Rhythm and Blues Half Marathon Houston 2-9-14

It's taken me a few days to be able to write a review/summary of the Rhythm and Blues Half Marathon on February 9th, 2014.

The weather forecast called for a morning low of 46 and a race time high of 67. So I decided that Skirt and short sleeves would be appropriate. It didn't get that warm. The high at the end of the race was 52 - overcast and misty.

The race was a 2 loop race along Allen Parkway starting at the Sam Houston Park.

I arrived at the parking lot just before 7:30.  As I got out of the car I noticed Danni and Jenni from my running group across the aisle.  We walked down together and were soon joined by Amy and then by Allison.

Here we all are pre race

The race was scheduled to start at 8:30 but they were late starting the 5k so we didn't actually start the run until 8:45.  Amy and I ran together for most of the race.  We started running a 2-1/2 minute run/1 minute walk pace. 

As I mentioned earlier the course was a 2 lap race.  As we came around the first mile you could see the 5k runners returning to the finish line. 

Our goal was to run around an 11:30min/mile pace.  We ran the first mile in 10:59 so we were running a little faster than we wanted to.

We ran by Amy's Husband who took a couple pictures and Amy's jacket. 

 

Mile 2 - we slowed down a little but were still fast at 11:06 min/mile

Mile 3 - 11:03 min/mile

 

At this point I noticed that the official mile marker was getting further and further away from where my Garmin said we were hitting the mile.

 

I also attempted to put my headphones on and listen to some music only to find my new headphones that were fully charged and working before the race had shut off and would not restart.  :(  No music for me.

 

 

They market this races as having bands and music along the course which they did sort of.  There was music - it wasn't all good.  There were high school bands, a couple guys playing something (yes it was that memorable), a DJ playing music I could have definitely done without. 

 

As we turned the corner to go from Allen Parkway to Memorial Drive we could see the leaders coming back on the East bound side.  Not far after the leading men there came a little girl of about 11 who was just smoking everyone.  I'm not sure if that was motivating or annoying. 

 

Around Mile 3-1/2 is the turn around point to head back towards Allen Park way to complete the first lap. 

 

We ran Mile 4 in 11:04 min/mile.  It felt like we had found our grove and we were feeling good (but we still had a long way to go).

 

A lot of races in Houston run along Allen Parkway.  Allen parkway has one disadvantage to it.  Underpasses.  Unlike a bridge where you run up and then get to reward yourself with a downhill run underpasses mean you get to run downhill first and then your "reward" is getting to run back up hill.  There are 2 of these which means on an out and back 2 loop course you get to run these underpasses 8 times. 

 

Mile 5 - 11:19 min/mile - We are finally starting to get closer to our desired pace.  I also start to calculate the difference between the Garmin mile and the race mile and realize that if the differential keeps up we will track an extra .25 miles at the end of the race. 

 

We run mile 6 in 11:17min/mile and I'm still feeling pretty good here. 

 

Here we are about midway through the race

 

 

We cross the "finish" line to start lap 2 and I commented that I reached goal #1.  I wasn't lapped by the leaders. 

 

Shortly after we start the second lap, my middle toe and pointer toe on my right foot start to hurt.  It feels like my toe nail from my middle toe was digging into my pointer toe.  It hurt a lot.  The more the toe nail dug into my toe the more I started compensating for it and eventually my calf started to hurt. 

 

Mile 7 - 11:11

Mile 8 - 11:28 (let the slowdown begin)

Mile 9 - 12:00

 

At this point my calf is hurting and I can feel that I am slowing Amy down so I tell her to go ahead and I'll make it the rest of the way on my own. 

 

I really struggled for these last few miles.  It would have been very helpful to have my music to get out of my own head and away from the little voice that tried to tell me I can't do it.

 

Mile 10 - 13:04

Mile 11 - 12:24

Mile 12 - 13:07

Mile 13 - 13:49

 

According to the Garmin I crossed the finish line in 2:37:25 an 13.35 miles

 

According to the office timing I finished in 2:37:19 (and of course 13.1 miles)

 

It was a new PR for me.  My last PR was the Houston Half last October (aka the rain run) ad I ran it in 2:37:59 so I cut off 40 sec/mile in less than 6 months.

 

Amy and I post run

 

 

With a new PR I should be happy but I wasn't.  I found myself very disappointed in my finish of the race and questioning my abilities to train for an run the full marathon in December.  Post race blues I guess.

 

I thought I could handle a 2 loop half marathon but I found the second loop to be very boring and challenging and since it is a race that you are running out and back on the same road you are really running the same stretch of the earth 4 times. 

 

We got 2 medals for the race.  One for running the race and a bonus Medal because we ran the Allen Parkway route in either the Houston Half last October of the Aramco Houston Half marathon in January. 

 

 

 

I've struggled a little getting back in the swing of things after this race.  I really tore up my feet somehow.  The bottoms of both feet developed huge calluses during this race and I tore up the are between my toes where my toe nail was rubbing.  I've never had that problem before in all my races/training runs. 

 

I'm still struggling with fueling properly for a half marathon and I need to figure out something that will work soon before my distances ramp up for the marathon training.

 

I also need to remember no matter how cold I feel after a long run,  I need to keep the temperature in the shower a little less hot.  The hot shower really messed me up after the run.

 

I had fun during the race.  I'm not sure I would repeat it in the future, but we'll see what the year holds for me.





Dreadmill "Running"

I have a great dislike of the treadmill. I'm sure there are some runners that like getting on the treadmill. I am not one of those people.

Tonight I had 3 choices I guess but one was really not viable. Option 1 would have been to go outside and run, but it is dark, it is still wet, it is cold, there was ice on the road earlier today and I do not want to risk finding that random patch of ice in the dark so Option 1 was out. Option 2 was skip the run completely - I still have several hours of work left to do as I had to stay home with the kids today (schools closed for the "ice") but still have to finish the Quality review I'm working on. Skipping the run was very tempting. Option 3 was the Dreadmill. It was sitting there in the corner taunting me, laughing at me, sneering at me. Yes, that is how I felt looking at the machine, but I found my shoes (and I do mean found them, the cleaning lady was here today and she moved them and I wasn't sure where they were), laced them up and started the treadmill.

Now I have done many runs on the treadmill lately, but most of those were at the YMCA. The YMCA had great treadmills with individual TV's and automatic intervals. Somehow that makes things a little easier. But running on the treadmill is painful. I never feel like I can really find my stride on the treadmill and tonight running on the treadmill at home it was just awful. The location of the treadmill in our bedroom is awkward. It faces a plain blue wall. Watching the TV requires looking up and to the right and if I do that I tend to veer to the right and risk stepping off the side of the treadmill. I can't read and run (I can read on the elliptical or the bike but not the treadmill) as my eye position isn't steady enough.

So here I am, I have my running shoes on. I should have pulled out the sparkle skirt, I think I could have used it today but I had on a normal grey running skirt and I put on my Garmin to see how the accelerometer works, put on a podcast and started to run. I could tell in the first minute that I was just not going to be able to run on the treadmill. Again I had 2 options. Option 1 Quit, Option 2 - drop the speed back and walk the miles. I choose option 2.

So the Garmin vs the Treadmill. I have often wondered if the treadmill under predicted my distance/speed based on perceived effort on the treadmill vs run outside. Well if the Garmin is to be believed that is true. According to the Garmin I did 3.22 miles in 43:41 (13:33 min/mile). According to the treadmill I did 3.01 miles (14:30 min/mil) in the same time. Its funny to see the cadence drop off. I can tell when I tried to read my watch or wipe the sweat off my face as the cadence drops off to zero a couple of times. Either way that wasn't a bad pace for a "walk" on the treadmill.

So I survived my Dreadmill run for the day - I didn't quit even though I wanted to and I got my 3 miles in. I'm hoping to get outside to run Wednesday or Thursday. I know that the temps in Houston are nothing compared to the rest of the US this winter, but I am looking forward to the spring.

Runner's they Make the Insane sound like Fun

Runners have a way of making things that are completely insane sound like a lot of fun.  For the past 2 weeks I have been following friends running Dopey at Walt Disney World, the Houston Marathon and Half marathon here at home and The Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland and I couldn't help but wish I was running with them.

For months now I have thought that anyone who would consider running Dopey (4 races in 4 consecutive days - 5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon for a total of 6 medals) must have been really Dopey.  But after watching race reports and seeing pictures I found myself longing to run Dopey and do all 4 races myself, but not next year.  I think that is a 2 year goal for me.  I'm already registered for the Rock n' Roll full marathon December 7th of this year so running Dopey a month later really would be insane.  So my goal now is to run my full this December and then train for Dopey in 2016.  Wow I really am crazy - not only do I want to do it, I'm planning for a race that is 2 years away.

My current training is going well.  I ran 11.75 miles Saturday at a 12:25 pace.  Not too bad for a long training run.  I even finished up with a little parking garage hill training.  I need to find ways to incorporate hills into my training.  Running in Katy, TX doesn't give a lot of hill opportunities.

I have the Houston Rhythm and Blues Half marathon 3 weeks from today so yesterday was my last long run before the race.  I'll stick to 4-6 mile long runs the next 2 weekends.

I went to the Houston Marathon Expo Friday to check it out.  Marathon Expo's are contagious.  I fortunately was able to pick up an extra pair of my running shoes at 20% discount so I can keep a pair at my desk and stop carrying my shoes back and forth all the time.  Even more exciting than new running shoes was my new sparkle skirt which arrived on Thursday evening.  Sparkle Skirts are so comfortable and yet so much fun to wear at the same time.

Congratulations to everyone who ran at WDW last week and Houston or Disneyland this week.  I'm proud of you all.

2013 Running Reflections

I am my own worst critic most of the time so I am taking a moment to reflect on how far I have come in 2013 as a runner.

Its easy for me to put down what I have accomplished this year by saying things like - it was just a half marathon you've run marathon's before. Or it wasn't your fastest 10 mile race ever but I need to stop and look back at where I was January of 2013 to really appreciate that I am now a runner.

So where was I last January. Yes I had run 2 previous marathons, 2 half marathons, a 10-miler and several 10ks but that was all pre-knee injury and prebaby #2. My baby turned 3 this year and my last race prior to 2013 was the Aramco Houston Half Marathon January 2008. Yes 5 years earlier. I occasionally had run a mile or 2 on the treadmill but that was about it. So on January 12, 2013 I went out for a 2.72 mile run in 36:18 minutes. And I was pushing as hard as I could go. 13.21min/mile and I thought I was doing pretty good.

I plodded on with some undocumented treadmill runs for a few months. I have no idea why I wasted beautiful Houston running weather inside on the treadmill which I hate but finally started to hit the streets outside regularly starting April 30th.

Since April 30th minus a few undocumented treadmill runs I have logged 308.6 miles at an average pace of 12:37 min/mile. Including a 5k, 10 miler, two half marathons an a 10k. I had PR's in my 10k and half marathon distance.

Okay so that really is something I should be proud of.

But there is more to it now. Previously I ran to train for a specific race. I trained for the Rock n' Roll marathon in Phoenix in January 2005 and ran the Rock n' Roll half marathon in Va Beach in 2004 under trained as part of my training. I trained specifically for the NYC Marathon in 2007 after having my first baby to have a very disappointing race well off my expected pace and along the way in my training ran my 10 mile PR and previous 10k PR. I added my last half marathon to the season but fighting off the marathon disappointment and an injury at the race I stopped running after that.

Now I am a runner. Now I will get up and run 13 miles on a cold Saturday morning to run with friends and keep my base fitness up even though I am not registered for a race in the immediate future. Now I will get up and run 10+ miles in the cold windy rain because that is what is scheduled. Now I will take a cold shower at the office shower because I need to get a midweek training run in and the hot water isn't working. Now I find joy in running for running sake.

I don't run because I want to lose weight - if anything I have gained weight as I increased my mileage. I don't run so I can say I ran a marathon. I run for me. I run because I find joy in running. I run because my joints hurt less when I run consistently. I run because I feel more energetic when I run consistently. Somewhere in the last 12 months in the last 308+ miles I have become a runner and I love it.

So about those races. My first race was the Run or Dye 5k in Houston on September 14, 2013. It was hot. It was sticky. It was crowded and I was covered in dye. But I ran it with friends and it was fun. Its untimed but I clocked 32:21 for the race. I doubt the distance was truly 5k though because I really don't think I ran that fast. I got dye under my contact at the first color station. But it was fun. My 7 year old daughter enjoyed watching it and she wants to run it next year. That in itself makes it worth it to me.

 

My next race was the Katy 10 mile race on September 29th.  This was my race for Coral Placement at Disney.  It was hot.  It was very hot.  It was muggy and the few minutes of drizzle were a welcome reprieve from the heat.  Given the conditions (did I mention it was hot) I started out way too fast and struggled at the end but finished with 2:00:58 or a 12:06 min/mile.  Not a PR in the 10 mile distance but not too shabby either.  I learned a few things moving forward and my oldest ran her first 1-mile race.

October brought wet weather to Houston.  On a whim I signed up for the Houston Half Marathon on October 27th.  It was supposed to be a training run but I ended up running a new half marathon PR in a rain soaked/storm delayed half marathon.  I finished at 2:37:47 (12:03 min/mil) and honestly thought I could have gone faster but I pulled up a little in the last 5 miles because I had my big race coming up in 2 weeks. 

2 weeks later I ran the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon on November 9th at the Walt Disney World Resort.  It was definitely not a PR race at 2:51:27 (13:05 min/mile) but it was a lot of fun.  How can running with Mickey Mouse there to cheer you on not be fun. 

I finished up November with the Katy YMCA Thanksgiving Turkey Dash 10k and another PR on November 27th.  I finished my 10k at 1:06:49.  Both my girls ran the 1 mile kids fun race at Thanksgiving.  Running is becoming a family affair.

So where does that lead me in 2014.  Well I have a great need to run another marathon.  I need a redemption race for NYC in 2007. So I am registered for the San Antonio Rock n' Roll Marathon on 12/7/2014.  I have a few months before serious training for that race will kick off.  Until then I might throw in a half marathon like the Rhythm and Blues 1/2 Marathon in Houston on February 9th, 2014.  My oldest wants to run the Run or Dye 5k this year so I will run that with her on May 31st.  We'll see how the year shakes out. 

But until then I do have my newest toy to train with along with some fun new running clothes.  Santa was good to me this year. 

Good luck with your fitness goals in 2014! 

Katy YMCA Turkey Dash 2013

Happy Thanksgiving. 

Is there a better way to start of Thanksgiving than with a Turkey Trot?  Over the years I've run a few Turkey Races.  We used to drive down to the Galleria for the Turkey Trot.  Last year we ran part of one at Bonnet Creek on our trip to Disney World.  This year since we now live in the Katy area we decided to do the Katy YMCA Turkey Dash.  The girls were registered for the 1 mile kids run, I was registered for the 10k and James was registered for the 1 mile fun walk but he planned on doing his mile with Alice in the kids race.

It was a very chilly morning for this Houstonian.  I'm not used to temps in the low 30's anymore.  At least the sun came out and it wasn't rainy and windy anymore.  The kids 1 mile run started the festivities off at 7:10 am.  We wanted to make sure we could get a parking spot, so we got to the YMCA early (around 6:30) parked and went inside to use the facilities and try to stay warm for a little bit.  As we were waiting Mr. Turkey came by and Alice got a big hug.  I had a hard time getting a picture of the elusive Mr. Turkey however.

But I did manage to get a great picture of my girls.

We went out to get lined up around 6:50 or so.  I was thrilled that they decided to do a staggered start for the kids races (5-6 grade first, followed by 3-4 grade, 1-2 grade and last K and pre-K).  It would have been even better if they set up areas for each grade to line up as there was some confusion at the start.  I left Megan to run with the 1-2 graders and Alice with Daddy to run with the pre-K group (she's 3) and found a spot to go try to take some pictures.

There were a lot of kids lined up at the start of the race.  They did a gun start for each group.  

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of Megan at the start but I did get a picture of the elusive Mr. Turkey running with the 1st and 2nd graders

Then the little kids were off and running.  Alice had a little bit of a slow start but as soon as she got her picture taken she was off and running.

As soon as James and Alice passed by I went to the finish to try to get a good spot to watch Megan run by.

She finished with a time under 11:30.  I walked her out of the shoot and got back to the finish line just tin time to see Alice cross with Daddy.  Apparently she ran the entire thing stopping only to wait for James to catch up with her.  :)

And there is my cutie showing off her medal.  I can't believe I didn't get a picture of both girls post race with their medals.  I was in a hurry to make it to the 10k start line on time however.

James took the girls to go play and explore all the booths while I went out to run.  I'm not sure how long they lasted as they were in the warm van when I finished but I hear they had fun eating ice cream, pop corn and playing on bounce houses.

I lined up for the 10k and thought I was going to have another phone fail as I couldn't get my headset to pair at first but a quick restart before the starting gun and I was good to go with about 1 minute to spare.  

I decided to do the 10k with 3 minute run and 1 minute walk intervals and for the first time I was good and stuck to my intervals from the beginning.  I still started out a little fast and finished the first mile in 10:12.

Between mile 1 and 2 my shoe started bothering me.  My toes felt so weird.  It could have something to do with them feeling frozen but it also felt like the toe box dropped off under my toes.  I know that makes no sense but it is the best way I can describe it.  I was certain I would be returning my shoes at that point.  

I finished the 2nd mile in 10:32 minutes and was actually starting to feel a little warm.  I debated removing a layer but decided to hold off.  We turned the corner and approached our first water stop.  They had the mile 3 sign right at the water stop and at the time I was convinced that couldn't possibly be right.  I think it was closer to 2-1/2 miles than 3 and the map confirmed that later.  Mile 3 was a fast mile at 10:19.

My toes started to thaw out on mile 4 but at least the weird toe box thing seemed to have gone away.  I slowed down a little in miles 4 & 5 and had my 2 slowest miles at 10:53 and 10:52/mile.  I know at one point my music stopped randomly for about 5 minutes and that effected me more than I would have thought.  

Once I finished mile 5 I knew I just had 1.2 miles to go so I was feeling really good about a good time.  I picked up the pace a little and finished the last 1.2 miles in (1.33 according to the GPS) in 14 minutes

 and 1 second for an average speed of 10:33.  

My official time was 1:06:26 - which is a new personal best.  I finished 684/882 overall and 330/447 females and 68/92 Females 35-39.  

I grabbed a banana and some water.  Stopped by the Galloway booth for a minute and then met James and the girls at the van so we could leave.  We went home, got cleaned up and went to see Frozen which was an awesome movie.  

All in all it was a low key kind of Thanksgiving but I was thrilled with my race.  

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.  Next run is 5 miles on Saturday morning.  

11 Very Cold Miles

I was reminded on Saturday morning that I am officially a Houstonian now.  You wouldn't think I'd need this reminder after having lived her for almost 10 years now but apparently every once in a while I still do.  How was I reminded of this you may ask?  I was reminded because I was freezing on my run Saturday morning.  I don't think I would survive up north any more.

I debated all week if I was going to run on Saturday or not.  I wasn't sure if I was up for it yet but Friday morning I emailed my pace group leader and committed myself to the 4 am start time.  Yes I said 4 am on a Saturday morning when I'm not officially training for any race right now. So I awoke at 3 am to get ready for my run.  It was ~ 42 degrees, dark and misty with winds of 15 mph.  I debated long and hard what to wear and figured I'd warm up once we started running so I put on my sparkle skirt and short sleeved shirt.  I put on my new Wine & Dine long sleeve Tech shirt and at the last minute I put on my pants.  I honestly figured I'd leave them in the car.  I completely forgot to grab my hat and my gloves.  The pants did not come off and I could have used another layer or two.

It took me longer than normal to get started on Saturday morning and I ran out of time and didn't get my contacts in.  I hate running in my glasses but running in the cold with my glasses was definitely not fun as they kept fogging up when we would run into the wind.

I wore my old running shoes because the new ones pinched my pinkie toe on my right food on Thursday night and I didn't want to risk in on a long run.

We ran just under 11 miles and kept a nice 13 minute pace for the run.  It felt good to be out there.  My legs weren't fresh but the run was good.  I liked the pace and would be happy with that kind of training pace for our long runs every week.

It took me forever to defrost after the run.  A hot shower didn't even really help.  I have a feeling there will be some grumbling by the family on Thursday for our early morning Turkey Trot if the cold temperatures keep up.  The weather forecast calls for it to be clear but colder than it was Saturday.  Brrrrrr.

I need to try out the new shoes again and see if it was the socks or if it is the shoes.  If its the shoes i need to bring them back to Luke's and try something different.

New Shoes = New Motivation?

Its been 12 days since the Disney Wine & Dine Half marathon and I will admit I am having a hard time getting my feet back under me (literally).  Some of it is probably due to the post race blues.  I've also been a little under the weather and trying to give my ankle a break as I can still feel a little pain in the tendon area.   I was going to join the Katy Galloway group Saturday morning for a 6 mile run but woke up in the morning feeling sick and decided that since I do not have a race pressing that sleep was a better option.

But it was time for some new running shoes.  I start to notice my shoes breaking down a little between 250-300 miles.  I know that isn't a ton compared to some but I can definitely feel it.  I also tend to shift my old running shoes to my new walking shoes so I like them to have a little wear left on them.  Plus there is something to be said about jump starting the motivation by having a new pair of shoes to break in.  :) 

Getting my new shoes proved to be more difficult than I would have expected.  I put my current shoes in my car (Brooks Ghosts) on Tuesday morning so I could bring them with me.  At lunch on Tuesday I hop in my car and attempt to head to Luke's Locker in River Oaks.  Attempt is the key word.  It took me 30 minutes to get from my office to the light in front of Target which is less than a half a mile away.  I typically walk to that target from my office in less than 10 minutes so it was very frustrating.  At that point I gave up and drove back to the office because I no longer had time to get shoes before my afternoon conference call.

I tried again today with more success.  It still took longer to get to River Oaks than it should due to the lovely train and construction on San Felipe but I did make it.  Jorge took good care of me.  I tried on the new Brooks Ghosts but it felt weird on my toe box (which didn't really surprise me because I had been having issues with my toes in my current shoes).  I tried on a few other shoes and settled on Saucony Ride 6's.  I have 30 days to try them out so if they bother me I can bring them back and switch back to the Brooks or something else.

My other attempt to improve motivation is to set my race calendar and start working on training schedules. 
I have decided that my next half marathon will be in Houston February 9th for the Rhythm and Blues Half Marathon.   http://rhythmandblueshalfmarathon.com/

I also think I have decided on my next full marathon (my last full marathon was in 2007 in NYC so its been a while).  I think I am going to run the Rock n' Roll Marathon in San Antonio on December 7, 2014. http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/san-antonio The timing is perfect.  Weather in December should be pretty nice in San Antonio (although like all of Texas you never know) plus the longest training runs won't be in the worst parts of Houston summers (20 mile runs in August/September don't sound appealing).  It is within driving distance so the family can come out and we can make a weekend of it in San Antonio and relax on the Riverwalk.  I really don't want to travel to a full marathon by myself as I don't trust myself to make it back to the room/home afterward and would want a driver.  The other reason that the RNR San Antonio works out is it would give me 2-1/2 months to recover and then ramp up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in 2015 that I am hoping to run with my sister.  One other benefit to RNR over say the Houston Marathon in January is that the time limit is 7 hours vs 6 hours.  I really want to train and run in 5-1/2 hours or less but my last 2 marathons were over 6 hours so I'd like a little buffer to make sure I officially finish and get my medal. 

Now I get to tweak my training schedules and plan my events and hopefully find enough motivation to lace up those new shoes and hit the pavement tonight.