Bring on October!

The first few bars are not proportional to the later ones

Just to give you a bit of history, I only used to train for mostly 5Ks back in the day, pre-baby. Which meant the furthest I ever ran on any given running day was 4 miles. I ventured into the 10K distance for a short time before I got pregnant and did a couple 10K races (both 10Ks were bridge runs, so I am looking to eventually do a flat one to try to PR -- sub 1 hour is my goal!)

I joined a training group in June this year with my local Fleet Feet for beginner half-marathoners (specifically training for the Rock and Roll Savannah Half in November) and they have been excellent for making me get out of bed in the mornings. I knew I could never follow any type of plan by myself because I could easily have just said, "I'll run tomorrow" or, "I'll just make up the miles this weekend" or... any other excuse not to get up and get my miles in.

Another group that I joined this year: Moms Run This Town, has given me even MORE motivation and support to go out there and run. Plus I've made a bunch of awesome new mommy friends -- which is a milestone in itself because I am not the type to go out there and join a "mommy group" but I am so glad I did. I love the group and try to pitch in as much as I can to give back to the cause and support I have received in return. I was recently promoted to be a co-chapter leader for our Savannah group, which I am honored to do so, but not worthy! I'm just doing my part! :)

Doing the LoCo Motion this past Saturday!

One of my last posts dealt with new records for the month of September -- I have even more to add. It's just getting a bit ridiculous -- the amount of achievements I've done this month -- but it's all true and noteworthy that I have to mention it! haha It's like it just keeps getting better!

• Finished my first 10-mile race, the LoCo Motion 10 Mile Run/Walk in Callawassie Island, SC (details below)
• Ran a record number of miles in 1 month: 78 (see image at top)
• Reached a total of 400 miles run for 2012 thus far (according to Daily Mile, yet the screenshot above totals only 388... which is fine because there were a few times I did not log!)
• Completed my highest total number of organized races for the year...so far! And more to be added! I am at 6 thus far in 2012, whereas my previous highest was 4 in 2010!)

Last Saturday morning, while pretty much everyone was out doing the Big Nasty Mud Run (I'm so jealous!), I was out running the LoCo Motion 10 Mile Run on Callawassie Island in SC. It's a 3-day, 30 mile event which benefits breast cancer research, screening and treatment. Callawassie Island is the first community in South Carolina to be designated a Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, so the course was BEAUTIFUL - half golf course and half shady neighborhood streets. But the race started at 9 am! HOT! I've grown accustomed to seeing dark morning stars and beautiful dawns on my runs.

I guess I'll start with the few CONs of the run: First, the late start time, nuff' said! It was a very casual race, which meant no chip timing (no big deal, I knew this before hand and was prepared with my Garmin and was not expecting a PR). But it also meant that the course was most likely not measured correctly -- my GPS readings were minus .2 miles from each mile marker, so I had to make up for it after I crossed the finish line. It also meant that the start was not really officially announced - I thought we were doing a group "warm up" walk, but then after I saw people in the front of the pack start running, I started my watch and tried to make my way past the walkers, which also kind of sucked, because I was in the back and I'd say 75% of the group were walkers. Plus the start was on a golf course path, so it was really narrow and really hard to maneuver past. I read on the website that they'd give runners a 3 minute head start. I guess they forgot!

Now that all the bad stuff is out of the way, I can get on with all the GREAT stuff!

1. It was a beautiful, scenic, mostly shaded course.

2. TREMENDOUS community involvement: high school cheerleaders were cheering, residents had pink bows on their mailboxes, and a lot of them were outside their houses cheering everyone on and waving.

3. TONS of water and snack stops along the way, which made it fun and really broke up the course -- some residents had unofficial stops where they set out some snacks, drinks, candy, pretzels, oranges, chocolates, watermelon (OMG the watermelon hit the spot!) and played music. I wasn't planning on stopping along the course so much, but I loved how they all came out to support the race!

4. It was a small race - maybe 150-200 participants that day, so parking and bathrooms were not an issue!

5. The overall vibe and energy of the morning was great! Maybe due to the intimacy of the race because it was so small? I was definitely catching the vibes of all the different groups and runners out there. For some, it was the 2nd day in a row to be walking or running 10 miles. That's amazing to me.

6. I got to wear PINK! It was a perfect race to don my hot pink CEP compression socks! I got multiple comments and compliments on them!

7. Race goodies! For a small race, they sure had a good amount of free stuff out there: along with the usual bottles of water, bagels, grapes, bananas, granola bars, they had large bags of sweet potato chips (yum), medium size bottles of Gatorade, pink lollipops (grabbed a few for Liam) and other pink candies. And in the race bags there were pink cups, bracelets, a pink beer koosie, nail file...

8. Great race support staff - I had many questions before the race, which I asked on their FB page and they were quickly answered!

Finish time was 1 hour, 43-ish seconds on the race clock. I wasn't paying too much attention because I had to go the extra bit after crossing under the finish line arch to reach 10 miles on my Garmin, which was 01:48:30.

I'd totally do this again next year. Maybe even try to do this and another one of the other days as well! The final day of the event was 10 miles on the beach!

Time for bed... It's October now... where how did September go by so fast? :)

Run it! Blue Ridge Marathon 2013!!

 http://blueridgemarathon.com/

I want to win an entry to run in the Blue Ridge Marathon from Sweat Junkie!

Record-Breaking September

ALMOST a new PR...

What a month it's been so far! And it's not quite over!

First of all, I have LESS THAN SIX weeks to go until I run my first Half marathon!!! I am SO friggin excited!  :)

I had an AWESOME 10 mile run last Saturday morning with the Pooler CREW... my pace was FASTER than both my previous 9 and 8 mile run (which both happened to be just about the same pace) and my legs felt GREAT! I had my first ice bath afterwards. Which might have been a minor FAIL because I only got 2 bags of ice and had to supplement with the ice cubes in my freezer because my tap water wasn't cold enough. I think it worked though. It wasn't so bad for my first one! I need to do it more often!

It was also the second time running my longest distance EVAR of 10 miles. And I kicked that previous time's ass!! By about 16 minutes! Well, the first time I did it, there were multiple HUGE hills that I was not ready for...

Ice bath! (I know... I need a new pedicure)

I started putting my distance PRs on my "Completed Races and PRs" tab... to keep track of my fastest times for each mile distance. If you look at the page, almost ALL of the 4-10 mile PRs happened this month! That PDR is about to change too... the long run on October 6 is 11 miles...

We had a mock 5K race last Thursday morning... It was cool and dark, but I was ready to run! I have not run that fast since 2009 when I did my current 5K PR in the Race for the Cure that year (27:49), but if I remember correctly, that course was a bit short, so I the time that I posted in the photo above is truer. 9 minute miles, for 3.1 miles! I didn't think I was going to see a 27 at the end of my run...

And then this morning, I kicked even MORE ASS running 4 miles in 36:32! That's only a slightly slower pace than that 5K last week!

I attribute these record times to the cooler weather and running with a group. Running with people that are at your pace or slightly faster definitely helps push you to go faster than you would naturally go if you were by yourself. Plus the (huffed) conversations while running help with your lungs and also just helps to keep things less boring! It's a good distraction. :) I don't think I would have been able to train like this all by myself, I am SO thankful for my group!!!

That's not all... last week, I achieved my highest weekly mileage: 27 miles (Sunday, Sept 16 to Saturday, Sept 22)!

And to top it off, I am on track to complete another record monthly mileage total of: 78 miles for September!! Woohoo!!

More new Kicks - Saucony Progrid Omni 11

Saucony Progrid Omni 11

I ordered a pair of Sauconys a few weeks ago from Fleet Feet. I have wide feet and they didn't carry these babies in wide. Well, they came in and I picked them up last Monday. Tried them out on Tuesday morning... OMG... they are AWESOME! I might have a new favorite running shoe. The thing I like about these the most is the cushioning. The inserts have memory foam in them. I might have tried these on last year at the Potomac River Running Store....quite possibly the same model, but not sure. I should have taken note. They were my second choice behind my trusty Brooks Adrenaline. I've never had TWO pairs of running shoes in my rotation, so this is a FIRST for me! I've also never really run in ANYTHING other than the Brooks Adrenaline!

The Saucony Omnis (SO) are lighter than the Brooks Adrenaline (BA), so they are more suited for longer distance running than the BAs. The SOs are just so friggin COMFY! I cannot stress this enough. It's like walking on a dang CLOUD. I could wear them all day! They were the same price, I think... at least in the same price range. I learned that the WIDE version of shoes are very limited in colors, which is why I can't ever find any snazzy/flashy colored shoes that are right for my feet. :\ The SOs also came in a nice Blue/Gray color scheme (still not as flashy as I'd like), but the Wide was only in this Red/Gray combo. I am REALLY happy with my purchase and I hope to make the SOs a part of my running shoe family from now on! :)

Up this week is my last day of Crossfit. I will miss it, but I will be back at bootcamp soon. If they ever do more classes, I will definitely sign up. If they ever open up a Crossfit gym in this area, I MAY sign up... not sure. Those gyms are hardcore. But at some point, I'd like to be hardcore. :) Maybe. At least I got a taste of it. And dammit, doing ONE unassisted pull up in my life is on my bucket list!!!

I have a 10 miler this weekend. I hope to redeem myself from my last 10 miler... which was hilly and just plain exhausting. I wasn't ready, but I wanted to make the most of the running trail in DC. At least THAT was pretty! Me on the other hand... was not so much.

I also wanted to write a bit about my 9-miler I did last Sunday. It was fine. I did it at the same pace as the last 8-miler. We went a bit later than I normally go, so it was pretty hot. I don't know if I just didn't take enough fuel (I split 1/2 a pack of GU chomps - I took 2 at 4.5 miles, and the other 2 at 7 miles in) or what, but my legs felt pretty damn tired at mile 7. I tried not to think about how tired my legs felt... tried to scroll through some uplifting songs on my mp3 player to distract myself (I don't usually listen to music)... it wasn't until after the 8th mile - the last one - that I was like, screw it, let's just get this over with and end it! After I hit 9, I stopped my watch and started to walk the .75 miles back to the car. My damn right calf was so tight! It was tight for 2 days. Well, it didn't occur to me until well after the run that: what if that happens to me at the half in November? What if my legs give out in the middle of it? I thought about the ironman races where people literally crawl through the chutes to the finish line, falling, and getting back up because they just pushed themselves so hard... After some motivating comments from my Daily Mile friends, I decided, well, I just have to take the bad runs and move on. Everyone has them. Just have to adjust and adapt!

I do know that those GU gels worked for me. I tried one for the first time on my 5 miler on Tuesday... and it instantly worked...or so it seemed. Haha. It tasted like shit, though! haha... Whatever. I will choke it down if it will make my legs move faster!!

Peek into my Kitchen

This blog is addressed as "jacy's FITNESS blog", but all I really talk about it my running. I do other things to try to keep fit, such as the crossfit class that I've been attending twice a week for the past 4.5 weeks (this evening is my 2nd to last class). And when that's over, I will be doing one day a week of Bootcamp classes every Wednesday with Kerrie of CrazyFit. I need another day of something in there, so I might go back to Bikram or just try to row and strength train here at home.

So, I thought I'd take the time to post some stuff that I eat -- the GOOD stuff, not the BAD! (This post would be super long if I posted all the CRAP I eat!) 

First of all, I would like to state that I am in NO WAY a "health freak" or "calorie counter" or what have you, nor do I have any real dietary restrictions. I still eat crap, whenever I want! I don't feel guilty! Shoot, I'll eat meat and processed crap all day! haha But I have been watching my portions and am trying to be more aware of my body and trying to stop eating when I'm satisfied. I will eat an entire bag of kettle chips, chocolate granola (see below), or Cool Ranch Doritos if I don't pay attention!

One of my Favorite Snacks:

Bear Naked Heavenly Chocolate Granola

This is the bomb. I eat it like popcorn. I think I actually strained my jaw eating so much of this delicious, chocolatey, chewy, all natural goodness!

Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness

I was thinking about investing in a juicer at one point... until I decided that buying all the fruits and veggies to go INTO the juice would be super expensive. For now, my cheap self buys this really tasty juice. Or is it a smoothie? Not sure. I start my day with 8 oz. of this stuff.

Any Tea – Especially Green Tea

I am a tea drinker. I also drink a cup of straight up, unsweetened green tea in the morning (after the juice), sometimes mid-day and in the evening. I love my coffee, too, but I try to save that for when I need to pull an all-nighter. I have a little Keurig machine which I love for not only the ease of coffee making, but because you can easily brew up some hot water for tea in about a minute!

Apple Cider Vinegar

This is something new I am trying. I got the idea from Ms. Plank-a-Day, Lea of Running For Dummies. :) It's been around for a while; the health benefits/old wives tales of it seem too good to be true, but I'm trying it mainly for the claims it has on weight loss and immunity boosting. I mix 2 Tbs with 8 oz. of water, in the morning and in the evening. It's definitely NOT good. But growing up, me and my sisters used to eat Granny Smith apples dipped in apple cider vinegar, so it sort of has a nostalgic taste for me... sorta. I read that it can cause damage to tooth enamel, so I usually rinse my mouth out with some water afterwards.

 Chia Seeds, Almond Butter

Chia seeds are the same seeds from the infamous Chia Pet of our childhood. Who knew these novelty toy seeds would have so much Omega-3 (supposedly more than Salmon)? They also work as an appetite suppressant because when you eat them, they expand and turn into a gel and keep you feeling full. They don't taste like anything, so you can put it on anything! My favorite is putting it on a sandwich - as shown above. It adds a pleasing texture!!

Almond butter is something new I'm trying as well. Almonds have a lot of healthy fats. This stuff tastes like regular peanut butter. I had to stir it a lot before using it because the oils were separated.

Running-related stuff:

Pre-Run Fuel

I can't eat much in the morning before training runs... due to time - basically because I literally roll out of bed and get in the car (I sleep in my running clothes)! So I need quick fixes so that I don't run on an empty stomach. I have found that a snack size box of raisins or these Power Bar Energy Bites work well and do not mess with my sensitive stomach. I could probably make my own bites.. I think I saw a recipe on Pinterest somewhere...

Hydration:

Nuun Tabs

Drop a tab in 16 oz of water and shake! For post-workout, I usually put one in my Camelback water bottle (which holds 24 oz total) and fill the rest with some ice. When I carry a smaller bottle on my runs (I HATE carrying stuff while running, I need to find a belt) I usually put the Lemon Tea flavored one in it because it is caffeine-infused (one of the only 2 I've seen that have caffeine). They have electrolytes and are pretty much taste like a watered down sports drink. Which is awesome because I don't like sports drinks, and I do actually like plain ol' water! Thanks Jen for introducing me to these!

Running Fuel

Jen also got me into the Power Bar Energy Blasts. I actually have not tried them on a long run yet, but plan to this Sunday on my 9-miler. They are pretty damn tasty. And so are those Honey Stinger chews! Oooh..the Cherry Blossom flavor is like candy! And they are organic and all natural!!! But unfortunately, I did try the Honey Stingers halfway on a 10-mile run and it did not help at all (it could have been me - not physically prepared to do a hilly 10-mile course for the first time). I have tried the GU Chomps on an 8-mile run the other week and they seemed to work VERY well! They taste OK. I like the other 2 better in terms of taste. They are pretty sticky and hard to get out of the wrapper though. Especially when you are sweaty and hot yourself. Jen has these little baggies (that look like dimebags!) that are supposed to help with that. I haven't been on too many long runs over 7 miles to really try much of this stuff.

Other:

Awesome (BBQ) Sauce!

Weber Real Molasses Buzz'n Honey 

This is like the best BBQ sauce, EVAR! When I went up to DC to visit my BFF, her hubby grilled some chicken with this stuff. It's so damn good. I included it on this list because it's actually all natural, has no high-fructose corn syrup, and is gluten free! Woohoo! Get it, try it, love it!

That's all! Hope you enjoyed my little tour....

Daniel Defense Pooler 5K Recap

Official Time: 29:53
My GPS Watch Time: 29:01

Proof! ...Of my fastest 5K for 2012, so far...

So I stopped my watch well after I crossed the finish line. I didn't even notice the small time clock at the end. I just sprinted my way to the finish. It was not a chip timed race, so the clock started when the gun went off – not when I crossed under the starting archway. Also, the course was a bit more than a 5K, my watch registered 3.19 miles. My goal was to get a sub-29 5K time... which I JUST MISSED by 2 seconds (by my watch...LOL), oh well, maybe next time!

Beginning of the race, waving to Liam

About to cross the finish line... I totally sprinted past this one gal I was trailing the last quarter mile... sneaky!

It was a hot race. It started at 8am, not the ideal time to run in these parts. I definitely started out too fast, but tired to slow it down... it's hard in a race setting. I guess it's something I need to mentally train myself to do, but the only way to do that is to enter races! On my training runs, I usually keep a steady pace throughout the run until the very end where I try to kick it up a notch to the finish because I have that saved up energy (which I have learned is not good for my knees, lol, but I have toned it down). I probably could have pushed myself just a bit faster at the end, but I was pretty wiped. That mask didn't help either!

There was a costume contest for "Most Patriotic" male and female runner. I ran in a silly costume that I put together the day before the race. I made the cape from an old race T-shirt that was too big for me, and I spray painted the star on it, as well as the red stripes onto the white shirt. I bought a cheap mask and spray painted part of that too and bought the star "race legs" from Team Sparkle! I wore my awesome blue MRTT Bondi Band to represent my mommas and my awesome pair of red Aspaeris Pivot compression shorts! Turns out I was pretty much one of the only few people in costume! I wasn't expecting to win, but after seeing the lack of patriotic costumes, I was pretty sure I had a good chance... and well, I did win!! Too bad it wasn't a cash prize! :)

A few of my fellow mommas from MRTT ran this race and so did about half of my CREW training group (our group long run that morning was actually cancelled due to low participation). It was a great small race that wasn't super crowded, but still had a great turnout. I think about 600 runners participated. The race proceeds went to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Stewart where wounded soldiers go to heal. They raised $20,000 for them!!! Woohoo!

Me and fellow CREW mate, Janet

Liam and Mom (me) running the Kids race! Notice the matching capes!

This was also a special race because it was Liam's FIRST race!! They had a kiddie run right before the actual race started. I ran alongside Liam and he was doing AWESOME! He ran ALMOST the entire distance until he tripped and fell right before the finish line! :( It was so pitiful, but cute... he of course cried when he fell. I dusted him off and asked if he still wanted to run, but he shook his head, still crying. I held his hand and asked if he still wanted to finish and he nodded. So we walked into the finish line with everyone cheering him on! It was a pretty awesome feeling, even though he had a little fall -- I'm sure part of the crying was due to embarrassment. But I am glad he wanted to finish because that's what it's all about -- getting back up after you fall and NOT QUITTING what you start! I was so proud of him! :)

Me and Jen

Thanks to Jen at Running Our Way for my free entry into this race!

Jen's 12-year old son Morgan ran the 5K in 21:27!! He got FIRST in his age group! He's such a talented young runner! The MRTT moms are very proud of him!!

Katie also had her first table set up for MRTT at the race which was pretty awesome. We are trying to attract more members... so if happen to be reading this, are a mom (even to furbabies), live in the Savannah area and want to join an AWESOME, free running group, come check us out!! http://savannahmrtt.wordpress.com/

Oh, I also want to thank my husband JOEL for watching Liam and carrying my purse while I ran. :D

Awesome MRTT Running Moms!

Up next: the LoCo Motion 10-miler on the 29th. Woohoo!!

First 5k Race of the Fall!

Tomorrow morning is the 3rd annual Daniel Defense Pooler 5K - my first time doing this race – all thanks to the awesome Jen!

I'm really excited about this race for many reasons:

1.
It's the first official race of the new race season! I've got lots of races planned for the rest of the year. Check out my Upcoming Races page for more info.

2.
It's the first 5K race during my half training, so I am really curious as to how much faster I can run 3.1 miles after conditioning myself to run longer. I hope to make this a 2012 PR (my all time 5K PR is 27:49 – back in 2009 – I don't think I can ever beat that) – so in order to do that I have to run faster than a 29:06. I really hope I can. I would like to see a "28" on the race clock when I finish! I'm thinking I will be able to do it because the last time I did a sub-29 5K was in 2009... RIGHT AFTER I trained my body for running 10Ks (ableit not my fastest 10Ks - I think I can actually run faster 10Ks now). So I am confident that the half training will not fail me! :)

3.
And the last reason... I'll be wearing a costume!! Not anything really elaborate, but hopefully I'll stand out enough to get some good photos taken of my crazy running outfit. ;) It's a patriotic theme, so I'll be donning the red, white and blue!

Race report coming soon!