SEEDS Classic Rock 5K Recap

Hello friends! Happy Sunday, Happy March (a little late) and Happy Spring (a little early)! I know that it is technically not spring yet, but it definitely feels like spring has sprung here on the Gulf Coast. Spring fever has officially set in!

Since February has come to a close, it’s time to recap another month of training and I also have a race recap for you.

MONTH RECAP: February

I “ran the numbers” on February training. Let’s see what all went down!

Total running: 263.5 miles. This was a good bit less than January, which I was expecting. Typically February through April are my lower mileage months. Work ramps up and the running goes down some, which works out well and gives my body a little bit of a break (not too much of a break, but a break nonetheless).

Workouts: 2. 6 X 1 mile, and 3 X 2 mile.

Races: 3. A 5K, a 15K and a half marathon.

Favorite race: Rock ‘N’ Roll New Orleans! It was tough to pick a favorite, so in some form of compromise (between me and myself), I settled with one as my favorite race and one as my favorite run. The struggle is real.

Longest run: 18 miles!

Shortest run: 3 miles.

Favorite run: Double Bridge Run! This was also my part of my longest run of the month (which might be part of why it is my favorite), because Lizzie, Jessica and I did a 3 mile warm up before the race and 6 mile cool down after the race. The course was beautiful and the company was even better!

Rest Days: 4. I took one day each week off completely. This wasn’t necessarily planned, but it seems like each week there was at least one day where my body just needed rest more than it needed to run. I’m trying to be smart and listen to those cues when I get them.

Cross Training: I played tennis twice (doubles once and singles once) and walked 16 miles. I want to get in more strength training this month in the future. I am planning to go back to yoga and I would like to get in some other form of non-cardio strength training as well. Tax season is not the time for me to be adding something new to my schedule though, so that will likely have to wait a ‘lil bit.

Other random data from the month: 160.85 hours worked and 226.82 hours slept (averaging 8 hrs. and 6 min. per night). I think that I worked ~ 80 hours less this February than last year (yes, you read that right). I have stuck pretty closely to my 40 hours per week schedule, which is huge! I have actually achieved what feels like a state of balance and as a result, I am so much more content. It is nearly impossible to have any sort of life balance when you are working between 60 – 75 hours per week. I did that during tax season for 7 years (side note: how is this my 8th tax season?! … feeling kind of old here guys) until I came to the realization that it simply wasn’t worth it.

Moving on …

RACE RECAP: SEEDS Classic Rock 5K

Saturday morning I ran the SEEDS Classic Rock 5K. This is a very small, local race that takes place less than a mile from the house. It’s hard to turn down a race so close to home that runs right along some of our regular running routes and supports the local schools.

Since I just raced the half in New Orleans last weekend, this was just a “for fun” race. I didn’t really have any goals going into the race, other than to get in a strong VO2 max (maximum volume of oxygen that an athlete can use) workout. My schedule called for a 4 mile warm up before the race and a 4 mile cool down after the race.

Since Saturday morning is usually a Running Wild group run day, I decided to head to the store at 6 a.m. to run my “warm up” with Lizzie, Jessica and Jill. We ran towards the race, I stopped and they turned around and went back to the store. Could I have run my warm up by myself before the race and slept a little bit later? Of course. Would it have been half as fun? Absolutely NOT. I love my running buddies!

We have an ongoing joke about FOMO and I am here to tell you that this is a real thing. In case you don’t know about FOMO (which I didn’t until somewhat recently), it is the “Fear of Missing Out” and is the anxiety that comes from feeling like an exciting or interesting event may be happening somewhere without you! Everyone else is running a race? Sign me up! Group run? I’m there. All my friends are jumping off a bridge? My parents told me not to do that … but, is there a finisher’s medal?! You get the idea.

I had a little bit of time to spare, so I was able to run home (literally), put on my singlet, grab Brooks and walk back up town. Brooks likes to come watch us run every now and then. Unfortunately, Daniel had to work this weekend, but thankfully, my mom and dad were in town, so they were able to watch Brooks while I ran. He gave me some high-fives and it was time to go!

The race is put on by the city’s education foundation and there are several local school running clubs that bring a lot of kids to run the race. It is really awesome to see so many kids participtaing in races! I love it.

The gun went off and I was in about 30th place through the first half mile. I secretly tell each kid, “pace yourself, young grasshopper” as I pass by. I get it though. It’s really hard not to take off too fast. I came through mile 1 in 6:18 and was in about 4th or 5th place overall. During the next mile I caught all of those guys and passed them, which meant I was actually leading the race, chasing the cop car. That doesn’t happen every day!

The last two miles of the race are essentially out (downhill) and back (uphill). I enjoy running races that have out and back portions, because you get to see all of the other runners. I love seeing everyone else, cheering for them and being cheered for. It keeps things interesting. I ran 6:04 for the second mile, 6:18 for the last mile and finished in 19:20.

After the race, I ran a couple miles to cool down, took Brooks home and then walked back to watch the 1 mile fun run. I am guessing that there was more participation in the 1 mile than the 5K, but I can’t find the results for the 1 mile to know for sure. The awards started at about 9:30. In keeping with the classic rock theme, the winners got an awesome Beatles shirt. This was a very unique award, which I appreciated!

We also got a calendar that doubles as a coloring book, a water bottle, a koozie and a $15 iTunes gift card. Pretty sweet!

Team Running Wild was very well represented! Linda finished 3rd overall and won the masters division (with a 7:14 pace!).

I headed to work for a couple of hours Saturday afternoon and even snuck in a short nap when I got home! Work hard, play hard, rest hard = Balance.

Have a great week!