Post No-Race Blues

Yesterday was a major race day, not only here in DFW with the Cowtown, but the Disney Princess Half was yesterday as well as many other races like the New Orleans Rock 'n' Roll. My Facebook newsfeed has been full of expo pics, meet ups, pre-during, and after race pics since Friday, and my heart breaks. I should be racing again. I know the face that I am currently not racing is my decision, but that pang is still there as I see a majority of the people I know racing and loving it.

I haven't talked much about it, but as you can tell from my almost regular weekly posts, I'm only running an average of 10 miles per week. I decided I would use the winter to focus on strengthening in order to run better. My knee is doing better all the time, but I still have the fear of pushing it too far.

I've been using the new Combat program from Beachbody since January 2 to get overall body strength. My arms, back, and core are getting a major difference, but my hips are getting stronger too, which makes a huge difference in my running and the pressure on my knee. I'm glad it's working. The 60 day program ends next week, so we'll see how amping up my runs go in a a couple of weeks.

Have you ever taken some time off running to build strength or specific conditioning? What did you decided to do, and how did you handle the "racer's jealousy"?

Running Moms Rock 5K

By the time I picked up my race packet for the Running Moms Rock 5K on Friday night, I had this race report planned out stating the basic fact that I kicked ass. Pre-race jitters had come and gone. I felt ready. Getting my race shirt and bib just excited me even more. Plus having a racing buddy, Casey, running her first race was exciting for me as well. It was destined to be a great race. After chip pickup and warm up in a very humid and sunny late afternoon, I felt fairly confident that Casey and I would finish strong with a PR as well.

The gun went off and we set our pace, easy does it as we found a spot in the crowds. I felt strong and steady at what felt about a 11:00 minute pace, until the hill that happened right after the one mile marker. Now here I could go into a laundry list, or even more like a shopping list for Sam's Club, how the race went wrong. Basically, an old foot injury that hadn't bothered me at all for a minimum of two months flared like an angry dragon overtaking my foot and ankle. I slowed and eventually had to walk. Casey was off. I let her take her own pace forward. After a mental struggle I cannot even describe and a run/walk throughout the rest of the race, I nearly gave up to not injure myself further. I even had the thoughts, "there goes my badass title in the making" and "if I can't do this, there's no way I can keep training for longer races." But I couldn't stop. I kept pushing.

As I rounded the last leg, the 0.14 of the 3.14 mile race, I saw Casey coming back for me. She told me we were going to finish together, limping and all. She yelled at me to push it, and I told her "it hurts". She said it's supposed to! We sprinted in, crossing that line together. I finished with a 41.13 time (13.07 minute pace), even after walking a good mile of it. I felt great, even though my entire right leg felt nothing but pain.

It took me a day of icing and rest to realize this: this race wasn't about me. True, this was my entrance back into the racing scene and my kickoff to training for the elusive 26.2, but other than learning things I need to improve on in my running, this race was not for me. This race was for Casey and for me to share the amazing experience of racing with her. She did fantastic, with a 36:00 finish time. She loved it and can't wait to race again. The best part: I've been a part of her running/racing journey the whole time. That alone makes it worthwhile.

The Jelly Bean

I'm starting to like virtual racing! Virtual races like The Jelly Bean are a great way to compete without having to schedule yet something else in the swirling mess of hectic schedules. I followed The Cupcake Marathon as several of my DailyMiler friends worked on running a marathon's length over the course of a designated period of time. I enjoyed reading about each of their runs and how they were pushing to finish the Cupcake Marathon. Each day's stories were awesome to read!

If you're interested in participating in this virtual race, jot over to Run with Jess' blog and sign up! It's a free race with prizes too!

A special shout out goes to Haley at Climb Run Lift Mom for sharing the news about The Jelly Bean!

Warrior Dash

May 2, 2010

The Warrior Dash was an experience of a lifetime. 3.5 miles of running, obstacles, and fun. It definitely taxed different muscle groups compared to a normal run. Between large fans, mud pits, climbs, swims, and fire jumping, this race thoroughly kicked racing into a new level for me.

I did get tired, constantly switching between my running groove to an obstacle. The log roll was difficult because the water got deeper and I had to tread water often to try and lift myself over the log with no lake bottom to push off of. The mud pits were hard, not to get through, just the running in mud after. I am totally not complaining, but it was just something different for me.

My time officially posted as 46:47.50, but this was a fun run and a "can I do it?" run for me. I did stop to help a couple of women and to take a family's picture. I'm sure I lost a few minutes there. I still had a blast, and I'll definitely do the Warrior Dash and other mud runs again.

Check out a few pics I posted.

Pre-race getup in decals and viking hat.















Me jumping fire...the next to last obstacle















Totally loving the mud pit















Finished; Complete with medal and mud bath!



















Post rinse, not that it helped much.














Post race FREE beer

Kilometers for Kodi 5K

April 24, 2010 Kilometers for Kodi

It's amazing what one small race community can do when one of there own is in need. Kodi Tutt is an 5-year-old girl who was recently diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer. The small town of Sanger, Texas, the town I work in, had pulled together all sorts of fundraisers for her family and her treatment. Kilometers for Kodi was the 5K fundraiser for her.

For me, this was the first race of the year. After so-so training, but regular running, I was excited, but nervous. I had recently PR'd on a 5K at 36 minutes, so I was confident. Yet, I was not used to morning heat, and battling soreness from the previous weekend's soccer game. With also battling not-so-great streets, I did end up walking some and having to readjust my shoe twice. I still timed out at 45 minutes with my hubs and kiddos watching me...which was a first.

I felt okay about the time, but it wasn't about the time for this race. The support and money donation were more important.