The Ticket (a local sport radio broadcaster), Alex got his picture taken with him and we went inside for the results. 

I got a banana and we had an icee pop, ya know the tube kind. Ahhhhh it was super refreshing!! 

I found Jerome and his buddy Chris, I didn't see Amy but she said she left right after she finished. I saw her running though!! :D 

We headed back to the car and then home. It was 88 degrees at 9:30 on my way home! No wonder I was so hot and thirsty!! 

My next DRC race is a 10K July 2. I plan on running the 66 bridge quite a bit and also a training run out at White Rock, so I can conquer that bridge a few times before the race. My plan right now is to walk on it (during the race) if I can't get out there to train on it. 

I will definitely bring water. Probably my liter bottle. I generally drink 24 oz of water when I run 3-4 miles at home on the treadmill, so I'm gonna need more than what the DRC provided yesterday, for sure. Thankfully there was one water stop though!! 

Thankfully there were awesome volunteers!! :D 

I am sore today, but not as sore as I though I'd be. I iced down when I got home, my knees, my foot that was numb. Took a shower and went out for my grocery haul for the week! I love the look of a fridge stuffed with veggies!! 

Next thing to purchase is a fuel belt. Cuz I'll need something to keep me going on longer runs for sure. 

Now it's time to get ready for church; Hope y'all have a fabulous Sunday!! :D