2014 GRAND PRIX OF RUNNING

Hello, there! It's been a while. I've decided to start blogging here regularly again. I've missed it!

Saturday was an exciting day at our house. After twelve months, nineteen races, and lots of miles, I received the award for being the 2014 overall women's Grand Prix of Running winner in my area.

Last year, we started our first-ever grand prix of running. Points were given to the overall winners and top three in each age group. There were also a number of races that counted as "Big 10" races and an award was given to each person who completed at least ten of the Big 10 races.

On Saturday night, a banquet was held for the Grand Prix. I was excited to have my whole family there for it.

After the banquet, everyone went to our house and my sister surprised me with a chocolate chip cookie cake! It was sweet! Kevin also gave me the sweetest card which Kaden drew a picture of me and a trophy own. It melted my heart! I'm so thankful for such a supportive husband and kids who are always there waiting at the finish line and encourage me to race! That's a gift in itself!

This past year was a great year of running. I'm thrilled with the results of my races. I ran one marathon relay, three 10Ks, and fifteen 5Ks. I won all of my 10Ks, won all but one 5K (I raced one in Birmingham and finished 4th overall, first in my age group - the hills!), and my team finished second in the marathon relay.

During the year, I also crossed off three goals when I PR'd a 5K (18:56) and 10K (41:48) and broke 20 minutes in a 5K.

I'm looking forward to a great year of running in 2015!

What were the high points of your 2014 running year?

Race4Taylor 5K Recap: A New Course Record

This Saturday was the Race4Taylor, one of my all-time favorite races. It was the third year that I've run it and the fifth (and final - makes me sad) race.

Last year, I set a new course record at this race. My goal this year was to run strong and break my record.

My legs were feeling pretty tired Saturday morning. My Fridays off have unofficially become longer run days which isn't a great combination with a Saturday race, especially one I want to run fast.  That said, I ran seven relatively easy miles and did a gym workout Friday, which meant that I ran 17 miles in the three days leading to the race. Not the smartest decision ever, but I won't complain because I really had a great run Friday morning.

When we got to the race Saturday, I ran a brief warm up and stretched really well. My run club sponsored me in this race, so I wore my singlet which was really comfortable. I'm pretty loyal to Nike dri-fit racerback tanks, but this singlet felt surprisingly good. I also wore my new Mother's Day gift: my Garmin Forerunner 220. I'll do a full review of it later.

This race attracts around 400 runners each year and all the top runners from anywhere remotely close were there on Saturday.

I didn't get as fast of a start as usual. I somehow got lost in the bog of the runners from the second and third row. If you race often, you know that everyone, regardless of ultimate pace, runs fast at the beginning. This is great and by about half a mile in (at the latest), the crowd has thinned. My slower start hurt me at this race though. I like being out in front from the beginning.

I ran the first mile great, albeit a little slower than normal in 6:13. My first mile has been right at or under 6:00 for my last few races. It's around this point that the 5K and 10K broke off, so once this happened, it was me and a little boy with a few men in front of us. I always watch this small group of guys who run faster than me and feel like if I can see them at certain points, I'm doing well.

Mile 2 on this race killed me. Flat out killed me. It's when I started feeling the previous day's miles. It's also the mile of rolling hills. It's relatively flat where I live, but this course has some hills. Not a steep up and down, but rather a few nice, long rolling hills. If you're into that sort of thing. My legs weren't feeling it Saturday. I looked at my Garmin at some point on this mile and had to give myself a pep talk because at that point, I didn't quite know for sure whether I'd even beat my record from last year. I wasn't looking for a sub-19 like last week, but I did want to be somewhere below 20. I ran this lovely second mile in 6:38, 25 seconds slower than my first mile.

Mile 3 was better. While the road did look like it was going on for days, I managed to give myself a big enough pep talk to finish the race with a 6:18 mile for a total of 19:45. I also broke the course record of 20:25 which was my PR for most of last year. I was first female and eighth overall. I was happy with my run!

I won another bobble head trophy - seriously, is this not the best trophy? There were also pirates running with us and anyone who beat the pirate got an "I beat the pirate" cup. I got this as well along with a gift card to a local running store and a cash prize for setting a new course record.

I really hope this won't be it for this race. It's a great race, but an even greater family is behind it. The family who owns and operates our local timing company began it after their son was killed in a tragic auto accident almost six years ago. I've gotten to know and love this family through the incredible sport of running. They are an inspiration to all of us. Through their foundation, they've given tens of thousands in scholarships. I'm thankful to have crossed paths with them and know that I don't speak alone when I say running means more because of them.

18:56!

This Saturday, I did something that I didn't really ever expect to do in a race: I broke 19 minutes and PR'd at the Sonoco Birthday Bash with a time of 18:56 (6:06 pace). To say I am thrilled and on cloud 9 is an understatement.

I am fortunate in that I don't work on Fridays in the summer and I like to take advantage of the early morning to get in a long run. I've had a race the past few weekends and have one the next few, but I was itching to try out some new shoes (Brooks PureFlow) and feeling great, so I ran 8 miles.

When I got up Saturday morning, my legs felt a little tired, but I wasn't worried about the race. I ate my usual scrambled eggs and cinnamon toast (in the car) on the way to the race.

I picked up my bib when we got there and then did a short warm up run. I stretched probably three or four times as much as I normally do before a race. My legs felt tight and I wanted to loosen them up as much as I could before we started.

I started up front like usual and stayed with the fastest guys at first.

Going into the second turn, I told one of the fastest men I know (really, he is incredible!) that I was sticking with him because I wanted to PR (my previous best race time was 19:48). We stuck together the whole race.

This course had some small hills on it which is different for me. I used those to my advantage and went up and down fast.

I don't look at my watch often when I race - usually just at the first half mile or so and again on the miles - but I love that my new watch (Garmin Forerunner 220) beeps at each mile. When I was at the half-way point, I was pretty confident that I'd PR, just had no idea it'd be by that much.

When I got about 100 yards from the finish, I saw my husband and our boys. A few seconds later, I rounded the final corner and saw "18:40" on the clock. At that point, I just sprinted in as fast as I could.

I may have also screamed "I broke 19!" as I ran through the finish. I was thrilled to say the least.

I ended up with a time of 18:56 (6:06 pace), was first female and sixth overall.

The feeling of accomplishment is still so strong. When I race, I race against myself and my best time and I can say that without a doubt, this race was the best won I've run.

Petal to the Medal 5K Recap

On Saturday, I ran my first Petal to the Medal 5K. I missed this race last year and I'm so glad I had a chance to run in this time. It was a trail race which is my absolute favorite kind of race. It wound throughout a state park which was beautiful.

The weather was perfect Saturday morning. When we got there, I did a warm up run of a little over half a mile. I don't always warm up, but I can tell when I do. Our run club also took a picture before the race.

When it was time to go, we lined up and readied our watches. My husband gave me The Little Red Book on Running for Christmas and I've been putting many of the tips to practice, one being to get a good start. I've really started pushing my start which in turn has helped me. I could tell it did big time in this race.

Unfortunately, my Garmin broke. I noticed a problem with it last Saturday when it wouldn't turn off after the race, but I was hoping that it was just a fluke. It picked up the signal fine and started, but the timer didn't start and after 2-3 minutes, it just turned off. I knew my pace for those first few minutes had me running a little less than a 6 minute mile, so I was happy with that and just enjoyed the race.

My favorite part of the course was when it went into the woods. I think because I grew up in the country and running trails, I really appreciate these races. I miss running on dirt roads and around fields some days.

I saw my husband and the 3 mile mark when I turned off of the trail and back onto the main road that goes through the park.

I finished the race in 20:29 (6:36 pace). I was really happy with my result. I was less than 20 seconds slower than my last road race and this was on a trail. I finished as the first female and fourth overall. It was a great race!

Color Me ArtFields 5K

This weekend was my first-ever color run. And it was fun.

In a small town near my hometown, the second annual ArtFields is being held. ArtFields is a 10-day art competition and exhibition in tiny Lake City, SC. The winner of the competition gets $100,000, so it's a big deal.

We drove down for the race on Saturday morning and I'm glad we did. The boys really wanted to run it, but when they saw everyone covered with paint, they decided not to. I don't blame them. I wasn't crazy about getting covered in paint either!

With my mom before the race.

There were three competing races run on Saturday and truth be told, I was sad to be missing my favorite trail run which is really one of my favorite runs. But, in the spirit of points for the Grand Prix, I decided to run the ArtFields run this year.

I didn't have a set goal for this race. I just wanted to go out, have fun and finish strong. Throughout this month, I've been participating in a challenge with my run club. My goal is to run 100 miles in April and I'm almost there, so needless to say, I didn't take a rest day before the race.

I started off the race really strong. It went through what I consider an unsafe part of town, so I wanted to stay as close to the three men ahead of me as I could while conserving what I needed to finish strong. I managed to stay around 50 yards or so from them (if my estimate is right) through the first part of the race. I did get chased by a dog at one point and had some guys yell at me at another, but for the most part, I felt safe during the race especially as there were police on almost every corner at each turn.

My first mile was run in 5:59. I was excited. About 1.6 in, I was under 10, so I felt like I'd PR this race (current PR is 19:48). I didn't pay much attention to my Garmin while I ran and really just enjoyed the race. The weather could not have been better.

There were stations along the route where people were dumping colors on the runners. At the first station, I told them no color, but got some anyway. The rest of the stations asked me, so I was able to say no. It's not that I didn't want color so much as I knew we were going to walk around the festival after the race and I really didn't want to be all painted. Plus, there was no use in them wasting color on me as I was by myself.

My mom teaches school in this town and I saw many of her students along the course. It was fun to hear my name yelled out as the last part of the course used the same street as the middle.

When I got near the end, I looked down at my watch and saw that I was close to my PR. I also saw that the distance on my Garmin was already 3.1.

When I went across the finish line, I got covered in the colored corn starch. It was fun though!

I finished the race in 20:10 (6:30 pace) as fourth overall and the first female. I wish I had pushed it near the end as I had plenty left.

After the race, the boys went for a cool down run with me. I can't wait until we can really run races together!

They were pretty excited about the trophy, too!

March 2014 Races in Review

March was a busy month for races! I raced all but one weekend this month.

March 1 - Race for Cancer 5K

My husband and I were in Birmingham for a family wedding and I joked that we should have looked for a race. The next thing I knew, he had given me a few options for a Saturday race.

This race was huge - much larger than our average races here. Given that I didn't pack anything other than some clothes for the treadmill at the hotel, TJ Maxx was my friend. I bought a pullover as well as an armband for my phone so I could listen to music.

When I got to the starting line, I heard the men behind me talking about how this course was not one for a PR. I also saw the mountain ahead of me. I decided I'd enjoy this run and see how I did.

The course was beautiful. It wound through a gorgeous, gated neighborhood. The neighborhood was full of hills, which was a challenge for this girl used to running at sea level. When I came down the mountain, I saw my husband standing there taking pictures. Not having my watch, I didn't know exactly how fast I was other than the every half mile alerts RunKeeper gave me, but I was in the top pack.

I saw 20:00 on the clock as I was getting near it and ended up running the race in 20:15 which was a 5 second PR for me. I was thrilled! I was the first female in my age group, fourth female overall and ninth overall. Hills and all, I managed to PR in this race. Ultimately, I think this gave me the boost of confidence I needed to run under 20 in my second race of the month.

March 8 - Pacing for Pieces 5K

This is one of the trail races that I love to run! We had a lot of rain prior to this race, so I knew it would be muddy. About a mile of this race winds through the woods.

I don't know what it was about this race, but I started off really strong and felt great during the whole race. Since February was a slow month with no races, I ramped up my strength and core training and I could really tell a difference in this race.

When I got to the halfway point, I looked at my Garmin and realized if I kept my pace, I'd finish in the low 19's. I tried not to get too excited about it because this isn't the best course to pick for a PR, so I just focused on finishing the race strong.

I ran across the finish line in 19:48! I was thrilled that I finally broke 20 minutes in a race and set a new PR.



I finished as the top female and was 6th overall.

March 15 - Sports Medicine Challenge 10K

I don't race 10K's too often, mostly because we don't have a lot of them locally. There is a great 10K in the spring though and I decided to run it this year. In the past, I've run the 5K as we've had soccer and I don't really like to miss any of the boys' things, but this year, the starts aligned and the soccer game was late enough for me to run the 10K and make it to the game only a few minutes late.

I have to say that this is one of the toughest courses in town. It has some hills and the back part of the course literally zig zags up and down streets for a few blocks. I didn't particularly enjoy that part.

I felt horrible the morning of the race and contemplated dropping down to the 5K. I was dealing with a nasty sinus infection and just didn't feel like pushing it. I wanted to PR, but I knew that it was highly unlikely based on the way I was feeling.

The 10K starts off about a block behind the 5K, so it was fun running through a large group of runners as it made me feel I was at a larger race for a few brief minutes. I felt good at the 5K point and decided to keep going (I seriously considered breaking off and just finishing the race as a 5K). The back part of the course was definitely the toughest. There wasn't really anyone near me, so I essentially ran by myself the last 3.1 miles.

I finished the race in 44:01. I was 58 seconds slower than my race PR, but all things considered, I was ok with it. I was the top female and 8th overall.

March 29 - Titan Trot 5K

The last race in March was the Titan Trot 5K. This was a trail race and I really looked forward to running it. The week of the race was not my best week. I ended up in the ER with a kidney stone a few days before the race (I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!) and was still taking antibiotics for a sinus infection, so I didn't really run much at all that week. I think I ran maybe 6 miles before the race.

It started raining on Friday night before the race and didn't stop until after it. I decided to be brave and run the race in the rain - not my favorite environment for running. The course was extremely muddy, had a few small ditches we had to jump over and was just overall wet. The longer we ran, the harder it rained.

I planned to just take it easy during this race because I wasn't feeling 100 percent. I was really happy with the way I ran. I finished in 21:39 which is much slower than usual, but I felt good which was something I was concerned about. I was the top female and fourth overall. I'm hoping this race will be run in the sun next year!

Titon Trot 5K

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This weekend, I ran my fourth race of the month. It was the Titan Trot 5K Trail Race and proceeds benefited a local school.

I love trail races. We don't have too many local trail races, so it's a treat to get to race a trail.

Saturday morning was a monsoon. It started raining Friday night and it didn't stop until the race ended Saturday morning. The longer we ran, the harder the rain came down.

I'm not a huge fan of running in the rain, but I don't like to miss races, so I just threw on a hat and ran. My sweet husband met me at the finish line with a towel. I was able to change into the race t-shirt after I ran, but had forgotten to pack extra shoes and shorts.

The race followed along the cross country course of a school. It started on the football field and wound around the woods. It was so muddy.

I didn't get as fast of a start as I normally do. There were a lot of younger kids/teenagers running and they flew off at the start. It took me a minute or two to get around them because once we got in the woods, the trail was narrow.

I felt great during the run. The past few weeks have been very abnormal for me. I've dealt with a sinus infection and was in the ER with a kidney stone last Monday, so I wasn't feeling quite 100 percent on Saturday. (This is coming from the girl that's rarely sick, doesn't go to the doctor and won't take medicine unless she has to.) I told my husband I didn't think I'd push it.

You can't tell, but it's pouring rain.

My goal for the race was to finish in 22 minutes or less given the torrential rain, muddy course and the way I felt. I finished in 21:39 (6:59 pace). I was the first female and fourth overall.


Do you like to race trails?

How do you feel about running in the rain?