Category: Race Recap

Hey friends!

I hope your week is off to a good start! If you’ve been following along for a little bit, you know that I ran the Rock N Roll half marathon in New Orleans this past weekend. The race didn’t go exactly as I hoped that it would, but we had a great trip regardless!

After dropping Brooks off at the Dog Ranch mid-morning on Saturday, we met up with Jessica and Wes and headed to NOLA. Lower Alabama was VERY well represented in New Orleans this weekend! Everywhere we went (i.e., the expo and the race), we ran into so many people that we knew.

We stayed at the InterContinental on St. Charles. We were less than a mile from the expo and just a few blocks from the race start. The location couldn’t have been much better. Once we got to town, we decided to go ahead and hit the expo to get our bibs.

We walked around the expo for a little bit, but I didn’t really see anything that I had to have. I usually LOVE expos, but this one was just really crowded and not as exciting as usual. I also managed to sign up for a women’s XL tee-shirt somehow. They told me I could exchange it, but the line was really long, so I decided to just roll with it. As the lady handed me the shirt, she said, “they run small …” (the ellipsis here represents an actual trail off of her words and isn’t just my typical overuse of this grammatical punctuation) and I was kind of like, “well cool, thanks (I think).” I do love a big shirt to sleep in.

We walked around a little bit more and stopped at a CVS to get some water and snacks for the room. At this point everyone was really hungry, so we decided to do an early dinner at Trenasse, which was the restaurant in our hotel. It was very good and so convenient (insert K Mart “ship my pants” joke here). After dinner I was so tired! Saturday started off fairly early with my half marathon training group and I missed my usual Saturday afternoon nap (yes, I am 31, going on 80!). We ended up walking over 5 miles around NOLA over the course of the afternoon too (which made for some tired legs and feet). Jessica and I decided to call it a night and the rest of the crew headed down to the French Quarter for beignets.

I got a pretty good night’s sleep. I woke up a few more times than I typically do at home though. One time I woke up and realized I was sleeping on my stomach with my arms above my head (which is not a normal sleep position for me). I tried to push up and roll over and my shoulder came out of socket! Argh. That hasn’t happened in so long. Have I told y’all that story? I don’t think I have because I don’t think it has dislocated at any point in the last few years.

I’ll try to keep this part brief … about 10 years ago, someone dared me to do a flip on my cousin’s trampoline (my cousin was about 3 or 4 years old at the time and I was 21 or 22). It was one of those really small, kid-sized trampolines with a net around it. I spent A LOT of time on the trampoline growing up (we never had one with a net though) and I thought for sure I would be able to do a flip on the little one too and so, of course, I took the dare. I flipped, got tangled in the netting and landed on my shoulder, causing it to dislocate. I thought my arm was broken for a hot minute, but luckily it popped back into place on its own. It hurt like the dickens though.

After that “incident” my shoulder would come out of place off an on randomly (think opening the refrigerator, trying to get something in the backseat of the car, drying off with a towel, wrapping Christmas presents (so very random), etc.). It happened so many times that I started to not even think anything about it. It would usually go back into place without much problem (except one time when my friend’s uncle who was a veterinarian had to pop it back in for me … that also hurt like the dickens).

That “usually” ended one fateful day in the middle of Mobile Bay as Daniel and I were sailing (which is also a funny story, but I’m already chasing tangents here). I was crawling to the front of the boat to let the jib out and my shoulder came out. This time it was serious and we were pretty much stuck in the middle of the bay. It was out of place for HOURS that day and by the time we made it to land I had to go to the ER to get it put back in place. I was given the option of surgery or physical therapy and I chose to do the PT and hope for the best. I rarely have issues with it now, but apparently it does still happen.

Whew. Keeping things brief is not my forte. Back to the race …

We woke up at 6 for a 7:30 race start and made some coffee in the room. I brought some UCAN to drink before the race. I don’t always take something before a half, but I thought this was going to be a good decision. I took a few sips of it and thought that it really didn’t taste very good, but it was a flavor that I don’t typically drink, so I didn’t think much about it. I choked down a few more sips and decided I was good to go. We left our hotel at about 7:15 and got in a quick one mile warm up before the race started

My plan for this race was very similar to First Light. In case you don’t have my race plans memorized (sarcasm), it was to start at 6:30 – 6:35, hold 6:23 – 6:28 for miles 2 through 10 and then under 6:25 for miles 11 – 13.1.

I felt really good about the plan going into the race. I was confident in my fitness and I wasn’t nervous or anxious or anything like that about the race.

The first 5 miles went beautifully. I ran 6:30, 6:27, 6:26, 6:25, 6:24. All of those were exactly within the planned range. I felt good … until all of a sudden, I didn’t. I started to struggle during the sixth mile and from there it just got progressively worse. Miles 8 through 13 felt like the last six miles of a marathon after you have hit the wall. I just tried my best to do some damage control and not let it get too ugly out there. I was riding the struggle bus and I was just praying that the bus would make it to the finish line without breaking down!

I finished in 1:31 and haven’t been that happy to see a finish line in quite some time. This was a goal race for me and I’ve been pretty open about sharing my goal of 1:23 – 1:24. While the race didn’t go exactly as planned time-wise, I am still thankful that I was able to run and enjoy a weekend with friends. I don’t ever want the number on the clock to dictate my feelings.

I’m not going to lie and say that I wasn’t disappointed for a little bit, because I was. I have worked hard and put a lot of energy (mental and physical) into my training and I don’t feel like my race reflected this. I gave myself a little bit time to feel frustrated about it and then it was time to move on.

During my “frustration time,” I came up with a host of excuses or reasons that I don’t think this one went as well as I wanted it to. Just to name a few: I’m tired (the further into tax season I get, the more run down my body gets), I was out of my regular routine and likely didn’t get enough carbs in the day before the race, I ran 8 miles with my training group and then we walked all over NOLA the day before the race (which is NOT recommended … do as I say, not as I do), my UCAN was expired (kind of foreshadowing that I wrote about not thinking twice about food being passed its expiration date in my last post (ha)) and the list goes on …

None of that really matters though. It was not my day, but it was a good day to run! Any day that we are healthy enough to be able to run is a good day and I don’t want to ever lose sight of that fact.

My devotion is morning was just what I needed to hear, so I want to share it here in case it speaks to you too:

Offer God your willingness. Even if you feel small … even if you feel unlikely … even if everything in you is screaming you’re not someone who can be used by God … simply offer Him your willingness.

Use what God has given you. What’s in your hand, sweet friend? What gift, what talent, what ability? Whatever it is, take time to sharpen it. And choose to believe that God can use it when you humbly offer it up to Him.

Stay true to who you are. God isn’t asking you to be anyone other than you either. You do you, and then watch with humble amazement as God uses your willing, obedient, ordinary life to accomplish extraordinary things in His name.

Running in New Orleans this weekend was kind of bittersweet because I will always have the memory of winning that race. As cliché as it may sound, I truly feel like that was a life changing moment and now sometimes I feel like I will never be able to recreate that moment. This devotion reminds me that it is in the midst of the ordinary (i.e., non-life changing moments) that God can use us the most. Running is a truly gift and I always want to be ready and willing to run whatever (figurative) race that God is calling me to run.

Have a great week! See ya soon!

Hey guys! Yesterday morning I ran the Charity Chase in Mobile, AL.

The Charity Run is an organization that raises funds and increases awareness for nonprofit organizations across the United States. They partner with charities to help them achieve their fundraising goals through our 5K race series, The Charity Chase.

Runners choose the local charity of their choice and compete to win money for their charity. The selected charity receives part of your registration fee and the charity that the overall male and female winners run for got 10% of all of the registration fees. Such a neat concept!

This race was kind of a last-minute addition to my schedule. A week or so ago my friend Jill (who works for Ransom Ministries) asked if I would be interested in running for them. Of course! I loved the idea and I had one goal … to WIN.

Jessica ran the race too, so we met and rode across the bay together. We got to the race around 7 and had plenty of time to get in a good warm up and hit the (nice, warm, indoor) bathrooms (twice). The race took place in Mobile on the campus of the University of South AL. The 5K started at 8:20 a.m. There was also a fun run that started at 8:00 a.m.

It was a pretty chilly morning (mid-40s) and I had a hard time figuring out the proper layering. I went back and forth between my singlet and arm warmers or the long sleeve shirt under the singlet (which is what I went with). I probably would’ve been fine even with just the singlet, but sometimes it’s just hard to decide! Running should be so simple and yet, somehow it gets complicated sometimes. ‘Tis life.

It was fun to run a 5K without any specific time goals. Usually I have some sort of goal range in mind going into a race, but I didn’t for this race. I just wanted to do whatever it took to win and bring home the monies for Ransom! Rock N Roll New Orleans half is NEXT WEEKEND and I did my regular workouts this week. We made a slight adjustment to my schedule to change my long run to mid-week and replaced the tempo run that was supposed to be mid-week with this 5K.

The course had a few rolling hills, but was otherwise wonderful! After the first quarter to half mile or so I was leading for the females. I came through mile 1 in 6:08. There were probably about 10 or so guys in front of me through the first mile. I was happy with 6:08 and felt good. I started slowly picking guys off during the second mile. I came through mile 2 in 5:58. At this point, I was in 5th overall, which is where I stayed for the rest of the race.

The last mile was definitely the toughest mile. Those rolling hills that I mentioned happened to all be placed in mile 3 (at least it seemed that way). I was in no man’s land the entire mile, which also made it tougher. I could see Young Daniel and Brandon ahead of me, but there was no way I was going to catch them (b-t-dubs Young Daniel ran a PR! (18:39)). I came through mile 3 in 6:17 and finished with a time of 19:17.

Jessica, Daniel and I ran the course again as a cool down after the race and we actually missed the awards. They were super efficient! I guess having the fun run before the 5K made it easier to get the awards done quickly.

All in all, it was a fun race and one that I would definitely do again. I am so happy to help raise a little bit of money for Ransom Ministries. I’ve said it many times, but our primary goal is to glorify God with our running. The Charity Chase was an awesome opportunity to do just that! Every day that I run I am thankful for the opportunity and ability to run.

Hello friends! Today was the day.

This was my 10th First Light! I honestly didn’t realize that until I just looked back at it. I think this might be the only race that I have a streak this long going. I love the atmosphere of a hometown marathon. You really can’t beat it!

A brief history –
2008: Half marathon 2:00:43 (a personal worst)
2009: Half marathon 1:41:39
2010: Half marathon 1:42:07 (the year we got engaged)
2011: Full marathon 3:24:12 (my first marathon)
2012: Relay! 2:57:17 (female champs and a course record)
2013: Full marathon 3:23:26
2014: Relay! (female champs)
2015: Relay! (female champs)
2016: Relay! 2:54:52 (female champs and a course record)
2017: Half marathon 1:24:44 AND relay 2:50:XX (co-ed champs and a course record)

The First Light Marathon starts at 7:30 a.m. in downtown Mobile. Our relay team met at Starbucks at 6:30 and made the trip across the bay together. It was SO COLD. Seriously. The temperature was 27 at the start and the feels like temperature was in the upper teens. BRRR! I went back and forth about what to wear and settled on shorts (yes), compression sleeves, a long sleeve top w/ my RW singlet over it, gloves and a toboggan.

I warmed up in pants and two jackets (in addition to all of the above-referenced clothing) and then begrudgingly shed a few layers before it was go time. I only ended up getting a one mile warm up in. After that mile, I didn’t really feel like I had warmed up much at all, but it didn’t matter because it was time to line up. My hands were throbbing. Jill totally saved the day because she gave me her hot hands (like she straight up took them out of her gloves and gave them to me … such a wonderful friend). She was running the last leg of the relay and had another pair in the car. I wouldn’t have taken them otherwise, but yeah, they were a total game changer.

The race plan was as follows:
Mile 1: 6:30 – 6:40
Miles 2 – 10: 6:24 – 6:30
Miles 11 – 13: Whatever was left

The first five miles of the half marathon make up leg 1 of the relay, which I ran for our (co-ed) team this year. Pretty much right off the bat I found myself in the lead pack of the race. For whatever reason, I was NOT expecting this. This is usually a pretty competitive half marathon. I got sucked into running with the pack (made up of me and the top three guys). Even though I had a wonderful race plan, sometimes you kind of have to roll with what the course and the competition present you with. My first five miles were 6:30, 6:23, 6:19, 6:15 and 6:20.

At mile 5 I handed the relay bracelet (like the baton in track) off to Daniel. He ran with me for a mile or so and then I went on ahead. He hasn’t been running much at all because he basically came down with the plague this last few weeks. He ran great today though! The half and the full course split around mile 8 and so after that I didn’t see my team until the end of the race.

BUT courtesy of Strava, here is how it went down:
Sam: 31:47 for 5 miles (6:21 avg.)
Daniel: 33:25 for 5 miles (6:39 avg.)
Ali: 31:22 for 5 miles (6:17 avg.)
Young Daniel: 34:32 for 5 miles (6:54 avg.)
Kenny: 38:54 for 6.2 miles (6:12 avg.)

Our total time was 2:50, which was a co-ed course record!

Back to the half … our pack dissipated (read: two of the guys dropped me) around mile 6. I ran miles 6 through 10 pretty much by myself. I still had the leaders in sight, but they seemed to be steadily pulling further away. Miles 6 through 10 were 6:14, 6:20, 6:31, 6:30, 6:32. Pretty consistent, but the pace was definitely slowing some. My mom and dad surprised me at mile 7! Parents who will stand out in twenty degree weather to watch you run are pretty much the best.

My dad also gave me his jacket after the race, which was VERY MUCH appreciated!

I ended up catching the second place guy at mile 10. He was flat out stopping at some of the the water stations. It wasn’t like he was walking through them … just stopping. We flip flopped back and forth a few times for about a mile and I ended up ahead of him. Unfortunately though, I got passed by another guy (Steve!) at mile 11.5. He was the only person who passed me the entire race. Ugh. But YAY for Steve! He is the smartest racer that I know. He always paces himself really well and today was no exception. He finished really strong (and in 2nd place overall).

The most random observation from the day is that it seemed as if my snot was freezing inside my nose. It was a crazy feeling! I would try to breathe “in through your nose and out through your mouth,” as I remember learning during track in high school, but the “in through your nose” part was not happening. I wasn’t getting any air doing that! It was so weird. I don’t run in 20 degree weather often enough to know if this is normal or not. If there is anyone up North that has some experience with this, please let me know!

Miles 11, 12 and 13 were 6:32, 6:41, 6:36. My last 0.1 was 0:53. Total time was 1:24:44 … just 3 seconds shy my PR! AHH! So close. At the start of this (mini) training cycle I wrote, “I want to have a goal of 1:23 – 1:25 (6:20 to 6:30 pace) for the half.” Mission accomplished!

I had a fairly short 5 week build up to this race. The race was definitely a “goal race,” but I also have two more half marathons coming up in the next two months and I want to focus on working down to the lower end of my goal range for those!

After I finished the race I made the executive decision that somewhat ironically, it was in fact, too cold for a cool down. I will likely regret that decision later, but oh well. “No Ragrats” right? Lol.

Since we had about an hour and a half until most of the relays teams and marathoners would be finishing the race, I hopped in the car with Jessica and we drove out on the course to spectate and cheer for the RW full marathoners. We ended up at the mile 18 water station and stayed there for about 30 minutes or so. They serve chicken broth and hot chocolate at this aid station! This was definitely the place to be. We didn’t quite make it back to the finish by the time the first relay teams finished. Daniel was a tad concerned when they got to the finish line and I was nowhere to be found, but I was in good hands!

RW had a sports chiropractor at their tent after the race and I decided to get “adjusted.” I don’t usually go for post-race “massages,” but this was definitely different. My glutes and hamstrings bother me sometimes when I have to sit for extended periods of time (um hello every day of my life). I’ve tried to have this worked on several times without success. Apparently it isn’t specifically a hamstring or a glute issue, but rather my obturator (I didn’t even know this was a “thing”). Anywho … it’s nice to have an answer! Hopefully I can get that straightened out soon!

We stayed around for the awards. The medals and the awards are handmade by members of L’Arche Mobile. Their mission is to “make known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities, revealed through mutually transforming relationships.” I love the unique, thoughtful awards. You can tell that a lot of TLC goes into each medal and canvas.

After the awards, Daniel and the guys wanted to go to Waffle House. At first I was giving that idea a major eye-roll (in my head), but I have to admit that a waffle really just hit the spot (the chocolate chips didn’t hurt either :)). Intuitive eating for the win!

B-T-Dubs, my half marathon playlist was on point today. In case you are interested, here it is!

That’s it for today. It was a really fun day and it was everything I hoped it would be!

Next up: ROCK N ROLL NEW ORLEANS!

What’s next for you?

Hello! Happy Friday!

Lots of you out there might be officially on Christmas break at this point too, so double the happiness for that! As an extra special treat today, I’ve got a guest post, written by Rebecca, with her 50 MILE RACE REPORT! She also included a little bit of background info about her running and her training.

This girl works harder than anyone I know (she also sleeps less than anyone I know) and she does an amazing job of balancing being a mom, wife, teacher, coach and runner (she probably has even more roles that I am fogetting). I honestly don’t know how she does it, but she does it well and gives her all to everything that she does. We’ve run TONS of miles together over the years and I am so thankful for her friendship.

Here she is (oh and of course, I couldn’t resist the urge to add in a few comments of my own, so if you see blue words, they are mine :)):

Back in 2008, I had my eyes set on a Sub 3 marathon, with a long-term goal of an Olympic Trials Qualifier. I trained for a lot of years, but never succeeded. I learned a lot in that training and reaching, and I am thankful for it. However, it left me burned. I reached a point where I no longer enjoyed chasing the clock. I needed something new; so in 2013 I began training for a 50 miler. I never made it to the start line, however, because I found out in early January 2014 that we would be having our sweet Savannah in September.

The postpartum comeback was really tough, but with the help of a great coach, Gary Brimmer, I ran Boston in 2015 when Savannah was 6.5 months old. During my pregnancy, I thought and hoped Boston would revive my fire for racing marathons and be the drive in my training to become fast again.

It was at the finish of Boston that I realized how much I’d changed. I had every reason to be ecstatic at the finish of the Boston Marathon. I had run my goal time despite gale winds and driving rains. I had trained and raced exactly how my coach had prepared me to do. And it was BOSTON! Unfortunately, it didn’t bring me the joy I thought it would. And after a difficult talk with my coach after the race, I decided to go on my own to “plow the miles” as he would say. And a side note to explain that this division of the athlete coach relationship was NEVER about him or the training. It was something inside me that I couldn’t explain, causing me to feel dissatisfied with my running.

I flailed around for another year, and in June of this year I decided to train for the 50 mile distance again. 

Training Lowdown: I used a 24 week 100K training plan, outlined by Kristy Moel in her book My First Ultra.  I looked at the 50 mile plan, but didn’t think it was “enough.” (Yes, I’m one of THOSE people.) <– Truth.

*I ran over 2,000 miles in 24 weeks.

*My peak was 101 miles in 7 days.

*I ran 4 marathons in my training, with a peak training run of 36 miles.

*The basic format of the training was 1-2-3-recover-repeat. For example, 70 mile week, 80 mile week, 90 mile week, recovery week (50-60 miles). The next set of weeks would start with 80.

The Good: For the most part, I was able to run the entire plan. In the 6 months, I only had 2 instances where I had to step back and regroup. I stayed injury-free and only got sick once.

The Bad: There were times that I felt completely exhausted. It was sometimes difficult to balance running with teaching, coaching, and parenting. And until my 36 miler, I pretty much doubted that I could even finish 50 miles. 

The Ugly: I did SO many long runs, and most of them were in the South Alabama heat and humidity. A few runs stick out in my mind as UGLY. The first super ugly run was fairly early in the cycle. Sam had done a pace run, but came back to run the final portion with me. I had completely bonked. I remember being less than a mile from the car, walking and crying, and asking her if she thought I could even finish 50 miles. I remember saying, “I need you to be honest with me and tell me I am making a mistake by training for this.” It’s funny to me now. Insert: Of course I told her that she could totally do it. She probably could’ve finshed a 50 mile race even at that stage her training!

The next UGLY came at the end of my “unofficial” 40^th marathon. Sam, Jessica, and I ran from the USS Mobile Battleship to Mullet Point Park in Point Clear. Sam had stopped early, and she and Daniel waited at the end for us. Jessica was more than ready to be done, and was trying her best to encourage me. I was not having it, though. I was in my Angry Place. Insert: This is a true state of existence that is sometimes reached during long runs. LOL. Even though I wasn’t wearing a Garmin, I knew as we got closer to the finish that our mileage would be under 26.2. I tried to tell Jessica to turn left and go up the road a little so we wouldn’t have to pass Sam and Daniel. She did NOT want to do that, though, and kept going straight. Imagine me running behind her yelling, “I TOLD YOU IT WOULD BE SHORT!” Hahaha, fun times. 

The next ugly came sometime in August, I think. I know Sam had already done her long run the day before, but she was running one loop of 10-12 miles with me. Well, I bonked the entire 10 miles (my 2^nd loop, should’ve been 22 miles). It was ridiculous. 

The Race:

After changing my mind about races twice, I finally decided on the Daytona 50, a point to point race running from Marineland to Daytona Beach. My plan was to drink UCAN 30 minutes prior, and then take in Huma gel, alternated with almond butter pouch, every 45 minutes to an hour.

Miles 0-11

The start of the race provided us with a nice tailwind. It was warm, but bearable because of the wind. I ran with a girl named Grayson, a guy named James, and another guy named Wis. We chatted the entire 11 miles, but I couldn’t help but to worry that I had started a bit too fast. At the aid station, I met Danny (a fellow Brooks ID coach), topped off my water, and used the restroom.

Miles 11-20

Danny ran with me until Mile 16, where Sam picked up. Our pack had split up by then. (Read: they left me.) I was okay with this. I was feeling fine, but felt the pace was a bit too quick for me. I knew I had a LONG way to go. I topped off my water again, and drank some ginger ale at the Mile 20 aid station. (For those people who were tracking me, the tracking mat was ACTUALLY at the 20 mile marker, not at the 22.5 as the website reported, which made it appear as we had all gone out blazing fast). 

Miles 20-30

I was really thankful for Sam in this portion of the race. I had some irrational thoughts. I was feeling OK, but not AWESOME, and it really scared me. Sam asked me what my favorite running memory was/is. And I had nothing. HAHA! We both talked about that our favorite memories have nothing to do PRs and more with fun times with friends, like relays. I stopped at a gas station to use the restroom, and we took a selfie to send to Jessica. We redirected my energy to making it to the next aid station. At this aid station, I changed my tank, put on my reflective gear, got fueling from Daniel, and more ginger ale. I hit the marathon point at 3:45. 

Miles 30-38

Sam took a break here, but luckily I had caught up to Wis. It was really nice to run with him. This stretch is where it got dark. Despite our blinking lights, people still didn’t want to get out of the way, and I was in no mood to be polite. We made talked about a lot of stuff, but honestly, I can’t remember any of it. I kept telling him not to let me slow him down, but he insisted he wanted to stay with me. “We’re a team now,” he would say. It helped a LOT. I knew at 38 we would turn onto the beach, but it seemed like we would NEVER get there. I gave up on my fueling products here, too. The thought of one more gel or almond butter pouch made my stomach turn. Also, in the dark things appear to be closer than they really are. 

Miles 38-42

We turned on the beach and met Sam again. It was weird running on the beach. It was packed, but still kind of hard to see because it was so dark. Wis and Sam used their lights, but I didn’t have one. And then… at Mile 41 I fell. It happened in slow motion. I could feel myself going down, but couldn’t stop myself. Thankfully, no harm done. I got up, dusted off, and continued on my way. At the Mile 42 aid station they served … chili. Chili. My mind is still blown about that. I chugged down more ginger ale, and we hit the road. 

Miles 42-48

You would think I would be miserable at this point. While I was moving slowly, I didn’t feel absolutely terrible. Yes, I was ready to be finished, but I wasn’t in the pain cave like one would think. Insert: I had two of Rebecca’s favorite YouTube videos loaded on my phone, just in case she went to her angry place and we needed a distraction, but she never even needed them! Sam called Jessica and put her on speaker. We chatted for a while, and before I knew it, we turned on the beach for the final 2 miles. 

Miles 48-50

We could see the finish for the entire 2 miles, but I just didn’t think that it actually was the finish. Sam even called Daniel who could SEE our blinking lights. Until I was about to run through the finish line, I didn’t believe it was the finish. Crazy how the mind works. We had an interesting conversation as the finish line neared. We talked about if we would cry or not. I had a feeling I wouldn’t. (And I didn’t.) Also weird, I trained for so long for the race, for that finish line moment. You would think ALL THE FEELINGS would be attached to it. 

Finish

I ran 8:22 for the 50 miles and placed 2^nd female, and 5^th overall.

There was a tape for us to break at the finish. I was very confused by this. I even asked if I won, simply because I couldn’t imagine any other reason it being there. Apparently, they put those up in super long races for everyone sometimes. 

Afterward

I really didn’t feel too bad, but honestly, the details are blurry. There were hugs and congratulations, then talk of dinner. The rest was fairly nonchalant, leftovers at the hotel for dinner, gave S a bath and went to bed. The next morning, we attended the awards ceremony and got on the road home.

What’s next, you ask? I have a few ideas, but for now, I’m focused on recovery. Surprisingly, I think I need more mental than physical recovery. My legs feel pretty darn good, considering… but, I need a break mentally from the pressures and structure of training. And I’m definitely not ready for a 100 miler, nor do I think I want to do one.

My People

Since this is already a novel, I do want to add a bit about a few people who supported me big in this journey.

 Keith. Obviously, your spouse supports you. This guy, though, takes all my crazy ideas and never thinks twice about them. He was in “daddy mode” many early mornings so I could train, made lots of dinners when I was too exhausted, and drove all over creation with our toddler to support me.

Sam. Sam has been like a sister to me for nearly 6 years. She is another person that never even bats an eye when my crazy ideas come up. She encouraged me on more runs than I can count, believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself. 

Lizzie & Jessica. Lots of miles. These gals ran and biked with me in the thick of my high mileage training. No better sisterhood than a running one! Sometimes it’s just about being together that means so much, not having to face obstacles alone makes them easier. Lizzie particularly, got up at dark o’clock to ride 10 miles with me before her own 16 mile run. Then she rode another 10 afterwards just so I wouldn’t have to be alone for 36 miles. That’s friendship, people.

Rhea. I met her at the midnight marathon I did in New Orleans in July. It only took me a few miles to realize I was amid greatness. Then it took me another 20 miles to ask her 1,001 questions about the 50 mile distance. Then that wasn’t enough for me, I asked her 1,001 more questions via messenger. Her knowledge was priceless!

Wasn’t that incredible?! If you have any questions for her or if you just want to tell her that she is AMAZING, feel free to comment and I’ll pass it along!

Hey friends! Happy Sunday!

We made a quick trip to Baton Rouge this weekend to do some running.

Daniel and I decided to stop in New Orleans on the way to Baton Rouge Friday afternoon. While it is not exactly “on the way,” it was only a slight detour and so we figured … why not. The plan was to hit up Cafe Du Monde in the French Market for some beignets (aka carb loading) and walk around for a little bit and be on our way. Turns out that Cafe Du Monde is a cash only establishment. I had completely forgotten that and neither one of us had any cash (Dave Ramsey would be disappointed), so that was pretty much a fail. The accountant in me hates to think how much cash goes missing and/or unreported at a place like that, but that’s neither here nor there.

The weather was really nice Friday (that was NOT the case on Saturday though), so we enjoyed walking around the French Quarter, taking in all of the sights, sounds and smells of New Orleans. We got the standard Jackson Square pic.

We did manage to find a place to get coffee and hot chocolate that took our plastic.

For carb loading purposes, Daniel stuck to his traditional Fig Newtons. If you are ever wanting a carb-rich snack pre-marathon, figgy newtons are the way to go … you can get 23g of carbs from just 2 of those bad boys. This also means that if you eat the entire box, you get 300g of carbs. Daniel came just shy of that this time.

We made it to Baton Rouge around 4 p.m. We weren’t able to check into our hotel because their computer system was down, so we decided to go ahead and go to the expo. It was nothing fancy. We weren’t expecting it to be anything more than what it was, so no surprises there. We got our packets and decided to try to drive the course.

We didn’t know any specifics about the course. We knew that two of our friends had gotten lost and ended up running extra (several years ago) and we knew that it was supposed to be a fairly flat 2 loop course. Armed with only this (very homemade) map from our packets, we headed out to see what we were in for.

For starters, it was dark and the traffic was insane. The beginning of the course ran through LSU’s campus and the campus part was tough to drive (one-way streets, etc.). We ended up getting lost (not lost, lost, but missing our turns lost) about 5 times before mile 4 of the course. We had been driving around Baton Rouge for over an hour and we were both super frustrated. We decided to give up on driving the rest of the route.

Some of the areas that we drove through were areas that I definitely would not feel comfortable running through, but most of these areas we only got to because we missed a turn on the map. I was anxious about running in Baton Rouge before we even got there, mainly because of the news coverage of shootings, etc. but after driving around Friday evening, my anxiety was at an all-time high. I even debated not running the race. It sounds silly, but I just didn’t have a good feeling about it.

Trusting intuition is something that can be difficult for me because it doesn’t take too much to make me scared or fearful. I don’t want to live my life in fear and at the same time I don’t want to be too stubborn and headstrong in not letting fear control me that I put myself in a situation that I don’t want to be in. I don’t know if that makes sense or not. It’s a  complicated little web up there in my brain. Daniel and I discussed it and I came to peace with the fact that I would be perfectly safe during the race.

Daniel was also iffy on the race because he has been dealing with a piriformis issue for quite some time. It has bothered him off and on for years, really. He also came down with some sort of virus the week before the race, which didn’t help anything. Going into the race, we weren’t sure if he would run the full or not, but he wanted to be there to run with and support Daniel Holley and that’s exactly what he did!

Flat Gardners laid out and ready to run!

The race started at 7 a.m. and we woke up to a rainy, windy morning on Saturday. Not exactly ideal conditions. The silver lining was that it wasn’t blazing hot. The temperatures were in the mid-50s and even dropped down to the upper-40s. It felt a little chillier because of the wind. There wasn’t any parking at the start of the race, so we had to park about half a mile away. This wouldn’t have been a big deal at all had it not been for the rain, it was really difficult to leave the dry, warm car and head to the start line.

I’ve been sharing my race “plans” on my last few posts and I think I will probably continue to do this. The last few races that I have run, I have followed my plan to the T and not surprisingly, that has led to some good results. I’ll go ahead and tell you that I didn’t do a great job of executing the plan on this race. I don’t want to only share the well-executed plans though, because sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned. Sometimes that isn’t something you can control and sometimes it is. Yesterday’s race was some combination of the two for me.

The Plan was as follows: first 10% (first mile) 6:30-6:40 pace range, 10% to 80% (miles 2 through 9) 6:25-6:30 pace range, last 20% (miles 10 to 13.1) sub 6:25 (if there was anything left in the tank). It was a good plan and I didn’t exactly follow it.

I ran the first mile in 6:35, which was spot on. Unfortunately, I was already starting to get in no man’s land and I didn’t want to run 12 miles by myself! As the lead female, I had a bike escort the entire race, which was absolutely amazing and quite a blessing. She rode behind me the entire race (and occasionally gave me directions if I asked). It still wasn’t the same as having a pack of runners to work with though. I got sucked into trying to keep up with a guy in front of me during mile 2, which I ran in 6:20. Too fast! I paid for that.

Miles 3 through 7 were actually within the planned range. They were 6:25, 6:35, 6:24, 6:28 and 6:40. I think that I was having to work a little bit harder than normal to hit those paces in the wind and rain. I also wasted some energy and added distance to my race by avoiding puddles. I probably should’ve just embraced the first puddle that I came to head on and gotten it over with, but instead I decided to try to keep my shoes as dry as possible. At the time it seemed logical, but now that I am typing it out it seems slightly ridiculous.

Note to self: When running in the rain, your shoes are going to get wet. Get over it.

The wheels started to come off a little bit during mile 8. It wasn’t a huge crash, but I couldn’t hold my planned pace any longer. Miles 8 through 10 were 6:51, 6:38, 6:49. Once my pace started falling off, I had a hard time staying in the race mentally. I also got passed by about 10 (or maybe more) guys during this stretch of the race, which was really disheartening. As it turns out, these guys were not even part of the race. Ugh. I wish I had known that. I think it must’ve been a XC team out for a workout of some sort. They were young guys and were running in groups of 2 or 3 and they would just zoom by me, leaving me in their dust.

I kept telling myself “just get to mile 10, just get to mile 10, just get to mile 10 (I said it (in my head) a lot).” I don’t know exactly what sort of magic I was expecting to find at mile 10 (there wasn’t any), but I knew that I would only have a 5K to go and I was supposed to try to drop my pace down once I got there. I came through mile 10 in 1:05:43 (6:35 average). That’s when I started doing math in my head and making bargains with myself.

I knew that my half marathon PR pace was under 6:30 and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make up 5 seconds X 13 miles = 65 seconds over the last 3 miles. I wasn’t feeling good enough to pull that off. It would’ve been better if I hadn’t started doing the math because I kind of used that as an excuse to “give up.” Don’t do math and run! I knew that I was the first female by a decent amount and I was kind of like “Ehh, no big deal … it’s not a PR day so why push it.”

By the time I did all of that math, I was already at mile 11 and I hadn’t picked it up at all. Mile 11 was 6:46. Then I told myself, “just get to mile 12 and then we’ll pick it up.” I really felt okay at this point, but I was also really comfortable at my 6:50 ish pace too. Mile 12 and 13 were 6:51 and 6:49. I started chatting with my bike escort during the last few miles and I didn’t pick it up at all. I finished in 1:27:33 (13.25 miles) for 1st female and 6th overall.

I would’ve been 5th overall, but one guy beat me by 1 second! What?! He finished immediately behind me and I had no clue that he was even behind me at all. His gun time was 1:27:35 and his chip time was 1:27:32. I don’t know where he was during the race, but we never ran together. And all I really wanted was a buddy! It was so lonely out there. The 4th place finisher was 1:22, so there was a huge gap.

Obviously I am happy with the win, but at the same time, winning is only a product of who shows up, or perhaps more accurately, who doesn’t show up. I can’t control that. I also can’t control the weather. All I can do is run my race and give my best effort that day. While I do feel like I gave a really good effort, I don’t feel like it was my best.

As soon as I finished the race, I met up with Daniel Holley’s girlfriend, Sarah. I was originally planning to get on the bike and ride the second loop of the course with the Daniels. After running a half marathon in the wind and rain, I was less than thrilled about the idea of getting on the bike (shocking I know). I don’t guess we really thought that one through completely. We waited for a few minutes at the finish for the guys to come through the half and regrouped on the spectating plan.

My Daniel decided to stop at the half. Young Daniel was running strong and Daniel didn’t want to hold him back (his piriformis was bothering him, which we knew was probably going to happen). The main goal was to support Young Daniel and not permanently injure himself. Daniel, Sarah and I hopped in the car and headed out to catch Young Daniel on his second loop.

In the meantime, we also got to see Lizzie come through the half! She looked so strong!

We were able to catch Young Daniel several times along the course during his second loop. I hadn’t done a cool-down, so I hopped out and ran a little over a mile with him around mile 21. He was cruising along at about a 7:15 pace! My Daniel jumped back in at mile 23 and ran the last 3 miles with Young Daniel.

It was like a relay exchange handoff … tag, you’re up!

I got back in the car with Sarah and we booked it to the finish line.

Daniel finished in 3:15 (an over 40 minute PR!) and was 6th overall! We knew that he was in great shape going into this race and that he was going to crush it, but he absolutely knocked it out of the park! Holy moly.

Lizzie finished in 3:26 (a small PR for her) and was 2nd overall female! Woo hoo! She had a great race.

The conditions were less than ideal, but everyone made the most of it!

After a hot shower, we headed back to our LA (lower Alabama). We scooped Brookser up from the doggie ranch and got home in time for Daniel to watch most of the SEC championship and for me to take a nice little nap. It was glorious.

Everyone is worn out today. As I finished this post, I looked over to find Daniel and Brooks both completely passed out! I have a feeling that I may pay for this … (worth it).

I hope you had a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

Hey guys! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, got to spend some time with friends and family and got to eat some Thanksgiving food!

I ran the Turkey Trot for Hope 5K in Mobile this morning. I can’t think of a better way to start off a day of thankfulness than by going for a run! This race has become a wonderful part of our Thanksgiving Day tradition. This was my third consecutive year to run this race.

I asked Daniel if we could stop at Dunkin Donuts on the way across the bay. As long as I got ready on time, he was game. My husband bribes me with coffee to promote punctuality, and I’m not sad about it. In fact, this is also part of the tradition. We met Jessica at Starbucks at 6:45. Yes. We met at Starbucks, but stopped at DD. I prefer Dunkin’s coffee over Starbucks every. single. time.

My eyes were bigger than my stomach and I only ended up drinking a few sips of this XL coffee.

As we drove across the bay, I looked back at my race recap from last year and remembered that there was a grown man dressed in a fleece lined, full body turkey costume. I also was reminded that I had to really work hard to beat him. I wondered if he was going to be at the race again this year …

We got to the race with plenty of time to spare! We got our packets and still had about an hour before the race started. I cleaned out my closet last weekend and had two huge piles in the back of my car. We put our time to good use by going through the piles of clothes and Jessica scored a few new to her things. Haha.

After the trunk show ended we headed out to warm up. We ran the course as our warm up. It was a beautiful day! The weather was a tad bit on the warm side, which doesn’t make for excellent race conditions, but it definitely could’ve been worse. I think it was probably in the mid-to-upper sixties at the start. The race started at 8:00 a.m.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into this race. Turkey 10 was just 5 days ago, so I wasn’t really sure how my legs were going to react to a 5K race effort. It was been a while since I have raced a 5K or done any sort of fast VO2 max repeats. My goal was to stay within the 5:55 – 6:05 range.

This is a decent sized race for Mobile (just over 1,000 participants) and the start was super crowded. We lined up on the start line and I ended up right next to Mr. Turkey (aka Micaiah Rockwell)! He and his wife own the local Fleet Feet Sports. I didn’t make that connection last year.

This is us post-race. He ran a 19:20 in that thing! I definitely don’t want to race him if he isn’t wearing the turkey suit.

I was able to settle into a good rhythm fairly early on and I ran the first mile in exactly 6:00, which was right were I wanted to be. I felt pretty good at this point, but I was doubting my ability to hold it for 2 more miles. I was running with a pack of folks through the first mile, which was nice. I was probably in about 15th place or so overall.

During the second mile, I started to slowly pick off a few runners in front of me. I came through the second mile in 5:56. I was shocked! I felt like I was struggling, but I was actually still running fairly strong. Right as we came through the second mile, I got passed by Carmen Carlos.

She is an All-SEC track and cross country runner at Vanderbilt. I tried to stay with her for the next quarter mile, but I couldn’t hang. Our pace dipped down to 5:45 and that was too much for me. She left me in her dust and blazed on ahead. I honestly don’t think that she was even working very hard … just out for a little stroll.

My third mile ended up being 6:09 (it felt slower). I ended up as second place female and fifth overall with a time of 18:48.

The race benefits Camp Rap-A-Hope, which is a local organization that provides year-long programs and a week-long summer camp to children between the ages of 7 and 17 who have cancer. This is a wonderful organization and I am so glad that they had such a good turnout to support their cause! The kids make the medals, which is really special. I love unique awards like that. I also scored a lemon pie from Pollman’s Bake Shop!

After the race we got cleaned up and headed to my grandmother’s (lemon pie in tow) for a wonderful Thanksgiving afternoon with the family.

All-in-all we had a wonderful, low-key day full of my favorite things …

Coffee. Running. Time with Friends. Time with Family. Sweet Potatoes. Lemon Pie. Resting. Puppy Snuggles. Gratitude. Grace.

I saw a quote today that said, “Life is full of give and take. Give thanks and take nothing for granted.” There is no better expression of my feelings towards Thanksgiving. It can be a bittersweet holiday for me and I’ll admit that sometimes it is more bitter than sweet. Thanksgiving stirs a subtle reminder of a horrific event in my life and at the same time provokes an overwhelming reminder that every single day is truly a blessing. We are all here for a reason. Savor every moment. Shine your light.

P.S. The much-anticipated revival of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life airs on Netflix tomorrow! Who is excited?!

Did anyone else race today? If not, how did you spend your day? I’d love to hear about it!

Hello!

I ran the Turkey 10 Miler this morning.

People tend to either love or hate this race and I happen to fall in the love it camp! It is a flat, out and back course with several turns. I like running out and back races because you can feed off of the energy of other runners. All of the runners encourage each other and it’s pretty much just the best thing ever.

The race started at 8:30 a.m. in Creola, AL, which is about a 45 minute drive. I was thankful for the later start because I didn’t have to get up until 6 a.m. (so basically I got to sleep in). When I woke up, I had a nice little surprise. My mom texted me to see what time I was leaving for the race and asked if I wanted a buddy. Daniel was working (sad face) and not many of the Eastern Shore runners were making the trek over to Creola, so I was definitely glad to have company!

We got to the race around 7:45 and I was able to register, go to the bathroom and get in a quick warm up with plenty of time to spare. It is a super low-key race and that is pretty much my favorite. Low key is the way to be!

The forecast called for mid to upper 60s and lots of wind (15 to 20 mph) during the race.

Given the winds, the pre-race plan was this:

• Mile 1 – 5: I planned to ease into it and get settled into a good rhythm during the first mile. The goal range was 6:30-6:40 for these miles (as the wind was going to be more in our face here).
• Miles 5 – 8: After the turn around, I planned to drop the pace down a little with a goal range of 6:20-6:30.
• Miles 8 – 10: I planned to drop the pace down a little bit lower (if I had anything left in the tank).

The goal was to treat the race as somewhat of a progression run in terms of pace, but the effort would feel fairly consistent throughout the race because of the way the wind direction would change as the course turned.

I felt good about my plan going into the race. I must admit, the wind was definitely a challenge! Luckily I was able to settle in with a pack of about 5 other runners for the first 4 or 5 miles. The pack helped to break some of the wind resistance, which was nice. We all knew that working together would be the best plan because you could tuck in behind someone get a little reprieve. We took turns leading.

My paces for the first five miles were pretty much right within the goal range. The splits were 6:31, 6:39, 6:37, 6:39 and 6:26.

I got a little surge of energy at the turn around point. After you make the turn, you know that you are half way there and you start to pass other runners head on. There were a lot of friendly, familiar faces out there cheering for you, which was a nice mental boost. For a minute or two it even seemed like the winds would be at our back for the second half of the race (which is what I was planning for). Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. It was more of a cross wind the entire time. There were certain points where the trees would provide some relief, but we were definitely battling wind for the majority of this race.

Our pack of 5 or 6 dissolved into a pack of 3 for miles 5 through 8. I was running with Aaron Freesmeier again (he’s become my pacing buddy!) and with a local high school runner, Ethan, who I hadn’t met before the race. Miles 6, 7 and 8 were 6:23, 6:26, 6:20. Right within the target range!

I still felt strong at mile 8 and so I decided to go ahead and work to drop the pace down a little bit more. Miles 9 and 10 were 6:15 and 6:11.

Last quarter mile!

I got outkicked by the high school kid (obviously). Not much I could’ve done about that! Young whippersnapper got me. Seriously though, it was awesome to have people to run with for the entire race! I typically get stuck in no man’s land at some point during every race that I run and I run so much stronger when I have someone to work with.

My overall time was 64:46 (not a PR, but I am super happy with the time, especially given the windy conditions) and I got a nice little negative split. The first half was 32:52 and the second half was 31:35. I got an extra 20 seconds by not running the tangents well (my total distance was 10.1). I definitely need to work on that!

The medal and shirts are really cute this year! The race starts at Dead Lake Marina (Dead Lake is a small tributary that feeds into the Mobile River). I’m assuming there are lots of gators in the lake and apparently this turkey needs to get his booty in gear!

I really enjoy the 10 mile race distance. It was a good day to race (but really any day is a good day to race IMO). I am definitely digging the Thanksgiving vibes after the run today.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hi! Happy Sunday. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

I ran the Battleship 12K (7.5 miles) this morning. The Battleship 12K is a patriotic run (the weekend after Veterans Day) to honor those who have served our country. It starts on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay and finishes at the USS Alabama.

You can tell from my Strava map that we ran right across the bay!

Going into this race, we weren’t really sure where my fitness would be. I had to take a little more time off than I hoped after falling, so this race was going to be a good gauge of where I am and how to proceed. The plan was this:

• Mile 1: Ease into it, get my race legs back under me and slowly ramp it up. Goal pace was somewhere in the mid 6 range (6:30 ish).
• Miles 2 to 5: Stay conservative, find a good sustainable rhythm without pushing too hard. Goal pace was somewhere around 6:20-6:25.
• Miles 6 to 7.5: Race it to the finish line, based on how much gas was left in the tank. If feeling good, drop the pace down some.

I was really excited about this race for several reasons: 1) simply being injury-free and able to race, 2) taking part in such a patriotic event to support our troops and our nation in general after a season where, let’s face it, some of us had lost faith in our country (or humanity as a whole), 3) I love this route (it’s part of our special occasion route in reverse), 4) I had some new racing flats to test out and 5) the weather was supposed to be amazing (mid 50s + low humidity + slight breeze = super ideal conditions).

The race was put on by the same company as the half marathon that Rebecca and I did a few weeks ago in Mandeville, LA. The race today was just as well executed as the half. These folks have it down. The Battleship 12K has partnered with the Boot Campaign, Mission 22, & Team RWB to further their missions and the raise awareness for the men and women who bravely serve our country. It is a great race that supports a great cause!

The race started at 8 a.m. in Spanish Fort. I was able to get my packet day-of, which I think is always a nice option. We got to the race at 7:15 and I got my bib, shirt, etc. and did a 2 mile warm up with a few strides. I felt super relaxed at the start line. Having never run a 12K before, I went into the race without any preconceived notions of what sort of time and pace would be “good.” It would automatically be a PR! I knew what my plan was and I was prepared to execute it. No pressure.

After The Star Spangled Banner and bag-pipe renditions of America the Beautiful and Amazing Grace (Braveheart style (according to Daniel)), we were off. I loved that Amazing Grace was the last thing played before we took off, because it was in my head the entire run.

The first mile had a nice little downhill start. I knew that it would be tough to not bust out of the gate super fast. I definitely had to reign myself in a couple of times during the first mile. The pace felt effortless, but I knew I had 6.5 more miles to go!

I settled in next to Aaron Freesmeier during the first mile mark and we ran the first 5 miles together. We stayed super consistent with our splits. My watch shows 6:27, 6:27, 6:27, 6:19, 6:19. We had to go over a few small bridges with only a very slight incline, but we also got to go back down the other side of each incline. The course couldn’t be much better!

Once we passed mile 5, I picked the pace up a little bit (per the plan). I ran mile 6 in 6:07 and mile 7 in 6:14. At mile 7 we turned into Battleship Park and there were volunteers at the last water stop handing out American flags for us to run in with. I wasn’t planning to get water and I almost missed getting a flag because I wasn’t going to stop at all (I typically run straight through aid stations in shorter races). Thankfully I realized that they were handing out flags and not just water, so I paused briefly to get my flag.

I finished with a time of 47:07 (exactly 6:20 average) for 1st female and 2nd overall. The first place guy was at least a minute ahead of us (if not more) for pretty much the entire race. Here is a short video of the finish:

I also found this picture from the finisher’s photos on the event’s Facebook page. Breaking a finish line tape is one of the coolest experiences! This one kind of looks like it’s about to choke me, but it’s just the angle of the picture. Ha!

I had to talk myself into doing a short cool down after the race. I wasn’t really wanting to, but I know that it is so important to go ahead and start the recovery process by flushing some of the built up lactic acid from the legs. I will thank myself tomorrow!

I absolutely loved this race and I would highly recommend it to anyone (near or far). There are so many men and women that sacrifice their lives to protect our freedom. Participating in a patriotic event on Veterans Day weekend is a wonderful reminder of just how much we have to be thankful for.

An added bonus to an already wonderful morning was getting some quality friend time in post-race at Coffee Loft. Rebecca, Lizzie and Jessica hung out at Coffee Loft for a little while after their run and Daniel and I were able to meet them after the race. The barista asked us this morning if we were all related and she said that we all look alike! I love it. These friendships are precious and I’ll definitely claim these gals as sisters!

P.S. After a week off of running and two weeks off from hard workouts, the race predictor on my Garmin is off the charts! It is largely based on your VO2 max and I know that it is overly optimistic, but still … I’m thinking the time off did me good. These are basically my ultimate running goals!

I hope you guys have a wonderful week! Have you ever run an odd race distance?

Hey friends!

This should be a race recap post, but alas things didn’t go quite as planned yesterday. I’m sure you get tired of reading race recaps anyway, so I’m just doing what I can to keep things interesting over here.

Spoiler alert: You may fall before you fly.

I was pretty excited to run the local Turkey Trot yesterday. The race started less than a mile from the house. It’s hard to pass up a race that runs on your “home turf.” Due to road closures and police support, we have one 5K course that most of the local races have to use. The first mile is mostly flat with a few turns, the second mile is a long, gradual downhill and then the third miles is back up the long, gradual uphill.

Since you don’t get an actual recap, I’ll give you the “plan recap.” I had my race strategy nailed down. My goal for this race was 18:15-18:20, so I needed 5:52-5:54 average pace. I was aiming for 5:55, 5:45-5:50 (given the downhill) and 6:00 (given the uphill) splits. The plan was to “go for it” (in a semi-controlled fashion) during the second mile because I knew that the third mile was going to be tough, but I didn’t want to dip too far under V02 max pace and really crash on the last mile.

I felt really good about this plan and I was ready to get out there and chase that PR. Fall (LITERALLY) came back from its hiatus and graced us with some fabulous running weather! We woke up to temperatures in the upper 40s. It doesn’t get much better than that for running.

Daniel has been dealing with some sort of tendon injury in his foot. He has an appointment with an orthopedist Friday and we are hopeful that he will get some good news and be able to run again. In the meantime he is limited to biking and swimming. Since he wasn’t running, he went with me to the 5K. I was so glad to have him with me!

We left the house around 7:15 for an 8 a.m. race start. How nice is that?! I didn’t have to get up until after 6!

Here we are. I’m wearing GLOVES! WOO HOO! All smiles (for now).

I ran and Daniel biked the mile up to the race start. When we got there I went over to the pre-registration tent to get my bib, but (of course) they didn’t have me on the list. Lol! I don’t know how these things keep happening. They were SO NICE about it though and mentioned that there had been a few problems with the group and online registrations. I headed over to the day-of registration tent and got (re) signed up.

After that was all squared away, it was time to do another mile or so to warm up. Our friend Tracey ran with us and we ran the first mile of the course and looped back to the start. Once we got back, I wanted to hit the bathrooms real quick before the race started. I told Daniel, “I don’t even really have to go, but it’s just one of those things that I feel like I am supposed to do before a race.” The line at the start was really long, so we decided to run over another block and use a less well-known bathroom. Leave it to a runner to know where every single bathroom in the area is.

We had about 10 to 15 minutes until the race started, which was plenty of time. We started towards the other bathroom (Daniel was on the bike and I was running beside him), when all of a sudden … SPLAT. I fell. HARD.

I don’t even know how it happened, other than I just tripped over my own two feet. Silly feet. Get it together. If you are a runner, you will understand that falls are inevitable. It’s almost a right of passage. You’re not a real runner until you’ve lost a toenail, pooped your pants, fallen on a run, etc. We’re an odd bunch. In case you are wondering, I have done two of the three things listed in the preceding sentence (I’ll keep you guessing as to which two it is :)).

I have fallen before, but never like this! I think I have maybe fallen 4 times (of course, I could be forgetting a time or two). The first two times I was really lucky and came away without a scratch! I even thought I had perfected the “tuck and roll” technique. If you’ve been reading for a little while, you may recall that I also fell last fall. The tuck and roll became a tuck and splat. I managed to strain a rib muscle that time (circa September 2015).

This time, the fall was worse. I didn’t “tuck” at all, I just splat (or perhaps it is splatted …). I’ve not had to use the past tense of splat too often (Mom, when you read this let me know ;))

With no tuck and all splat, I managed to bust my knee and my lip (of all things) wide open. Note to self: DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, try to break a fall with your face.

As soon as I went down, my first thought was “my teeth!” I was convinced that I was gonna open up my mouth to a big ‘ol hillbilly toothless grin. Thank goodness all of my teeth remained in place. They are sore, but seem to be fine otherwise. I am so glad that Daniel was there with me. If he wasn’t injured, he would’ve been doing his long run with his buddies and I would’ve been at the race by myself.

I got up, dusted myself off and stumbled over to the bathroom that we were originally headed for. We tried to clean my mouth out and stop the bleeding. At this point I got really dizzy and light-headed. I was pretty sure that I was going to pass out, but Daniel kept me “with it.” He kept telling me to keep my eyes open, prop my feet up over my heart, etc. I was NOT happy about any of this at the time, but it worked.

I hitched a ride home from a guy that saw us immediately after the “incident.” He asked me lots of questions on the way home. I think he was a tad skeptical that I had managed to bang myself up this bad by running. Ha. After we got back to the house, we had to figure out the next step. Daniel called and texted a few of the doctor friends and after pictures of my fat lip had been texted all around, everyone confirmed, “she’s gonna need stitches for that.”

Thrilled.

By far the biggest blessing of the day came when our running buddy, Ron, who also happens to be a plastic surgeon, met us at his office and stitched me right on up. Two stitches to the knee and three to the lip and I was good to go. This is actually the first time I’ve ever had stitches. He did a wonderful job. I can’t thank him enough!

People pay lots of money to get lips like this (err well, maybe not exactly like this).

We are stocked up on soup, frozen yogurt, regular yogurt, pudding, applesauce, bananas, etc. (basically anything mushy) and Daniel is taking good care of me.

I’ll be taking a few days (at a minimum) off from running or a few weeks, depending on how my battle wounds heal up. Ron told me that most doctors would probably tell me to take at least a week off, but he said a few days should be good enough. He’s a runner. He gets it. I’m just going to play that by ear and see how the knee feels.

As of Sunday afternoon, my lip is very fat and my knee and teeth are pretty sore. I’m walking okay (if you classify a hobble as a walk), but I don’t foresee any running or strenuous exercise in the immediate future. I am definitely not complaining about that. I am just really thankful that it wasn’t any worse. I will keep you posted on my “recovery.”

This concludes the race recap that never was. Stay upright out there guys! Anyone else have a good falling story?

P.S (because I want to end on a happier note). Yesterday was little Brookser’s 5th birthday! Where does the time go?! Happy birthday to our (not so) little booger!

Pre-fall (obviously).

Have a great week y’all!

Hey guys! I had a wonderful, race-filled weekend! Saturday morning I ran the Shrimp Fest 10K in Orange Beach, AL and Sunday morning I ran the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Mandeville, LA.

Shrimp Fest 10K (38:32)

The Shrimp Fest 10K has been on the calendar for a while. Running Wild Team Cheetah showed up in full force!

After a 2 mile warm up, lots of adjustments to our crazy shorts (yes: they are cute & no: I don’t recommend them for a race) and a quick team picture, we headed over to the start line.

We saw lots of friendly, familiar faces and we chatted waiting for the race to start.

The 10K started just after 8. There was also a 5K that started at 8:30. The timing of the starts worked out really well. Most of the race was run on the Backcountry Trail, which is a 15+ mile paved trail system that runs through Gulf State Park in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores AL.

The trail is great for running, but is definitely more narrow than a regular road. If the 5K and 10K had started at the same time, we would’ve been weaving in and out of each other running the same direction in the last few miles (local runners think ATR). Because the 5K started later, we were actually going the opposite direction on the trail, which made it much easier to stay separated. Everyone stayed to the right and it worked quite nicely.

I enjoyed running on the trails, but it got a tad lonely out there. I only passed one runner during the race. I didn’t get passed by anyone though, so I guess that’s a plus. I was in third place overall for the first two miles and passed the second place guy during mile 3. After that I just tried to chase down the leader, but I never could quite catch him.

Somehow my Garmin wasn’t located correctly at the start line, so my splits are a little wonky. It shows my splits as 6:36, 6:07, 6:07, 6:15, 6:15, 6:19 and 0:53 for the last 0.2 for a total time of 38:32 (6:13 average). I think that my first three miles might have been all closer to 6:10 – 6:15. The trees likely also had something to do with the signal not being great.

Thankfully the course was certified (and marked correctly), so I have qualms about calling this one an official PR. I ran a 38:37 10K as part of the First Light Marathon relay in January, but I didn’t get an official time for that since it was part of the relay. This was only 5 seconds faster than that, but I’ll take it!

The best part of the day hands down though was that we came in 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th overall females. You can’t beat that! We’ve been doing some workouts together here and there and to see everyone’s training coming together was super exciting!

The race was very well organized and I would definitely recommend it. This was my first time to run it and I loved it!

I tried my best to recover, refuel and rehydrate Saturday afternoon. Compression socks were worn all afternoon. I propped my legs up against the wall for a little bit. I see people doing this all the time, so I figured I would see what all the hype was about. If nothing else, I got a good stretch in. I could also feel the blood draining from my legs, so I’m thinking it probably helped reduce inflammation and promote circulation.

Gulf Coast Half Marathon (1:32:18)

A few weeks ago Rebecca asked if I would want to do this race in Mandeville LA. We did the race several years ago (2011) and it was a great course. Even though it was the day after the 10K, of course I said I was in! #alltheraces

The course is really beautiful. It starts in the Fontainebleau State Park, winds through some residential areas of Mandeville and runs along the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The race starts at 7, which is nice (that extra hour makes a big different in the heat and humidity). This is another very well-organized event. The parking, bathrooms, everything along the course (volunteers, markings, aid stations, etc.) and the post-race awards were seamlessly executed and very efficient!

We decided to get up and drive over the morning of the race (it was about 2.5 hours away). My alarm was set for 2:50 a.m. (I KNOW). I was worried about sleeping through the alarm and I woke up just before 2 and wasn’t able to go back to sleep. We planned to meet at Starbucks at 3:30 to get on the road. At 3:35 or so Rebecca wasn’t there. I jokingly texted her to see if she was awake (assuming that she was probably almost there). Apparently she slept through her alarm and my text woke her up!

We had to do a quick reassessment of our travel plans (different meeting location and different driver (one of us (won’t say who) drives faster :)), but thankfully we made it to the race with plenty of time to get our packets and even get a short warm up in. Whew!

I wasn’t entirely sure how my legs were going to feel or what my “plan” for the race was going to be until we started running. I knew I wasn’t going to *race* (as in it wasn’t going to be an all out effort), but I knew that I wanted to push myself a little bit and see what I could do on tired legs. I started off with a few miles right around 7 minute pace (6:59, 6:54, 6:56).

After 3 miles I was feeling really good! I picked the pace up a little bit (NOT the brightest of ideas in hindsight) and ran the next three in 6:52, 6:44, 6:47.

I crossed the 10K mark in about 42:15 and that’s where it started going south. Yikes. I wasn’t even half way done! I had a weird pain in my stomach. At the time I was thinking that it possibly had something to do with the Cliff bar that I ate before the race. I don’t typically eat anything before races, but since I was awake for over 4 hours by the time the race started, I was hungry. I didn’t want to run on an empty stomach, although I was questioning this decision around mile 7.

Now I am pretty sure that I might have a strained ab muscle from coughing my lungs out over the last few days. I’ve had some crazy allergy or sinus congestion going on for a few days. I feel fine, just a tad coughy, sneezy and drippy (throw in a few more adjectives and I would have enough ailments to make up the entire 7 dwarf posse).

Anywho … miles 7 through 12 were rough. I was fading in general and the stomach pain didn’t help anything. Those miles were 7:00, 7:25, 7:37, 7:49, 7:31 and 7:14. I got passed by quite a few runners during those 6 miles, which is not a fun feeling.

My stomach started feeling better and I managed to rally for the final mile and finished with a 6:10 mile (my fastest mile of the day (by far)). I passed several of the people who had passed me earlier and I felt amazing! I don’t know where that mile came from (other than I was just really over it and ready to be done with the race), but it felt good to finish strong.

My time was 1:32:18, which was good enough for 3rd overall female. Rebecca was 5th overall female!

The race has a really fun post-race party and the weather was perfect. We hung out for a little while after the race to get our awards and enjoyed listening to the band and visiting with friends. The overall and age group winners got an additional (skull) medal. Skulls were definitely the theme today (notice the race shirts below).

Whew. What a weekend! I think I’ll sleep well tonight! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Tell me: What is the earliest you’ve set an alarm for a race morning? What is the most unusual or unique medal you’ve gotten?