Hey Readers!
I recently was invited to join in on a "webinar" hosted by Mary Anderson, Fitness director for Fitness Magazine, Judy Molnar, Race Director from Iron Girl, along with Iron Girl's official coach, Coach Troy Jacobson. They'll be hosting a presentation centering around nutrition and training tips for your first race. I've been asked by some readers about reentering the field of running, and I thought of you guys when I was asked to sit in on the talk.
The presentation ends with a Q&A session and here is where I'll be able to ask them some of your questions about nutrition, gaining a competitive edge in your racing, general training tips, fitting in training and exercise around your schedule, and more. If you have a question you'd like me to ask, leave it in the comments. Although I probably won't be able to ask every question, I'll make my way through as many of your comments as possible.
Also, Iron Girl is giving me a goodie bag filled with loads of cool stuff! I'm not sure exactly what's in it, as I'll find out on Wednesday, but they're also giving me an extra bag to giveaway to one of my readers! I'll be hosting that giveaway on either Wednesday or Thursday, when I relay the information I learn from the webinar.
Make sure to leave your questions! I'll probably be Twitting during the webinar, so if you're not already a Twit follower, go ahead and follow now.
21 June 2010
19 June 2010
Spud Run 5k '10 Race Report
Before I begin, I'm going to ask that you please vote for me in the Recipe Rivalry. I would also appreciate if you passed the word along and got your family and friends to vote as well.
Coming off a rather dissatisfying 5k (only because I knew I was capable of more) the idea of running another 5k greatly appealed to me. I've never run two races so close together, but after talking it over I decided that I didn't feel dead and I should do it. My goal time was 23:28, or a sub 24.
The only obstacles in my way with this race wasn't vehicle issues, but a lack of power due to the storm that blew by the night before. Sucks, but I roll with the fist bumps and don't let it get me down. I did get an amazing 9 hours of sleep since I went to bed at 9 pm, so waking up at 0635 felt great.
Mile 1 - 7.34
ALL MILE SPLITS WERE MARKED. DID YOU HEAR THAT, CHICAGO? (This race was also a fund raiser, so anyone who gets mad at me for ragging on a $40 race with 1,200 entrants, cannot.)
Anyway. I could tell that I started off pretty fast. This race was just as fast as Chicago, but with less people. I wanted to push the pace and hang on as long as possible, so I did without feeling like death.
Mile 2 - 7.54
I drove the course the day before and noted that mile 2 was marked right as it changed over to 2.1. Don't know about the accuracy and I didn't feel as if I slowed down that much, but whatevs.
Mile 3.1 - 8.30
That works out to a 7.43 minute for the last mile, which wasn't fast enough to get my goal time. The only reason I ran a sub-24 was because I really kicked it in at the end, which is always great but I'd rather have more of an insurance with an overall faster pace. I always say that I could have run faster, and I know I can definitely run faster miles, so I wasn't pleased by that aspect of this race. I was happy with my time, all things considered, because I won 1st in my age group again!
Total Time - 23:58
For this mile, though, I felt like an actual competitive racer. I zeroed in on two ladies (who weren't in my AG, actually, but whatever) and decided it made sense to catch up and pass them. I've been in a competitive rut where I refrain from caring if I pass people because I'm "only racing for time", and I couldn't get myself to push during the end of the race. This is one aspect of my racing I'm working on because I really want to race competitively. In order to do this, I need to push beyond my comfort zone and realize that I may feel crappy for only a bit at the end, but that's just what a person has to do if they want to race well.
I've also come to the point where I MUST focus on speed work more than I have been if I want to improve. On the running front I've done well, but my running will greatly benefit by added speed training to increase my foot turnover and smooth out my stride. Not only that, but I need add in some strength training, too.
I'm also really proud of my brother, who snagged 3rd place in his age group with a time of 22:13! Way to go, little bro! This was faster than his time in Chicago (I forget what that was) and the Sunburst. (All his running accomplishments are courtesy of me, who got him started.)
I'm still chasing a 23:23.
Coming off a rather dissatisfying 5k (only because I knew I was capable of more) the idea of running another 5k greatly appealed to me. I've never run two races so close together, but after talking it over I decided that I didn't feel dead and I should do it. My goal time was 23:28, or a sub 24.
The only obstacles in my way with this race wasn't vehicle issues, but a lack of power due to the storm that blew by the night before. Sucks, but I roll with the fist bumps and don't let it get me down. I did get an amazing 9 hours of sleep since I went to bed at 9 pm, so waking up at 0635 felt great.
Mile 1 - 7.34
ALL MILE SPLITS WERE MARKED. DID YOU HEAR THAT, CHICAGO? (This race was also a fund raiser, so anyone who gets mad at me for ragging on a $40 race with 1,200 entrants, cannot.)
Anyway. I could tell that I started off pretty fast. This race was just as fast as Chicago, but with less people. I wanted to push the pace and hang on as long as possible, so I did without feeling like death.
Mile 2 - 7.54
I drove the course the day before and noted that mile 2 was marked right as it changed over to 2.1. Don't know about the accuracy and I didn't feel as if I slowed down that much, but whatevs.
Mile 3.1 - 8.30
That works out to a 7.43 minute for the last mile, which wasn't fast enough to get my goal time. The only reason I ran a sub-24 was because I really kicked it in at the end, which is always great but I'd rather have more of an insurance with an overall faster pace. I always say that I could have run faster, and I know I can definitely run faster miles, so I wasn't pleased by that aspect of this race. I was happy with my time, all things considered, because I won 1st in my age group again!
Total Time - 23:58
For this mile, though, I felt like an actual competitive racer. I zeroed in on two ladies (who weren't in my AG, actually, but whatever) and decided it made sense to catch up and pass them. I've been in a competitive rut where I refrain from caring if I pass people because I'm "only racing for time", and I couldn't get myself to push during the end of the race. This is one aspect of my racing I'm working on because I really want to race competitively. In order to do this, I need to push beyond my comfort zone and realize that I may feel crappy for only a bit at the end, but that's just what a person has to do if they want to race well.
I've also come to the point where I MUST focus on speed work more than I have been if I want to improve. On the running front I've done well, but my running will greatly benefit by added speed training to increase my foot turnover and smooth out my stride. Not only that, but I need add in some strength training, too.
I'm also really proud of my brother, who snagged 3rd place in his age group with a time of 22:13! Way to go, little bro! This was faster than his time in Chicago (I forget what that was) and the Sunburst. (All his running accomplishments are courtesy of me, who got him started.)
I'm still chasing a 23:23.
18 June 2010
Jim Gibbons Traffic Jam 5k '10
Please vote for me in the Recipe Rivalry. You can vote one time everyday from now to the 23rd. Thanks!
So I hadn't run in 5 or so days, I wasn't feeling particularly rested, and to top that off by the time we got to Chicago it was 5:30 (race starts at 6:25) and I didn't get to warm up like I wanted. Whatever.
My plan was to try and keep my brother in sight for as long as possible (he was attempting a sub 22) but I lost him after mile 1. Way to wear all black, bro.
In fact, I had no idea where mile 1 was. Or mile 2. Or mile 3. All of which were VERY CLEARLY MARKED last year. Now I was left running by feel, which isn't fun when you aren't feeling well. The good news is that during mile 2 I didn't feel like I was slowing down since the other runners weren't passing me like a communal tidal wave.
My time was 24:23. I feel really bad about that because it's a minute slower than the time someone called for me to run, though the splits averaged out to 7:50s, which is definitely faster than my time last year, so it wasn't too bad. I know I can do better, though.
I found out just a moment ago that I took first in my age group! Granted, the 1st and 2nd winner overall for the women's were also in my age group, leaving them ineligible to claim the AG award, but I'll take it. I was about a minute and thirty seconds faster than 2nd place, so that was good running on my part.
To finish the evening, we headed over to a restaurant to watch the Lakers win again! Pretty cool finish to our trip.
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