NEW 13.1 PR!!! Savannah Rock 'n' Roll 2013

Sorry for the lack of blogs this year, life gets hectic. What else can I say. I'm not a writer, so this stuff doesn't come natural to me. As my BFF Shonna put it, I'd much rather be living it than writing about it!!

Anyway, this race certainly deserves a post.

Long story short, I ran my ass off at the Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Half and I achieved my ultimate goal of getting a sub 2-hour half. Something that last year, I didn't think I would EVER be capable of doing. The closest I have ever been was at the Palmetto Bluff Half at the beginning of this year when I came in at 2:03 - but even that course was short (12.8 miles), so it probably would have been more like a 2:05 or 2:06. My goal for this race was to beat 2:05 at the very least.

First off, I have to apologize to MRTT – I didn't really participate in very many group runs this time around. I was very selfish in the way I wanted to train for this on my own, in my own way. I ran mainly on my lunch breaks because I didn't want to get up so early to drive somewhere to run (I am very spoiled since we moved to a house next to an awesome park. I got used to running alone again, but I didn't mind. Now that my big race is over, I hope to be more active in the group runs. :)

The week before the race, I had just completed a Whole Life Challenge with my awesome gym - the FTC. It was an 8 week lifestyle challenge. We did baseline testing and the final testing was a week before the race. My numbers didn't change THAT much in terms of weight or inches lost. The only significant improvement was that I was able to add 10# to my 1RM back squat (new PR of 160#). I'm proud of that, but the area that I thought I would improve on the most was the 1 mile run. I got a new PR, but only by 8 seconds (7:20). :( That was a bit discouraging as the race was approaching.

So since the challenge was over, I pretty much did what you should NOT have done after changing your diet... I ATE CARBS! You know, the BAD ones! It was glorious! I told myself that I'm just fueling for the race. Pasta, rice, white potatoes - in various forms. Oh baby. Shonna and her family came down Thursday and we had Mellow Mushroom pizza. YUMMMM. Then the night before the race we had ribeyes and potatoes. Oh and birthday cake and ice cream - it was Scarlett's birthday (Shonna's daughter)!

Birthday girl Scarlett, photobombing my flat mama!

On race morning, I ate an English muffin with peanut butter and chia seeds. I also had half of a banana on the way there. It wasn't as cold as I was anticipating. We took photos with MRTT and then went to get in a long port-a-potty line. We made it just in time to run over to corral #6, which was where the 2 hour pacer was. A couple minutes later, we were off! Woohoo! Then, oops, I forgot to start my watch... good thing it was only late by a few seconds.

just a few MRTT that were running this race of 18,000 runners!

Shonna and I ran together, following the 2 hour pacer as best as we could. The pacer was a fast little lady! A 2 hour half marathon pace is about 9:10 pace. My first mile was 8:35! WTF? I think I psyched myself out thinking there was no way I could keep up with that pace. The pacer did slow down for the 2nd mile - never quite to 9:10 though. It was so crowded with people all over the place that short lil me could barely push my way though people. I felt like I was saying "sorry" a lot to other runners that I bumped. Shonna managed to stay close to the pacer, but I was struggling to keep up for a while.

At about mile 5, the course entered downtown and the lanes opened up a bit, thank goodness. Shonna and I managed to run ahead of the pacer! I knew the downtown section would be fun with all the spectators and energy. Right after we crossed the 10K mark - the pacer caught up to us and eventually faded away into the distance. I swear, I think she was on pace for a 1:55, not 2:00. I ran into Shiloh's son who started in the same corral. I told him I'd try to follow him since we lost the pacer, but we eventually ate his dust too!

When the course left downtown around mile 8-9, I looked at our pace and we were still hitting high 8 minute miles - even without the pacer. I was surprised by this. I felt fine and thought I could keep that pace until the end. But it was here that I parted ways with Shonna. Though we didn't run the whole thing together, I don't think I would have been able to make it so far and keep that pace for that long. Thanks girl!!! xoxoxox! So from then on it was up to me, myself and I to make my goal!

The last 3 miles of the race was a blur. I remember grabbing an orange slice from someone, stopping for a split second to ring the Gordonston bell "for power" and seeing someone run to the side of the road and puke. Miraculously, I felt great, never had to breathe very heavily - but I told myself that I would push it on the last mile. On the final long straightaway, I knew there would be small hills (hills that I cursed last year!) but then the turn to the finish wasn't far after the last hill. When I crossed the 12 mile mark I looked at my time and realized that even if I ran the last 1.1 miles in a 10 minute pace, I would still get a sub 2!!! I think I got a bit verklempt for just a few moments thinking that I was about to achieve something I thought was impossible.

Once I reached the last turn to the finish, I knew I was golden. I ran it in pretty strong with a huge smile on my face. After I crossed the line, stopped my watch, looked down at it and saw this:

1:57... OMG!

I screamed a scream of joy and badassness, the guy next to me did too and we gave each other a high five! His hand actually slipped off of mine and he kind of slapped my face, but I didn't care!! I was so damn excited!!! I found Joel in the madness of the finish line and he PR'ed too - a redemption for his run last year. Shonna came in shortly after with a shiny new PR! PRs for everyone!

Me, sandwiched by my BFFs!

In this race, I hit a 10K PR as well as 10 mile PR!!!

Things that made this possible:
1. Fueling at miles 4, 7 and 10 (thanks Hammer!)
2. Running with a pace group and running buddy (thank you Shonna!)
3. Fleet Feet Savannah CREW's intermediate half training plan (Thank you CREW!! I ran 3x/week: speedwork one day, tempo day, long run one day)
4. Strength training and conditioning with crossfit at the FTC!!! (Thanks FTC!! I cross-trained on my running off-days)

Holy crap, how'd I do that?

With all those things, I knew I could trust my training and just go for it. I knew my lungs and body would be able to handle it because of crossfit -- I've pushed myself to what I thought were my limits, but realized I had more power in me to dig deeper. I actually never really got to the point where I wanted to quit. The only thing I was really worried about was my feet. I knew the pounding would kill my feet. Luckily they didn't really start hurting me until mile 12. I also knew that I'd probably have to hit the bathrooms pretty hard after my running effort. I was right. As soon as I sat down to rest my feet, the cramps started and I had to take my wipes with me to the port-a-pots! LOL I never forget to pack my Immodium!!

So what's my new goal? I told myself that if I ever hit a sub-2 half, I would start training for a marathon. So Marine Corps Marathon 2014, here I come!!!

FIRST Half Marathon - DONE!!! (warning: long post)

 

After all the training, hard work, early mornings, sore body parts, blood, SWEAT and tears, my FIRST half marathon is COMPLETE!!! November 3, 2012 will definitely be one of the most amazing days of my life – right up there with college graduation, my wedding day, and the birth of my son. haha I could not have asked for a more perfect day.

I really have to admit that tapering the last 2 weeks definitely helped - not only to recharge my body after a hard week year of miles, but to also recover from my injuries: the road rash, the sprained calves, the sore shins... I ran probably my best run ever on Saturday morning. AND, I did not have any lingering soreness, blisters or pains afterwards. It seems so magical. I did everything right the entire taper period, from resting when my body needed it and drinking water until I peed every hour... it totally paid off in the end!!!

Expo green screen fun!

The Savannah Rock 'n' Roll weekend kicked off with an awesome Expo. Joel and I went on the first day (Thursday) to pick up our numbers and race swag. I was able to change my corral from 16 to 12 (which didn't really matter, as I had come to find out). I'd never been in a huge race before, so the expo was an experience in itself! I picked up a bunch of freebies and samples, got our photos taken, signed up for free entries to other races, walked around and just took in all the energy. That night I went to a group dinner with my CREW training group - the ones who have gotten up with me every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings since June to run around dark Pooler neighborhoods and train out butts off! We have become a little tight-knit family!

Most of my Pooler CREW

Friday, the day before the race was hectic - trying to get work done, trying to get everything ready and packed up since we were spending the night at Joel's parent's house, making soup for the pre-race dinner hosted by my other wonderful running group - Moms RUN This Town (MRTT), going to the dinner (sorry no pictures... Katie's Blog has some good ones though!) and then coming back to drive to the in-laws with kid and doggies in tow. Set the alarm for 5:30am. I went to bed at my normal time (1am).

I woke before my alarm went off. Joel was awake too, I think. Took a while to get out of bed, but when I actually got up, my tummy had an urge to go. TMI, but you runners know what I mean. My day could not start off ANY better! I was worried about tummy troubles during the race, so emptying them out before the race was ideal for me. I had a glass of water, half of a banana and half of a Powerbar before we gathered our stuff and headed out. It was chilly that morning, but not cold enough that we needed our hoodies/sleeves at the start.

Newport running family!

Our BEFORE photo!

Joel's dad dropped us off as close as he could to Ellis Square, where I was to meet up with my CREW group to take a photo before we split off to our corrals. We passed MANY empty spots downtown! After the pictures, we trekked down to the bag check area, and took a few more pictures along the way. Bag check was very easy, it was just pretty far down from where we needed to line up. On the way back up to the corrals, we found the line for the Brooks VIP bathroom. The line was shorter than the port-a-pottys but still longer than I expected. Joel couldn't wait for me, so I kissed him goodbye/goodluck and off he went. I got out just in time to line up in corral 12.

I stayed up at the front of the corral and met up with Chris, a fellow CREW member, who was at the back of corral 11. As we moved up when the race started, he found others in our CREW and they called for me to come up and join them! It was nice to be able to start off my first half with the same people who I trained with for the past 6 months!

It was our turn to start and we were off! I stuck with Chris for most of the first half of the race. It was nice to have someone to chat with for those first miles. Made it easy! There was the first hill in the first mile, not so bad. After the 2nd mile, I think there was a water station. It was chaotic because the road was pretty narrow and there were people stopping right in front of you to get water. In addition to the narrow run-way, there were random cups on the ground that you had to dodge. Well I dodged them anyway - I didn't want my injury-prone ass to slip on one! The narrow water stations was probably the only bad part of my experience...

I stopped to walk for a bit after mile 4 to take my first Gu, then went back at it. We were headed back towards downtown. After we made the first left turn onto MLK (around mile 5), there was upbeat hip hop/dance music playing and it really pumped me up! Then I saw a huge line of kids with their hands held out and I made my way over to them and just ran down the line giving high fives!! WOOHOO!! That was the start of my surge!! It really got me going! The whole downtown part (miles 5-8) was just so awesome and packed with spectators!!! Especially along Oglethorpe!! I loved the bagpipers playing in front of the Cathedral (probably the best band out there on the course! haha). Around mile 8, I saw my friend and boot camp instructor, Kerrie who came out to cheer for us!

After the hustle and bustle of downtown, it was back to the neighborhood streets... after mile 9 we passed under the legs of a huge inflated Brooks rocker dude. Then I decided to take my second walk break to consume my 2nd Gu before entering the Gordonston neighborhoods, where I would be on the look out for Joel's parents and Liam! For some reason this part seemed pretty long to me. Maybe because I was searching and anticipating seeing my son. I knew we'd see them in between miles 10 and 11, but as we kept making turns and not seeing them, I thought they might have left already.... until I finally caught sight of them near the end of the 10th mile. I briefly stopped to give Liam a kiss. Then he says, "I want to go run with you mommy!" I didn't tear up like you'd think I would - instead I just said, "I'll be right back! We'll see you later! Love you!!!" and continued my journey. Then I hear some really sad weeping... that just kept getting louder even as I jogged away!! :( I felt like a bad mom... one lady runner came up and said, "Oh it just breaks your heart doesn't it?" And it did, but I just had to laugh. He does that every time I leave him! Apparently he did that with Joel too, so I'm sure seeing his other parent run away from him earlier didn't help me! LOL

After that little ordeal, I saw the 11 mile sign and knew that I was SO CLOSE to the end!! A couple miles to go!!! It started to split off to where the marathoners left for their 2nd half... it was very clearly marked and they had people along the course telling people as well. After the split, was mile 12!!! AHHHH just 1 more mile!!! This last mile was the longest mile EVER. First of all, there were a couple little hills on this stupid road. It was rough. My toes had become numb and my feet were just getting beat. I made myself walk a little bit before trying to finish strong. I wish there was as many spectators on this final mile like there were on Oglethorpe! I was trying to remember the succession of streets before Drayton (the LAST turn), but I just kept seeing a mass of people still lining the street ahead of me. Ugh. But it came up by surprise because I think there might have been a hill and then right after the hill was the final turn! WOOHOO!!! Just .1 mile left!!!

Where's that finish line?

The last .1 was a blur. There were tons of people lined up on the sides cheering people in! I tried to sprint, but I don't think I had much left in me. I went as fast as I could, even slowed a bit to make sure my finish line photo was cute by posing. LOL I crossed under the gate and yelled out, "WOOHOOOOOOO!!!" I didn't cry like I thought I might (especially because just I started my period, haha - sorry TMI). I was just so HAPPY and overwhelmed and proud of myself!!! Especially when I looked down at my watch to see my time: 2:14:36!!!!!!! Holy $hit! I beat my goal (2:15)!

Finishing up strong!

Pumped up at the finish!!!

I went and got my medal and saw Joel! He waited for me, which I am glad he did because we got our finishers photo taken together! He didn't do as well as he would have liked due to an injury, but I am proud of him for finishing!! I met a girl who recognized me from Daily Mile, which was pretty awesome that we finished around the same time. I also saw my old Crossfit instructor, Kim at the end handing out medals and gave her a high five!

Finisher's photo with my man!

After the photos and crowded finish line craziness, we walked straight down to the bag check area and got our bag. Bag checks are awesome! I changed out of my shoes and into my FitFlops... ahhh... my feet needed those! Got my phone and took an "after" photo of Joel and I and checked my texts and FB... although it was nearly impossible to get a good signal out there with all the people trying to do the same exact thing.

Our AFTER photo!

We got our free beer and then headed over to the CREW tent for post-race congrats to my CREWmates and photos. Then we went over to the MRTT tent to catch up with the other MRTT runners from Savannah, ATL and other chapters, as well as rest, stretch, ice, drink more beer, and just enjoy the beautiful afternoon... We stayed and got updates on Jen - who was doing the Full (a first for her, too!) It was really awesome to watch her come in and finish strong - well above her expected goal!!!

Morgan and Jen... both big achievements at the RnR!

This race was so unbelievable. I knew it would be a great time, but it really exceeded my expectations of a half marathon. I wore a custom-made Wonder Woman running costume (from the wonderfully talented Helen of This Princess Runs) which got me lots of comments and "GO WONDER WOMAN" cheers along the way! Whenever I heard someone say it, I'd yell out "WOOOHOOO YEAH!!!!" and try to make eye contact with them as a thank you to let them know I heard it and it is keeping me going!!! The race support and volunteers were just so phenomenal. I would love to do this again next year!!! 

My splits. I wanted to see those 9s at the end of the race, but I guess I started off faster than I should have. Oh well! I still ran a fabulous race!

(Thanks marathonfoto.com for the pics! I will be purchasing them soon!)

This is it...

At the Rock 'n' Roll Expo - the Brooks photo booth

Only one more day until the Rock 'n' Roll Half!!!

I'm beyond excited... I'm really tired. haha Just so exhausted from running around and doing Halloween stuff and baking and making various foods and trying to get all my normal work done. I only ran one day this week - an easy 3 miles around the neighborhood. I was going to push myself to get out at lunch and do another quick 3, but it would have been pushing it with time and work. I hope the taper helped!

I just realized I have not updated since the October 1! It's been a whole month. It has been a busy month... my sister's wedding, lots of traveling, lots of trying to get runs in... I did manage to do my new PDR - a training run of 12 miles... at a pretty decent pace. Which surprised me because I drank the day before and I ran on a sore leg - which I know I probably shouldn't have, but I did anyway and am alive to live about it. Which is why I have not done so much during the taper. That 12 was 2 weeks ago. It was also the same week that I had another FIRST... my first road rash! I tripped on a 6 mile run the Thursday before we did the 12 miles. I don't know what I tripped on because I run that route 2-3 times a week. I think my legs were just tired and I was just not feeling it that morning. My right palm and both knees ended up with scrapes. The scrapes on my right knee and palm ended up getting infected so I had to go to urgent care to get antibiotics. The scars have scabbed and are not so gross looking now. I have progression photos, but I don't think anyone would want to see them. haha

Anyway, I would LOVE to write a review on my first big race Expo and everything else that has been going on, but I am so damn tired. Hopefully I will update soon... I actually NEED to because next week I'll be giving away a race entry to the Color Vibe 5k in Savannah!

The next time I update this blog, I will be an official HALF-MARATHONER! :)

Nine More Weeks

Remember my last post on getting new shoes? Here is a comparison pic: old versus new

I meant to post more on being halfway through half-marathon training, and now we are over half way! We are on week 14 and only have 9 more weeks to go until the Rock and Roll Half on November 3rd! Woohoo!

It's hard to believe that it's getting closer and closer. But it seems like I've been training forever... which, I pretty much have been doing since January 1 of this year. The build up and anticipation is certainly increasing as it gets closer, as well as our weekly mileage! I have no idea how I will handle the crossing the finish line... will I break down into an emo mess and weep like a baby? Or will I finish strong and feel like kicking ass upon crossing the line? Maybe I'll be crawling up the chutes, barely able to walk, and crying from pain!?! LOL Hopefully not that last one. I'm pretty sure lots of catching of breaths will ensue and trying to find water will be the first thing on my mind. Who knows! All I know is that I can't wait to find out!!!

We (the Pooler CREW Training Group) did 8 miles this morning on a dark golf course. It was pretty neat, as I've never run on such a course. It was a great change of scenery - even though the first half of the run was in complete darkness (thankfully the blue moon was still out at 5:30 am!) and there was some dense fog lingering over us. The 2nd half of the run was much better and cooler as the humid fog lifted and the sun started coming up.

Another old vs new comparison... Inside of my overpronating right heel

I've got a new injury this time around... It's called um... *something* bursitis (I will fill in the blank later when I feel like getting up to get the paper in my purse with the correct term)!! It's basically some fluid buildup at the back of my knee from my uneven leg lengths (due to scoliosis) and overcompensation of the shorter leg. It's nothing that inhibits my running, but it is one of those minor aches that gets annoying throughout the day and you'd just rather not have it exist. It only bothers me when I extend my left knee. I feel some minor discomfort at the back of my knee. I went to a free injury clinic at Fleet Feet after the 8-miler today and that's what the physical therapist told me. He suggested icing, compression, strengthening exercises and a heel lift (to lift my shorter leg up a bit). I actually have one from another PT that I threw in a drawer somewhere. I used it a few times, but decided it sucked. I might try to find it. I was apparently using it wrong. I was supposed to put it under the shoe's insert, not over it. (Duh!) Apparently this was caused from over striding from sprinting. With my last few runs, I've been trying to sprint at the end, like the last 1 to 1.5 miles of the run because I have energy saved up and I ALWAYS love to see how fast I can go for however many miles we do... Bad idea!! I need to save that stuff for actual races, not training runs...

Other than that I think I'm really getting stronger - especially with the crossfit class I'm going to. It's pretty intense, but I like a good intense workout where I'm not running on pavement for hours at a time! I'll blog more on that at a later time.

Speaking of getting stronger, I decided to start a Plank-a-Day challenge, where you pretty much just do a plank for as long as you can (time it) every day for a month and see how much longer you can do it by the end of the month. The plank position is one of the simplest ways to increase your core strength and stability – something I know I need in order to further reduce my chances of injury when I run.

I found out about Plankaday via a new blogger that I follow: Cherierunsthis.com! Cherie is a fitness blogger from PA who posts lots of recipes, workout tips and fun photos! Check her out if you can! I can't wait to do the Foodie Penpal this month! (I'll blog about that later too).

But it's another fitness blogger who started the Plankaday challenge: Lea at runningfordummies.net. She's got a leaderboard going and I'm currently #11 at 2:23 minute plank. Not bad for my first time! Lea holds 7+ minute planks!

I'm not sure if I was doing it properly, but my abs (and surrounding areas) were shaking for the last minute or so, so I think I at least got some real plank action going on! I'll have to have Joel check my form tomorrow. Lets hope I can keep this up every day! It only takes a few minutes of your time, so I have no excuse not to do it! Join me!!!

I ran a half marathon!

...in the course of one week! :) It's a record for me, anyway. 13.6 miles to be exact (really more like 14 miles - see below), from Sunday to Saturday.

I'm excited to have started my official RnR half training with the Fleet Feet CREW Training Group! I had my first run with them last Saturday morning, which was a 3.75 mile course though some neighborhoods in Pooler. There was a little confusion as to which way the course was headed. I thought I studied the course pretty well before I left, but I ended up following the 2 leaders (maybe about 1 minute behind them) and they seemed to get a bit lost! I caught up with them for a while and we realized that we were off course and already reached 3.75 miles with a little more back to the start! I decided to break off and stop my watch at 4, and just slow to a jog to cool down instead of going with then to the end. I was probably pushing myself harder than I should have to keep up with them, coming off of my injury. That's one of my weaknesses... pushing myself too hard. I'm too stubborn and I think I can get back to my 9-10 minute/mile pace right off the bat. 2-3 weeks off from running really regresses the training. :(

Anyway, the course we ended up doing was a total of 4.44 miles! Next run is Tuesday for 2. Then Thursday for 3 and the long run on Saturday for 4 miles. I hope I stick with the course this time!

image via This Princess Runs

In other news, I found an awesome etsy shop that makes running costumes! This Princess Runs makes custom running costumes out of Under Armour... I ordered myself a Wonder Woman one! I love a good running costume and I plan to wear it for the RnR in November! And maybe again for the bridge Run in Dec. She is a fellow mother runner who mainly makes princess costumes - I think she started by making herself a princess costume for the Disney Princess Half. Check out the other costumes she has made!I am pretty darn excited about mine!

Back to Running - Anything is Possible 5k

Did 3.1 miles last Friday to prepare for the Anything is Possible 5k that was this past Sunday:

Ft. Washington Park
November 4, 2011, Friday
5:28pm
3.1 miles
33:26, 10:47 avg. pace

Mostly flat. Kind of chilly. Was not trying to push myself, but trying to do the distance since it was the first time running in 3 weeks.

+++

Anything is Possible 5k
November 6, 2011, Sunday
1:50am
3.1 miles
official times: 37:19 (chip) / 38:02 (clock)
negative net time: -22:42

This race started at 1:50AM (YES, in the middle of the night) on the night of Daylight Savings. Which meant that you ended the race before you started it! I ran with my friend Bonnie and her husband Mike. We were tired and cold in the beginning, but warmed up a little in the car before the start of the race and eventually got into it! The cold felt great as we kept on running. It was really fun and I'm glad we did it! Too bad Shonna wasn't able to make it! We missed you!

I didn't start my watch on time, so I wasn't able to track my mileage on my Garmin watch. D'oh!

+++

Don't know when or what my next race will be. But I do know that both Joel and I will be signing up for the 2nd annual Rock and Roll HALF Marathon in Savannah for 2012. It takes place on November 3, 2012, so I have a year to train. I seriously need to start now! (The 2011 Rock and Roll race was this past weekend, I heard it was chaos!)