Forest City Road Races 2013

Today was the Forest City Road Races, London's biggest day of races, including a 5k, 10k, and a half marathon. I realized this year that I've run the FCRR (5K and 10K combined) more than any other single race, and it's kind of special to me in that way. 

In 2010, John and I both did the 5k. It was right after we had both started to lose weight, and John walked most of the course. 

In 2011, it was about 40 degrees and raining. I looked and felt like a drowned rat after the 10K, and I began to think of this particular 10K course as a personal challenge. I swore I would be back to conquer it. I don't have any pictures of John from that year, but he managed to run the 5K in just over 22 minutes. 

I couldn't find any photos of 2012, probably my worst performance ever at this race. I was sick and probably should have stayed home. John didn't run at all. It's a race I guess I'd care to forget, but it's good to acknowledge that I trained well for it. A new PR just wasn't in the cards. 

This year, the conditions were perfect. About 50 degrees and partly sunny. I'm not sick. 

We arrived early for John and Ian to run the 5K. They wanted to break 20 minutes and had trained hard for it. While they warmed up by running around, I watched the group exercise warm up in the park.

 After a moment of silence for Boston, the 5K began.

I watched a 12 year old boy WIN the race (!) with a time of 18:34. I knew soon after that John and Ian wouldn't break 20. But John had a pretty amazing race. He left Ian around the 2K mark, per their contingency plan, and finished in 20:23. I saw him round the corner for the finish around 20:00 and knew he would get a new PR by close to 45 seconds - a significant drop. It was so exciting to see him finish! John was 15th over all. The 2nd place male over all was in his age group, and since they don't duplicate awards, that bumped John up to 3rd in his age group.

Ian finished about a minute later and also ran a very strong race. They have a lot to be proud of. John pointed out to me that he has actually cut his 5K time in half since the first FCRR we did in 2010. His original time was almost 40 minutes, and today is was just over 20. Amazing!

About an hour later, I ran the 10K course. My goal was to finish under 60:00 and possibly get a new PR. While it was a very strong race, I knew after a few KM that I needed to focus on finishing in under an hour and not worry about a new PR. This course is hilly and it's easy to go out to fast and then wipe out. I held strong today. When I got to the last KM, my watch read 53:XX, so I kicked into the highest gear I had left and tried to eek out the last KM in under 6 minutes. 

Here's where things got complicated. I saw 59:11 when I rounded the corner to the finish, and I thought I could just barely get there before the minute was up. I stepped across the finish mat at 1:00:00 exactly, and I know this - I saw it. However, my watch read 59:55. I started my watch when I crossed the starting mat a few seconds after the gun went off, meaning my watch time/chip time should be a few seconds less than the gun time (that's the whole purpose of the chip, really). But my chip time also said 1:00:00, and I know that cannot possibly be, since it took several seconds for me to cross the starting line. I don't know what happened, but I was disappointed to see that my official time is 1:00:00. I feel like my watch is correct. 

                                

I don't want to focus on that, though, because it was a great race for me. Most importantly, my foot did not hurt at all during the race - that's a huge victory, since it's been injured since last year's FCRR. It means that the physio exercises are working, and that massage therapy is actually allowing me to do the exercises without getting motion sick. There will be other races, and if my foot is healthy, I can actually plan on running them. It's also by far the best run I've had on this particular course. As 10K courses go, it's a tough one to try to use to PR - much hillier than the Halloween Haunting 10K where I did PR in the fall. 

Despite the timing weirdness, it was a great day at the races. Everything about FCRR is well organized and it was a pleasure to take part in this event for the fourth year in a row.

I hope to find a summer race to try, but our schedule is so busy this summer that it's somewhat unlikely to happen. Of course, that is, besides the 5K fun run that John and I have planned for the Friday before our wedding (more on that another time). It's more of a group run than a competition. I'm registered for the Indianapolis (Marathon and) Half Marathon in October, and I'll begin to focus on that in the summer.

In the mean time, I've decided to commit to trying one of the training plans in Run Less, Run Faster, since John has found it to be very helpful in developing speed. I'm not sure how strictly I will follow the plan, since I enjoy running 4 days a week, rather than the 3 it recommends. But some added structure would be helpful. I'm also considering joining the London Runner Distance Club at the recreational level, since I think a structured environment would also be helpful to me at this point. But that will have to wait until some of the first activities of the summer have passed. I'd like to improve pretty much all of my race times, but I feel like that's part of a bigger step I need to take toward all around improvement. It's not a matter of dropping a few seconds to get a new PR - I don't think I can keep getting new PRs unless something more fundamental changes. I feel like it's about the next phase of running. I just have to figure out what that looks like.

Halloween Haunting 5K/10K

Today, John and I ran the Halloween Haunting 5K and 10K, respectively, in Springbank Park. The short version of the story: it was excellent!

John was almost certain that he would PR, though he wasn't sure by how much. We huddled together until it was time for the 5K to start, since it was about 40 degrees, cloudy, and really windy. The forecast called for rain, so we brought a beach towel to use after the race. But I ended up walking around with it wrapped on my head until the 5K was over. John said I looked like I'd decided to dress up as a Muslim for Halloween - if Muslims cover their heads with beach towels with dogs printed on them. 

I think the Boston Pizza mascot faked its own death to get out of running in the 2K fun run with the kiddies. Here he is getting up, after a few minutes laying lifeless on the ground. 

                                  

After I watched the kiddies do the fun run, the first 5K finishers started coming in. I tried to get some photos of his finish, though it was tough to operate the camera with frozen, numb fingers.

                                     

I met John after the finish and confirmed that he had PR'd, with a time of 21:48! 

Then it was my turn to take off my fleece, warm pants, gloves, and dog-towel head covering, and become the IU cheerleader I've always wanted to be. I called to John before the start that my costume belonged to a faster runner, i. e., someone who would spend less time on the course than me.

John got some good pics of me at the half way point, and I tried to show some school spirit. 

During the weeks since the half marathon, I'd just been easing off the mileage, trying to do my physio exercises, and running about 1 long run per week of about 7-8 miles. The 10k distance has sort of been a thorn in my side, since I've never been able to go under an hour, despite good training. It's always taught me that race day can be unpredictable: weather, injuries, a cold, all things that have kept me from running this distance as fast as I wanted. Last week, John and I both had nasty colds, and I only ran about 5 miles for the whole week - blech. I figured that this race was just for fun, and I didn't want to worry about my time. 

But like any normal (re: crazy runner) person, I wrote down the splits for a 59:50 finish, and decided to see how I felt when I got to the race. 

Today, I think the odds were really in my favor. I just focused on one KM at a time and tried to hit the split I'd written out for myself, and for the most part, it worked really well. It was a challenging pace by the end, but I felt like I could hang in there. By about the 5K mark, I started running with this other women about my age, wearing devil horns. She and I hung together and agreed to try to finish under and hour. When we rounded the final corner and the finish line was in sight, she said, "I'm sorry," and started to pull away. I told her not to be sorry and cheered for her to go on. I thought I could probably hit the last marker without her. 

And I was right! The clock time was ahead of my watch by about 20 seconds, so the display looked as though I finished right on 60 minutes. 

But the chip time was the same as my watch: 59:38! 

                                           

So let that be a lesson: when trying to PR, pretend you don't care, lay in bed sick for 8 days, wear something freezing, and it'll totally happen!

I remembered while piecing this costume together that I once had another IU cheerleader costume. In case you happened to miss its appearance on facebook:

                                  

Based on the (fantastic) haircut, I'm guessing that's from 1989. Win. 

After the race, we used a buy one-get one free coupon I had for the Alibi and had diner-style breakfast food. Eating at places like that really hits the spot after a race!

And, side note: 

                               

Yesterday I decided to eat a big bowl of leftover spaghetti for lunch (add that to my perfect pre-race prep list). The noodles were cooked but plain, so I decided to throw on some salt, pepper, and parm for toppings. Then I remembered that we are cellaring my green tomatoes, and I went to check on them. Turns out, it totally worked! I got about 5 medium-small tomatoes for this pasta, which I just cut and threw into the pot with the noodles while they heated up. They still have that fresh, summery taste. I have three more small ones that still need to ripen up, so I'm hoping that the same magic happens to them. Cellaring tomatoes! Who knew?!

Greek Fest 5K and a Tin Caps Game

 After the party in Memphis, John and I spent some time in Fort Wayne. It was a good way to break up the trip. We ran a 5K that was part of Greek Fest, one of the summer festivals that take place at Headwaters Park every year.

 

It was a hot day for a race, but we both had a good time. What with my recent food problems, I wasn't gunning for a PR. Instead, I decided to just race the three or four people around me. I nicknamed the tall person in front of me "Big Blue," because of his shirt, and I stayed on his heels for almost the whole race. My plan was to pass him in the last half mile, but he ended up slowing down before that. I also set my competitive sights on a girl that, for now, we'll call The Pug.*

The Pug passed me within the last mile, and I was determined after that to pass her before the end. The very last part of the course was within Headwaters, and the paths are narrow enough that I didn't think anyone would pass me. I managed to get in front of The Pug just before the path narrowed, and I finished probably one second before she did.

Immediately after the race, we headed for the splash pad. I love this picture of John. Something about it is so sad.

 

Our registration included a food voucher for the festival, so we used them up plus $2 on lunch - Greek sausage, spanikopita, and baklava. It was a pretty sweet deal. John and I also tried a Greek beer called Marathon that we both enjoyed.

Since we stayed to use our food vouchers, we were able to hear the award ceremony, though neither of us expected to win anything. But THEN, I got a medal for third place in my age group!

John pointed out that The Pug was about our age, and if I hadn't passed her, she likely would have beat me out for third place - and I would have been pissed about it for the whole day.

That afternoon, my mom took us to a Tin Caps game with her knitting friends. It was a special afternoon at the ballpark for knitters called Stitch n' Pitch, and we saw lots of ladies knitting during the game.

 

It's so weird that I'm going to really have to say good bye to Fort Wayne when my parents move this summer. But we'll be back one more time before then.

*I know. We're assholes.

Run It/Walk It for Chris Brown 5K

A week ago, John and I ran the Run It/Walk It for Chris Brown 5K in Fort Wayne, hosted by IPFW. It was a cheap, flat alternative to the Really Chilly 5K in London this time of year, and it was actually above freezing. Running in the sunshine in February is such a luxury!

























As an additional challenge, the 5K was timed but overall place didn't matter. They awarded prizes based on how close your finish time was to the entered time.

























John entered a time of 22:30, a goal he felt was a little out of his reach beforehand. But he finished in 22:15 - a new PR! I hoped that was close enough to the entered time for him to place, but there were other guy runners who finished within 2 seconds of their entered time, and the winner finished exactly at the time he estimated, something like 17:37. Crazy.























I entered a time of 28:30, assuming that my PR wasn't the most realistic estimate for a winter race, but hoping I would beat it nonetheless. But this time, everything worked in my favor and it was a fast race! I'm not sure what to make of my time. The 5K was not chip timed, but they had a timer calling out the time-per-second at the finish, and we were told to write down the time they told us so they could figure out who was closest to their estimate. My official finish time was 27:28. But I started past the middle of the pack, so I didn't cross the starting line until at least 2-3 seconds after the official start. Also, the rules of the guess-your-time game forbade everyone from wearing watches, so I couldn't time myself. That makes my time about 3 seconds or so behind my PR from last fall, 27:23.








I think I could fall asleep in a forward fold like this.


















But I'm really pleased with how consistently I ran! I wasn't exactly gunning for PR and I've only consistently been working on speed for about 2 months, so I think an improved 5K time is within my reach this year. And moreover, it was a strong, pain-free race.

Other highlights: a good friend of mine from elementary school, Allison, was there with her husband and another of my old classmates, Drew. I was behind Drew for most of the first 1.5 miles. When I finally pulled up next to him, and he recognized me, I realized I needed to spit. So right in that moment, I had a look on my face that said "Hi, I might throw up on you." But I managed to keep from spitting on him, and I finished just about 15 seconds behind him. It's nice to see old Fort Wayne friends at local races. We also got to hang out in the new, posh IPFW Field House. Everything at IPFW is newer and nicer than when we first moved here, and especially since I moved away. They had tons of food after the race, and everything was very well run!

St. John's 5K and River City Rat Race 2011

I've run two races in the past 7 days.
First, the St. John's 5K put on by my church. It's a fundraiser for their weekly meal program. The race itself is small and I was right in thinking that might enable me to win either my age group or some other prize.


























This was a really encouraging race for me. I won my age group (17-35 or something similar) and I was the second female over all to finish. I also made a significant PR - 27:23! That's a drop of about 50 seconds, and I was really pleased with it. I'm at a point now where I don't feel like I need to hold back on the start of a 5K; I can kind of just run the whole thing pretty fast (for me, at least).



























Then on the 23rd I did a the River City Rat Race 10K in Fort Wayne (where I took no pictures). John accompanied me to the start, and then met me at the finish at the Old Fort, Fort Wayne's replica of the historic fort buildings from the War of 1812. This race was definitely one of the strongest I've ever run, and I finished in 60:35 - a new PR.
Several things about it went well, in that I warmed up properly, my blisters held out until near the end, and I timed my meals so that I didn't get heartburn (kind of a common problem for me, but one I'm learning to fix). Also, the race went really close to my parents' house, so they came out and cheered just before the 4 mile mark, and that was awesome!

I'm trying to focus on those things, and the fact that - HELLO - I got a PR, but I left feeling fairly disappointed. My official goal for this race was to PR (anything below 61:13), but my unofficial, secret, obsessed-with-my-time goal was to go below 60:00. It even seemed like that was going to happen, since I accidentally went out too fast, and I ran mostly 10 minute miles after mile 2. Volunteers called out times at each mile marker, and it looked something like this (my thoughts at the time are in parentheses):
Mile 1 - 8:55 (WOW! Too fast!)
Mile 2 - 18:change (ok, better)
Mile 3 - 27:55 (why am I running so fast?)
Mile 4 - 38:00 (this might end badly)
Mile 5 - 48:00 (ok, but my brain can't do the math to calculate what is happening, but this seems very consistent...just keep moving and you will probably go below 60.)
Mile 6 - 59:change, but I didn't really hear what they said.
Then two things happened.
1. I mistakenly thought I only had .1 left (like in a 5K) when I really had .2, and I thought that I could make it. I somehow stopped thinking of fun music in my head because I think I'm almost done.
2. My blistered feet hurt. a. whole. freaking. lot. There is one final dip, downhill/uphill, and then the finish line seems farther away that it's supposed to (see above). I am not mentally prepared for what now seems like a tiny hill.

My conclusions:
- I ran the best race I could for how I trained.
- The training schedule I made up for myself was actually better suited to me running a fast 5K, and that happened the week before.
- It may not have been reasonable to assume I could run a sub-60 10K, since I've never done one in practice, and my last 6 mile run was still 63:00 or so. See above about the training plan.
- I need to find a way to get rid of those blisters, because damn.
- More than any one other problem, I kind of gave out mentally. My attitude could probably have compensated for the blister issues, fatigue, etc, but I kind of lost my focus and then it all caught up with me. Once again I learned that running is so mental. If that's the lesson I get to take home from this race, then that's ok. I know what I want to work on.

...and I got a PR.
A couple of funny things I overheard:
One of the guys around me for the last 2 miles had a radio with headphones and called out "Touch down, Bears!!!" every time they scored.
A guy behind me for the 1st three miles seemed to know every volunteer and when we passed one of them, he said, "That's (so and so), his son plays football for IU....That must be sad to watch."

Despite my own issues, this race was really fun and well organized. It wound through mostly residential streets, and
a lot of people came out to clap and cheer on their front lawns. Plus, for $25 registration I got a sweet Brooks, long-sleeved technical shirt. It's probably the last race I'll do this semester (unless I find a holiday-themed one to run!), and I have lots to think about and work on during the next few months.

Forest City Road Races 2011

About a month ago John and I ran in the Forest City Road Races. He ran a PR in the 5K and I opted for the 10K.

For pre-race fuel the night before we made this vegan Pesto Gnocchi Soup from the Post Punk Kitchen. It was a great way to get some carbs that stuck with me for the race, and it made enough for leftovers. A+.

















John and I both ran the 5K at Forest City RR last year, and the set up was pretty similar this time. The race leaves from Victoria Park in downtown London, home of the tamest squirrels I've ever seen. This one sort of looked at me as I walked by, and (because I'm weird) I said, "Hey, little buddy," and he ran right over, expecting me to have food.


























Back to the race. The 5K started at 8:30, but the 10K didn't start until 10:00 - I'm guessing to allow people the chance to run both. It was sort of an inconvenience, but by the time John finished running we only had an hour to stand around, stretch, and for me to warm up.

The camera didn't exactly cooperate, but here's a picture of the 5K start. If you look hard enough you can see John's red hair on the right hand side.


















The runners rounding the first corner. John was out of sight by the time I got this picture.
















After about 20 minutes I knew it was time to head to the finish line on a different side of the park. John wanted to beat 23 minutes and I wanted to get a picture of him.



























He was alone for a lot of the race - faster than the bulk of the runners, but not fast enough to be with the lead pack. It seemed like he was one of the first ones in - 30th over all, pretty good for a race this big. In the picture above he was gesturing to the crowd to cheer for him, and they did, especially after I yelled "GO JOOOOOOHN GOOOOOO!!!!" really loudly.

























His time was just over 22 minutes, so he accomplished his goal. But now, like you'd expect, he really wants to beat 22 minutes. His time earned him 3rd in his age group. That place didn't come with its own award in this race, but I'm still really proud of him. It's a tough race to try to place in, the biggest in town.

It rained on the 5K runners briefly, but the weather looked like it would hold out until the end of the 10k. Not so. It sprinkled while we waited to congregate at the starting line. And with about 6 or 7 minutes until the start, it really began to rain serious rain. My feet were wet before I started running. The temperature felt colder than I expected (I think it was in the lower 40s with wind), so I kept the fleece jacket on that I planned to give to John to hold. I was definitely under dressed and wished I had some gloves. My hands were numb before we even started moving. It wasn't pretty. But what are you gonna do? I don't skip training runs because of the rain, and I sure as hell wouldn't skip a race that I'd payed for and trained for for months just because it's raining. Hail, maybe. Lightening, definitely. But it was just cold and windy and raining, so we ran anyways.

Despite the wind and rain, it was still manageable. I got a nasty side stitch in the first mile, but I slowed the pace a little and it gradually went away. There were a couple of hills, but the really tough one was in the last mile, and by then I just wanted to be done, so I kept moving. My goal was to set a new PR (my old one was about 64 minutes from the Halloween Haunting) and run a strong race. When I passed the 5K mark at 30:30, I knew it would be hard to break 60 minutes (the goal at the back of my mind), but that I could still set a new PR. We wound through campus and then Gibbons Park, one of my all time favorite running spots, and it was nice to run in such a familiar setting.
Somewhere in park I met up with this women who I talked with at the starting line. She and I knew we had similar time goals, and I drafted off of her for a little while before she started a conversation. We agreed to stick together and I appreciated her so much. She suggested we take the 9th KM easy so we could go fast on the last KM, and I agreed. She said it was important to her to stick with someone as much as possible, and I told her she was helping me a lot. And that's true - I was struggling mentally more than anything, my fleece was soaked and heavy, my shoes were filled with water, I was freezing, and my allergies picked up this week so I was also fairly congested. Not ideal conditions. But with a running partner it's easier to ignore all that stuff. I know I would have run a lot slower without her.
As we rounded the corner back to Victoria Park, we agreed to start really increasing the pace at a certain spot, and I lost her before the finish line. I looked for her afterward to say thank you, but I couldn't find her, and I was too exhausted to wander around much. John walked with me through the food tent and we sat down in another so that I could re-group and get out of the rain.





The only passable picture he took after the race. John LOVES goofy pictures of me in situations like this. And I hate them.



















My time was 61:13 on my watch, and the chip time was about 15 seconds later (I think), so I was pleased. I still feel like I can do better and break 60 - or go significantly under 60 - but that goal will have to wait. Better weather would help, but crappy weather is always a possibility, so I don't like using it as an excuse. This race definitely reminded me of how it can be easier to run in the winter than in the spring. I plan to run during the comps, only 2-3 days a week, and nothing longer than 4 miles. It's not a time to focus on running, obviously, but a 30 minute exercise session is supposed to be really good for you brain, and I know that it helps me clear my head and reduce stress. So I'll run, but without a race date set afterward. There will be more 5Ks and 10Ks, and I know that sub-60 time is within my reach.


As I post this, we have 2.5 days left in the comps! They are due on Monday and I have a lot to catch up on with the blog, so I'll probably do a comps-round-up post. John and I also have some exciting plans for the rest of the summer that I'd like to write about here, too. Hope you're enjoying the summer weather!

Halloween Haunting 5K and 10K

A couple of weeks ago John and I ran in the Halloween Haunting 5K and 10K, respectively.








John told me this is his "sexy face."















Like always, I had plans to take pictures of all the runners in their costumes. I even saw a dog dressed as a bumble bee and also wearing a giant, red, bow tie. But alas, I forgot that the camera I had was missing its memory card. And so I only snapped a few photos at home after the race.



























This was my first 10K. I've run probably 10 or so 5Ks, but the 10K was a whole different animal. My friend Carla was right - it's so mental, and during the race I tried to remember how much I had mentally prepared to run for more than an hour. I tried to break the race into shorter segments, which wasn't hard given the course. This particular race course was shaped like a lollipop, and the 10K meant two laps of that lollipop, and too much repetition for my taste. Still, the weather was nice and cool, and the costumed volunteers at the aid stations did a great job of cheering.



















I was really hesitant about running this race at all about two weeks before. My left knee was giving me lots of trouble and I wasn't sure if it was smart to try to run. But about a week beforehand it seemed to improve (thanks, foam roller! I love to hate you!), and I went for it. I took about 5 or 6 walk breaks of about 2 minutes each, but I'm still pleased with my overall time - 64:13. If all goes as planned and I can train for the next one without any hitches, I'd like to break an hour. But just completing it and feeling good is my #1 goal.

















John had an excellent day at the races and finished the 5K in 23:53 (good Lord!). As I write this he's reminding me that he, too, can run faster and would like to get to a 21 minute 5K time.

What have we become? People who like to run, I guess.

The next local event isn't until late February. That should give us lots of time to train and get ready to beat our Halloween times.