Race Report: Trout Creek Trail 5k

This year I've made the decision to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  In order to step outside my comfort zone I've been trying and doing things that I've always told myself that I couldn't (GASP!).  This first started with my goal of a sub 2:00 half marathon.  The fact that it happened relatively early on (February) left me searching for a new goal.

Ben has really been digging trail running since last year.  He got his first taste of a trail race at the Xterra Wildhorse in November.  Tampa Races has a really sweet deal where you can run for free if you provide a volunteer for the day.  So Ben got to run Wildhorse, Florida Challenge and will be running the Claw for free.  Watching all these bad ass runners cross the finish line is really very inspirational.

It's one thing to run a 5k, 10k, 15k, or half marathon on the road; it's a totally different animal to run one on the trail.  Ben pushed me (gently) to try a trail race.  Reluctantly, I agreed and so did his dad.  We set our sights on the Trout Creek race a while back, mainly because of the 5k distance.  I did purchase a pair of trail shoes (which I love), and have been training on the trails for a few weeks.

Luckily, we live pretty close to Lake Rogers Park (short trail loop) and Flatwoods/Trout Creek.  Unluckily, I fell last time I ran Flatwoods with Ben and then fell again (within the same week) when I was at bootcamp.  Personally, I find falling more painful for the ego than anything else.  But, I did injure my hand pretty nicely both times.  In the same spot.  Needless to say, I was VERY nervous about the trail run and falling again.  (I spotted a guy wearing gloves at the start line - very smart!).

This particular race started on the bottom of a berm at Trout Creek.  Here is a photo from last year's race:

It's really not that bad of a hill, but it's a very interesting way to start.  The first mile was on top of the berm so there were no roots or anything technical to deal with, which was also a little surprising.  After the first water stop, we ran through a field before entering down a single track trail.  The trail led across the main road to a path around the lake (which I assume leads to trout creek).  

The scenery is so breathtakingly beautiful that you almost want to gaze at the water or beautiful trees with the sun coming in just right, but if you don't watch where you are heading you could be face first before you know it.  Ben's dad was right behind me the whole way, so we were sort of running together but not really running together because the trail wasn't wide enough.  

Mile two was pretty uneventful, and I was beginning to think that I might actually be able to complete a trail run without injuring myself.  Tampa Races normally has a (cheesy, but fun) DJ that entertains during the races.  I started to hear the music from the finish line and instantly knew that I was pretty close.  Right around the 25 minute mark, I came upon a pretty rooty (?) part.  And it happened.

I fell. Hard.  Ben's dad was right behind me so I was trying not to curse (or cry), but I wanted to do both.  I hit the same hand that I had the first two times and it was bleeding pretty good.  Ben's dad helped me up (even though I told him to keep going) and we kept going.  I believe I also said another curse word or two before reaching the finish line.

Here are the final splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	29:07.6	3.19	9:07
1	8:23.7	1.00	8:24
2	9:17.6	1.00	9:18
3	9:51.0	1.00	9:51
4	1:35.3	0.19	8:16

I had three goals for this race:

1.  Finish under 30 minutes
2.  Don't fall
3.  Get a cool campfire mug

Two out of three isn't bad!

House of Worship

I love Sunday morning runs.  They are always my favorite runs of the entire week.  Normally, I go solo and it's not unusually fast or for time or for mileage.  It is the best time to reflect, plan, detox, and/or clear my head.  I'm not a particularly religious person, but my Sunday morning runs have fast become MY house of worship.

I think about my family and how I got to where I am today because of them.  I giggle to myself with the memories that I secretly share with my sister.  I think about how she truly is the first person who knew me and my strange habits and how we crack each other up with just a look sometimes.  I look up to my big sister and see how great she is with her kids and wonder if I will ever be a mom. And if I am, will I be a good one?

I often think about my friends and all the things that they have going on in their lives.  How we can be so different from each other and still be friends and find things that we have in common.  I think about my running buddies who are running in organized races across the state an country - and always try to subliminally send them positive, cold, non-windy vibes.

I think about Ben and how lucky I am to have even found him in this crazy-busy world.  How he puts up with a lot of my crap and laughs and (most of) my corny jokes.  I spend some time thinking about our upcoming wedding and what I'm going to say to Ben as we face each other in the alter.  I probably spend most of the time wondering how I'm going to make it through the entire vow without bursting in to tears.

I think about work and what happenings have been going on and coming up.  I also spend a lot of time thinking about all the amazing things that my students will go on to do with their lives.  I think about upcoming programs and events and mentally make a list of things that I want to do for the upcoming week. I think about my coworkers and how they all have their own specific areas of academic expertise - whether it's athletic eligibility, academic programs, or even counseling.

Mainly, I think about how lucky I am to have a great and supporting family, to have met Ben, live in a beautiful place, have the ability to run, have amazing friends, have a great career that I love, and have the cutest niece and nephew that melt my heart.  Sundays truly give me a time to literally count my many blessings.

Hitting the Trails...literally

This morning, Ben and I went out to Flatwoods Park to enjoy some trail running.  Next weekend we are running the Trout Creek trail run (5K for me and Ben's dad and 15K for Ben).  Last weekend we ran Trout Creek, and Ben really wanted to try out some more difficult trails in order to prepare for next weekend.  Flatwoods has a "main" trail with smaller offshoots named things like "Gatorbait", "Indian", or "Grandpa".

When I first moved here I mountain biked on the "Indian" trail.  And I busted my butt.  Twice.  One time I fell off my bike and then my bike landed on top of me.  Sweet.  Today, I was hoping for some redemption.  We started out on the main trail and got in to a nice steady pace.

I'm a true newbie when it comes to the trail running.  Ben has way more experience on me, and is really helpful when it comes to pointing out things on the trail that could potentially tip me up or any other pointers that I could really use.  Trail running really does force you to pick up your feet more than on the regular road.  We breezed through the main trail and Gatorbait and made our way over to Indian.  Ben shouted out "Redemption" and we went for it. 

We were going really well until we got to the point where there were rocks. Gulp.  I glanced down at my watch for one second and totally ate it.  Ugh. My hand caught a rock in just the right spot and it was pretty painful. (Not as painful as when I poured alcohol on it later...).  From the splits below, you can tell that tumble occurred at around the 3 mile mark. 

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	43:54.7	4.28	10:15
1	9:55.8	1.00	9:56
2	9:55.3	1.00	9:55
3	:06.4	0.01	11:43
4	11:11.3	1.00	11:11
5	10:07.6	1.00	10:08
6	2:38.4	0.27	9:36

My goal for next weekend is to run under a 10:00 minute the entire time.  If I can get a 30 minute 5k on the trails, I will honestly be satisfied for the amount of trail training that I have done.  (Now I'm going to be held accountable because it's in writing!)  More importantly, I didn't let a little tumble stop me from finishing my trail run today.

Last week I did three miles on the trail and this week I did four.  Hopefully I can keep working myself up a little more each week.  But, if you are keeping track, the score is:

Indian Trail - 2

LK - 0

You may have won the battle, but I'm going to win this war!!

Have a great weekend!

WTF! (Witness the Fitness!)

Yesterday was supposed to be the Dade City Half Marathon.  Ben was all signed up and ready to go a long time ago and then we won two free entries.  We were both pretty excited about running the race since we ran it last year and it's Ben's home town.  (His parents know all the back roads so they cheer us on at several locations)  However, we got an e-mail from the race director saying that they were going to be unexpectedly cancelling the event this year.  We still haven't gotten a reason why, but I am assuming it was because they didn't have enough participation.

That's when my idea for the Sarasota Half Marathon relay came about.  I saw some friends who had done it last year as a relay and it looked like fun, the medal was huge, and First Watch was sponsoring the race. (Oh yeah!)  A lot of my running buddies were going to be running the Armadillo 5k/10k the day before, so I tried to find a partner who wasn't.

Luckily for me, my friend Tracey couldn't do the Armadillo race either and agreed to be my partner.  (Woo!)  We decided on our team name WTF! (Witness the Fitness) and Ben even designed a logo for us.  Since Ben was going to be down there anyway, he partnered up with Jen for team Mad Hops.  Melanie and Rhonda "sealed the deal" and also joined us.

Ben and I headed down to Sarasota on Saturday afternoon to pick up our race packets.  The "expo" was at the Holiday Inn right near the airport.  Here's a photo:

Now, I say "expo" because there wasn't really much to look at.  I had never been to an expo located in a hotel lobby before, and I believe that the Gasparilla expo has spoiled me...  Afterwards, we headed over to a "tent sale" at Fit 2 Run Sarasota (which was not so great) and grabbed lunch at Lee Roy Selmon's (the Quesadillas are the BEST!).  Unfortunately, we had to watch the Gators loose to Kentucky as well...

After lunch, we checked in to our hotel and immediately headed to the pool.  It was a gorgeous day outside, and the pool was comfortable.  There were several "older" men and women hanging by the pool that were also quite entertaining.  For dinner we met up with Melanie and Kevin at The Bearded Clam (yes, that is correct - the Bearded Clam). I think they spelled groovy wrong on their menu...

We sat out on the water and there was reggae music, a nice breeze, and the food was really good.  As we were sitting there, we spotted "Elvis".  This guy commands $10 a head, so we had to take a picture with him. Duh!

After dinner we headed over to The Fish Hole for some mini golf.  The poor guy at the front counter kept getting golf balls flung at his door.  He said that he had some sort of head damage and didn't remember that he only charged us for one round of golf instead of two.  Whoopsie!

The day before the race was also Daylight Saving's time to spring forward.  Boo.  Also another reason that we got a hotel.  It was physically possible to get up any earlier that we already did...

I got up and was feeling pretty good.  I can safely say that there wasn't really a "race plan", but I did want to at least try to run as best as I could (or felt able to).  I headed to the corral a little early and Rhonda and Jen met up with me there.  I told them that if I felt okay, I was going to go for it.  I did hear a rumor about a bridge, but I didn't realize that it was going to be the Ringling Bridge...

Yeah, that's it in the background.  Went over her TWICE!

The relay component of this race was really cool.  There was a spot that was .10 of a mile from the finish where your partner waited.  There was a band you wore around your ankle that you switched off when you got to your partner.  The paperwork we got originally said that the first leg was 5.5 miles and the second leg was 7.6.  So when I got to the 5 mile mark I was ready to go.  Until I realized where I was in Sarasota and that I still had a lot to go.  

When I finally saw the relay area I booked it and just started yelling  "Tracey!" so she would know I was coming!  I saw Larisa first (super cute skirt!), then Ben (he's so tall!), and finally Tracey.  She was out of there ASAP and I walked over to the Gatorade table for a little buffet.  I had a little bit of time left before she came back and we met up again.  One of the nice things is that you actually got to finish the last .10 of a mile with your partner.

Here were are all finished!  WTF!

We met up with everyone after the race for more photo opportunities

And, of course, I had to get one with my honey!

Overall, we finished with a combined time of 1:49:02 (this is the only way that I'm breaking 1:50, y'all!) and 6th (SIXTH!!!) out of 90 (NINETY!!!) all female teams.  It was a great day in Sarasota, I would have changed a thing.  Definitely doing this one again next year.

Race Report: Gasparilla Half Marathon

First, I have to thank Susan from Kellogg's for the opportunity to run this awesome course for FREE!  Thank you so, so, so much!  Second, I have to thank Coach Steve for not only agreeing to run this race (after a very long negotiation), but also sticking with me almost the entire way.

The morning started off a little rough.  The forecast indicated that a band of showers and wind were going to be moving in from about 3 am to 9 am.  (Which just so happened to be the time that we were going to be running...) and I was a little concerned on Saturday.  But, I have run in the rain before and Lord knows I'm sure as heck not going to melt..

I left the  house around 5 am to meet up with Coach Steve at 5:30.  The wind was INSANE. It literally looked like a hurricane with all the debris and palms flying across the road.  I thought for a second that I might be insane to be running in this weather, but I really wanted that medal!

I got to my top-secret parking location that is very close to the start/finish and FREE and it started to downpour.  Ben was nice enough to make me a homemade poncho out of garbage bags the night before, so needless to say, I was looking hot and could have deflected most of the rain.

Luckily, the rain let up a little and I started to jog to Publix.  However, the streets were flooded and a car drove by and totally drenched me.  It felt like something out of a television show, so I had to just laugh.  At least my garbage bag/poncho helped to protect me!  I met up with Coach Steve (and he did make fun of my poncho, just in case you were wondering) and we headed over to the starting line.

Surprisingly, the starting line was not crowded at all.  It seemed kind of strange because the race was starting at 6 am and it was after 5:30.  The strategy was to start conservative and then pick it up at the end, if we felt good.  The wind was a little rough, but it's nothing that I'm not used to from running on Bayshore.  Poor Ben was the ONLY person cheeering runners on as they went over the Davis Island bridge at the start (so adorable!).

The first four(ish) miles on Davis Islands went by pretty quickly.  Even though it had rained, it was still a little warmer that I thought it was going to be.  I really wish that I would have worn a sleeveless shirt at this point. (I really felt bad for the people I spotted wearing a long sleeve shirt, mannnn).  We spotted Ben on the way back over the Davis Island bridge and then spotted David from the Striders shortly after on Bayshore. (Thank you guys for being so tall and easy to spot in a crowd!)

The out and back on Bayshore was more windy then Davis Island.  My knee was doing pretty well all the way until we got to Gandy Boulevard and then I had two sharp knee pains.  It wasn't too bad, and Coach Steve runs with Aspirin (what?!?) and he gave me one.  That seemed to do the trick and we ran back down Bayshore.

Now I run Bayshore quite a bit.  Mentally, I know every, single mile and how far it is to each street from any particular point I am at.  It could be a good thing, but sometimes it is mentally draining.  I have to say that running with someone else is soooo, sooo, sooo much better than running by yourself.  And Coach Steve was a great running buddy and very encouraging the entire way.  Here are some of the pictures from the course..


Nice face!

Here is a photo of Coach Steve, myself, and Cami afterwards.  Check out the bling-bling!

Here are the final results.  It's not a PR, but it was a difficult day and I'm happy with the end result.  81 out of 384?!?  I will take it!

Spring Break 2012!!

Wooo!!!

Fortunately I am lucky enough to work for a college that still gives employees a Spring Break.  It wasn't too long ago that Spring Break meant beaches, bathing suits, and fruity cocktails.  However, this year was more about getting things done in my life that I don't  normally have time to accomplish.  It wasn't terrible, and it was really just nice not to have to get dressed at any point in the day.

Monday consisted of me waiting for the Safelite Auto repair man to come within a 12-5 window.  Window?!?  That sounds more like a brick wall to me, but whatever.  This did give me a chance to clean our entire townhouse from top to bottom and clean out my closet and produce two huge bags of clothes for donation.  After the chip in my windshield was repaired I headed over to my favorite running store Suncoast Running (plug, plug) to pick up my new Brooks Pure Cadence.

I ordered the black/purple combination this time and they look AWESOME!  I couldn't be happier with them.  After I picked up my new babies, I decided to give them a whirl at Jenny's Monday night bootcamp.  Sometimes I feel strange "going stag", but luckily I can always partner up with someone else.  It was a hot one, but always a good workout.

Tuesday was filled with more excitement of going to the dry cleaners, dropping off my donation bags, getting my oil changed, and ordering new glasses.  I also squeeze in a five mile run in the morning, which felt pretty good.  (Also a little warm, but was very happy to get it done in the morning!)

Wednesday I had lunch with a co-worker and then got my haircut.  This is the second time that I've gone to Lana at Lavish Salon. (Her husband works with Ben.)  She is seriously amazing, talented, and funny!  She takes her time and really knows a lot about hair.  (Not to mention she has fancy coffee and trashy magazines to boot!)  After I got my haircut, I met my sister and her family for dinner and then the girls (Emily, Kim, Carrie, and myself) go pedicures. 

My niece, Emily, is so darn cute I almost can't stand it!  I can almost already tell that she is going to be a girly-girl.  She doesn't seem to mind fancy handbands or jeggings or anything with flowers on it.  She is only six months, but you know she's advanced!  :)  Here's a photo I snapped of her bouncing around, it's a little blurry because she didn't want to stand still..

Thursday I got up early and did another 5 mile easy run.  It was still a little warm, but it was nice to be outside and moving.  Our office was getting new furniture over the break, but I (not so wisely) scheduled myself to do a class presentation the morning we get back from Spring Break.  Duh.  So our maintenance men (the best around!) made sure that my office was set up so I could put everything in place on Thursday.  Here's a look at the new furniture (which is a HUGE upgrade from what was in there before!):

I was able to get all my files and books taken care of, but my computer was MIA.  That will have to wait until Monday!

Friday was spent shopping at the Gasparilla EXPO.  Honestly my favorite EXPO ever.  There are also a ton of great deals.  I've been in the market for a running skirt, but they are so darn expensive.  I was able to snag this New Balance skirt for $10!!!!

I also bought a Gasparilla shirt from Sports Authority (because I have to have one) and a $10 Asics hooded running jacket for $10.  Plus I got my Gasparilla Half Marathon shirt, which was blue and long-sleeved.  All and all, a pretty good shopping day!  After stopping for a quick bite to eat on the water, it was time to head home.  

I decided it was going to be a good day to finish up this book I've been trying to finish since Christmastime.  Jen Lancaster is one of my favorite authors.  You can also read her very funny blog Jennsylvania.  I have read every one of her books so far, but this is her first novel.  

It was good in her typical funny style.  If you want a book that literally makes you laugh out loud, I would highly recommend any of her books.  

Today I'm finally going to be getting the windows in my car tinted and taking it easy for the Gasparilla Half Marathon taking place tomorrow in downtown Tampa.  I hope all my friends who are running the Gasparilla 15k or getting ready to run the 5k are having a great time and staying cool.  I am going to be swinging by Gasparilla Festival of the Arts which is taking place in Curtis Hixon Park.  

All and all, a very exciting Spring Break, don't you think?