Pink on Parade 5k

My first race as a Florida resident was so much fun! I don't think I was even fully unpacked when my friend, Jenny, asked if I wanted to join her team for the Pink on Parade 5k. I knew I wanted to find a race that supported breast cancer awareness since I wouldn't be able to do Race for the Cure anymore and this was a great one to participate in.

On race morning Jenny and I met in Celebration where the race was being held. Once meeting up, we walked a short distance to meet the rest of her team. There was a lot of excitement in the air and it helped loosen me up. I wasn't worried about anything with this race as far as time and certainly not distance, but because it was a new thing, I was a little anxious. Jenny's teammates were all so kinda and welcoming. We got a group picture before everyone was called to the start line.

This was a very low key race and I loved every minute of it!

I had no time goal. I just wanted to run a casual race with Jenny. The course goes through the town of Celebration. Jenny used to live there and I have run a few times when I have visited. It's an adorable town that, at times, makes me feel like I'm on a movie set! I was so glad to run there again. Jenny wasn't sure how well she would be able to run because she has taken some time off so she said that she would like to make it at least a mile and then possibly do some form of intervals after that.

Shortly after we reached 1 mile I asked how she was doing and she said she was good to continue running. I checked a couple other times and she still insisted that she was good. At one point said she may not be able to talk but she was not ready to walk. The closer we got the more I knew Jenny would not walk even if she was really struggling. I tried to keep the conversation going to distract her from anything she may be feeling and the next thing I knew we were at the 3 mile mark. Jenny picked up the pace a bit at that point and we had a strong finish.

Finish Time~ 32:12

All Female Place~ 69/1011

We received our beautiful medals and made our way out of the finisher's chute. We hung around for a little bit after finishing, took some pictures and talked with some of her team members for a little while. 

Since we both had driven close to an hour to get to Celebration and love it there so much, we decided to stay and have some breakfast before heading home. Breakfast led to a long walk on the trails before finally admitting that we should both get home to our families. :) Everyone should spend a little extra time around Celebration post race. It's a pretty great place! 

This was a well organized and fun race. I am definitely looking forward to running it again next year!

Margarita Madness 5k

Have you ever run a race, and later found out a good bit of it wasn't actually legal? :-O

Three months ago Scott and I joined our friend Jessie to run the Margarita Madness 5k in Memphis. Between an insanely busy work schedule, packing up my house, and moving from Arkansas to Florida, my recap is a very long time coming. Maybe there was another reason for the delay though... Finding out information that I would not have had if I had posted it in a normal amount of time. 

Before I go on with our personal experience, I think it would be responsible to mention that apparently the organizer of this race is not the most honest. Early September I found out that there have been MM5k's in other towns that have been canceled for one reason or another and the participants were told they could get a refund but never did. On top of that, he didn't get permits to sell the liquor. I am not trying to spread rumors, so I found two links from reputable sites.

Better Business Bureau rating, reviews, and complaints

News article about  the arrest of the organizers due to no alcohol permits

The reason I share this is because, while WE had a good experience, it seems that ours is rare. It goes to show that it's worth it to do a little research into the races we want to do. Not just in a blog recap like this, but through sites like the BBB. 

Okay, business stuff out of the way, let's get on to the fun stuff. :) 

Back in December Jessie texted me about this race. They were having a super early bird special and registration was only $10! We figured, for 10 bucks, if our schedules didn't work out we weren't out too much money and if they did work out then great!

The race was a Saturday evening in June and we decided to make the little over 2 hour drive to Jessie's house after lunch. Having no idea what to expect in terms of where exactly the race was in a very large park, how long it would take for us to get from Jessie's to the park, and how exactly parking was going to work, we ended up arriving fairly early. Even for me, who regularly annoys my running companions about getting to races early.

Even arriving early there were still so many people there already. We checked in and got our bibs and shirts. Everything was well marked and easy to find. The volunteers we helpful and kind. While we waited we scoped out the food trucks that were around, thinking about what we may want to have after the race and also people watched. There was a DJ and people dancing. Eventually there was an announcement made for participants to make their way to the start. There was a little confusion here as there was not a designated area roped off and the start was in the field surrounded by chairs, tents, and food trucks. The race began in waves- runners, runners who also walk, and walkers. We placed ourselves somewhere in the middle of runners who walk.

The course was very pretty, with a mix of terrain. We began on grass, made our way to a path that goes around the park, and over the course of the next 3.1 miles went back and forth between the two. It was also full of rolling little hills. Jessie was suffering from allergies and was quite stuffed up which made it hard for her to breathe, so we walked a good amount. Scott and I really loved the scenery and the time we had with Jessie, so even when she apologized for walking a few times we assured her that we really were having a great time.

There had been a chance of rain all day and all along the course I was watching dark clouds roll by. As we passed the 3 mile marker a few large drops fell. We barely crossed the finish line when all of a sudden rain came pouring down. Big fat rain drops. Racers were handed medals and a margarita as they finished. You could see the rain splashing people's drinks out of their cups they were so big. We took cover under a tent, hoping the storm would pass. There was little to no room for moving, and because we were barely under the tent we still got soaked. I love the rain so other than being a little cold and a lot hungry, I didn't mind.

The rain wasn't letting up so we decided to head back to the car and get dinner somewhere else. I was a little disappointed that we weren't hanging around to experience any post race happenings, but also ok with it because we still had a two hour drive back home.

I really enjoyed this race. Until I heard the unfortunate news going around, I was thinking I'd look for another Margarita Madness after I moved. I won't be doing that, but I will definitely keep an eye out for lesser known races that have super cheap early bird specials. And before I sign up I will most definitely do some extra research to make sure everything is legal and well reviewed! ;)

My Race for the Cure 10 Year Anniversary

Race for the Cure!! I think I have mentioned before that Race for the Cure was my very first race. That was 10 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long! This year I celebrated the big 1-0 in a pretty great, unplanned, way.

The race was later this year than it ever has been since I started running it. It's always been in October and this year it was the first weekend in November. Which also means, it was colder for this race than any other Race for the Cure I've run. I had a really hard time figuring out what to wear. I knew I wanted to run hard for the competitive start at 7:30, so I would not need as much warmth as I would if I was running a more comfortable pace. But then I planned to run the course again at 8:00 with my friend Andrea, whose goal was to PR with a pace under 9:49. It seems petty, but I REALLY hate being cold, and I really wanted to run hard so what to wear definitely mattered.

We met Andrea at 5:45 on race morning to drive to Little Rock together. We ended up getting to our "regular" parking lot earlier than expected and it was nice to not feel rushed. We took our time gathering what we needed for the race and sorting what we would need later. When we were ready, we made the half mile walk to race central. After a quick "tour" of the area for Andrea, we ran a mile to warm up and by the time we finished there was less than 10 minutes until Scott and I started. I asked Andrea to get a quick picture for Scott and me and then we said goodbye for a bit.

At the start line I did the regular last minute things, making sure my shoes were the right tightness, music was ready, and trying to stay warmed up. The countdown began and the gun went off. With a reminder from Scott to not start too fast, and not much else on my mind, we took off. For the first time that I can remember, the first hill, the pass up the Broadway bridge to cross the river, didn't seem so hard. Even with Scott's reminder, my first mile was still too fast at 8:04, but in the moment I was feeling good. And then the second pass over the river, over the Main Street bridge, came. The hill to the top of this bridge is longer I think. Or maybe I'm delusional. It feels way worse and it takes me out, every time. I used the top of the bridge to recover as best as possible so that I could use the downhill of it to regain momentum.

I didn't have a time goal for this race. I knew the first 250 finishers received a medal, and I knew I placed 56th last year. All I wanted was to get a medal. And maybe finish in a better placement. I tried very hard to stay in the moment and be aware of the fun going on on the sides of the course. There have been times in the past that I've done the competitive run and there had not been many groups out yet. Or maybe I was too focused on time to see them. This time though, I wanted to make sure I saw them. They were a good distraction but even though I wasn't going for time, I had seen my pace climbing little by little as we ran over rolling hill after rolling hill. And there was a small part of me that was bothered by that. At 2.5 miles I noticed my average pace was 8:28. I wasn't positive, but I was thinking that might be a PR pace. I didn't know if I could run any faster, but I hoped to at least maintain that average. I wanted to finish knowing I had done my best. So I tried to dig deeper.

The last couple turns I think Scott was trying to tell me to start picking off people. To pass one person at a time. That didn't happen until the last 1/3 mile or so and it wasn't many, but I did. I crossed the finish line and Scott and I were greeted by a bunch of guys shouting so loud I could hear them over my own very loud music. It was probably the most rowdy finish line, medal receiving, greeting I've ever had. But it was pretty great. :-D

I knew I didn't have very long to get back to the start line where Andrea was waiting. I checked my watch, saw I finished with a pace of 8:24, thanked Scott for pacing me, and passed my extra stuff to him before taking off again. I had approximately a quarter mile and 4 minutes to do it. Which doesn't sound like it would be a problem, but at this point there are thousands of people lined up at least two blocks deep and most are walkers. I ran, then jogged, then weaved through participants and spectators. I saw Andrea JUST before I heard the DJ shout Go! We got a quick start line selfie, because it's tradition, and then prepared to run. Except, we were hardly moving.

It's been a few years since I did the general start as a runner. I had given Andrea a place to meet that I thought would be in the mix of runners, but in front of walkers. Now that it's all over, I'm thinking there really aren't nearly as many runners at the 8:00 start as there used to be. That, or they really crowd them in. Whatever the case, we were behind hundreds of walkers. I'm so glad so many people were there to support the cause, but I was feeling bad that I told Andrea to meet me so far back. Because of how packed it was we had a slow start to working towards Andrea's PR. We tried to jog through the crowd, or along the side on the sidewalk, but we were sitting around a 14 minute mile for about 1/4 mile. As we went up the bridge the crowd thinned more and more. At almost half a mile it had thinned enough that we could easily run and pass people as needed. Our pace had already gone from 14 to somewhere in the 11 minute range. I apologized again to Andrea and told her next year to just start in the very front. Or, even better, run the competitive run so she could get a medal for her hard work. :-D I also asked if she still wanted to shoot for her PR goal, which would mean running harder to make up for the beginning. Andrea's answer was to at least run the PR pace from this point on.

A little before one mile I noticed our pace had dropped significantly and we pulled back a little. It was the same situation as my first time around the course. Only Andrea is better about pacing herself. I gave her a heads up about the hill back across the bridge coming up and we slowed a little more. At the top we recovered again, and when Andrea was ready we used the downhill on the other side of the river to pick the pace back up. I honestly don't remember very much talking. I know I tried to encourage Andrea, but also tried not to assume she wanted to hear what was coming up along the course. I also noticed the groups of spectators were way more vocal this time around.
For me, this second time on the course had it's own set of difficulties. Mostly being that I was running on tired legs from the speedy 5k, but also I was now at almost 7 miles of running for the day. I should have mentioned before that part of why I wanted to run the course a second time with Andrea, besides wanting to run with and support my friend, was because I'm also training for a 15k in a few weeks. So I needed the distance, but I was definitely feeling it. Despite that, I was throughly enjoying myself! I love running with Andrea, and I was really loving the experience of truly seeing and hearing the spectators along the way.

We had been on the little rolling hills for a bit when Andrea asked about our distance. Back at the start line her RunKeeper app couldn't seem to find a signal so her distance and pace were off. I knew we had passed two miles but my watch was showing right at 2 miles, and also giving me a warning that the battery was low. I assumed the distance and pace were off because of the low battery. I was hoping that it wouldn't die before we finished because there have been a couple times when something similar to this has happened when the battery was low and it ended up still tracking but not showing. Anyway, so I estimated we had about 3/4 mile to go but couldn't tell her anything about pace, and asked if she wanted to know what to expect for the last few minutes. She asked about the distance from our last turn to the finish line. I told her my best guess was less than half a mile, but more than a quarter. (According to Google Maps it is .4) I also told her she would be able to see the finish line as soon as we turned. She was asking because she had more to give, but didn't want to go all out too soon. I love how Andrea races so smart!!

Step by step Andrea picked up the pace and finished so so strong! I think we finished at an awkward time because there weren't very many people at the finish line. The guys that had been handing out medals earlier had move to just before the finish line. That was cool and I was glad there was some noise as we finished. There just weren't very many runners or people on the sidelines. It was really odd. So it seems as though while the competitive runners may have less excitement over the course, general start runners may have a less exciting finish line. Or maybe it was a fluke. Who knows! Whatever the case, I was still so proud of Andrea and her smart, strong race! It wasn't until we met up with Scott a minute or two after finishing that I really looked at my watch to see our finish time. My watch had tracked the whole time and it turns out that we had done way better than expected. And Andrea learned she has WAY more in her than she realized. Our finish time was 28:54 with an average pace of 9:17.... 9:17!!! That's a 30 second PR for Andrea! WHAT!? Her first 5k was a 9:49 pace on a mostly flat course. This one was far from flat. Incredible!

We took some time to stretch and then walked back to race central to wait for the Survivor Parade which was scheduled to start at 9:30. We had almost an hour at this point. While waiting for the parade we stood around, stretched, went to the the little tent set up for pink ribbon shopping, stood around, and stretched some more. All while trying to stay warm. While Andrea and I were running, Scott had gone back to the car and grabbed our bags that had an extra layer and snacks, but I think I underestimated how many layers post-run I would need. I did not want to miss the parade, and by the time it started I was so thankful.

Staying for the parade is really important to me. It reminds me of why I run this race in the first place. To remember and celebrate the too many friends and family that are affected by cancer. To support the ones I don't even know. It's a very special time filled with smiles and tears.

I tried not to rush leaving, but almost couldn't help it. I had been shaking from being cold for over an hour. We all decided we were ready and we made our way back to the car, trying to be in the sun as much as possible. :)

After ten years, I almost expected this year to be somewhat mundane. "Just" another 5k that had a special cause, but nothing really different from the past. And yet, it was still different. Every year, all ten of them, has been different for one reason or another. I'm already looking forward to what my 11th year at Race for the Cure will bring!

Competitive Run Final Stats~
Finish time- 26:23
Average pace- 8:24 (I found out while we were waiting for the parade that I did in fact PR!!!)
Overall place- 51/173

More Than Pink

What. A. Day!!

I love Race for the Cure and the attention it brings for breast cancer awareness. It's hard to not be aware of something that everyone is affected by one way or another. But this day, that thousands and thousands of people gather to celebrate or memorialize their loved ones, it's just so special.

Scott and I drove to Little Rock, arriving much earlier than we needed to. That wasn't the plan, but I think we were... okay, I was anxious. It doesn't matter how many races I do, or what the distance is, I always have start line anxiety.

Because I'm actually training for Soaring Wings Half Marathon, and after that continuing on with Walt Disney World Marathon training, my training plan had 11 miles for today. We decided to do a warm up mile before the 5k race, then almost right away get 6-7 miles in before the survivor parade. Things almost went as planned.

After the warm up mile, we found a place in the corral for the competitive runners. There was about 15 minutes until our race began, but time went quickly. While we waited I was looking around to see if I could figure out where we were in the lineup. I didn't feel like there were THAT many people in the corral. I knew that the first 250 finishers received a medal, and at the time, that was my only goal.

When the gun went off I tried to focus only on the running I had to do. Not the people around me. Not a pace or goal time, even though Scott did ask what my goal was, and I told him I'd need a pace of 8:40 or less to PR. Something I had no expectation of getting because it was so warm already and humidity was at 100%. Not to mention, I know how many hills are squeezed into this course! Half a mile, and one bridge over the river in, I glanced at my watch and realized I was running a sub 8 pace. This is a very new pace for me!! It's also not the best way to start if I didn't want to flop before the finish line, but at the same time, I was surprised that even though it was hard, I was not struggling. I also knew I wouldn't hold that. I was close though, for the first mile. :) Out of habit I looked down when my watched beeped- Mile one was done in 8:01. That's also about the time Scott got a real in the moment picture of me. I thought I was smiling for the camera, but I was wrong. lol

I definitely slowed down over the next two miles. At least on the uphills. I tried to keep it steady, but around 1 1/2 miles I started getting a side cramp and it never went away. So I'd go up the hills at a slower pace, but try to pick it up on the downhills. I didn't hear the beep for mile two so it wasn't until almost 2 1/2 miles in that I realized my pace was in the 8:30's. Scott had been encouraging all along the way and at this point he started telling me he knew I had more in me. I told him I was giving it all I had. I really believed that. For the next .6 miles he kept telling me I could do this, but I had to go faster. At least, I think that's what he was saying. With about 1/3 left to go I turned my music up so I wouldn't hear him. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY loved and appreciated his support. So much. But I had a horrible cramp and I was pushing to the point of feeling like I'd be sick. I needed to just focus on whatever song was playing and making sure my legs didn't buckle underneath me. In my heart I knew he was encouraging me, and for that moment, that was what I needed. I knew if I could at least keep my current pace, I'd get the PR I didn't know I was going for. I also knew I was giving it all I could when my normal kick did not show up. Maybe it was the uphill climb to the finish line. I don't know, but it's ok. I had it! I crossed that finish line mat, stopped my watch, received my medal from a lovely volunteer, and after I got some much needed water, I finally looked to make it official. :-D

Finish time 26:54
Average pace 8:34
Overall place 56/211
Female place 25/152

My finishing place puts me in a higher percentage for placement than I have ever been for any race distance. It was a great surprise to find the results and see those numbers!

We only stopped for a couple minutes because I really wanted to get back for the survivor parade. Our next 6 miles were quite the adventure, which was good because after pushing so hard during the race I really just didn't want to move. I had planned for us to run the mile or so down to the river trail because I knew it would be mostly flat once we got down there, and do an out and back route. We got down to the trail and it was so peaceful and quite, but barely a mile on the trail, it ended because of construction.

So we battled with some traffic and ran on grass for a little bit until we found the next street we could turn on, and from there it was up and down more hills, over and over again, until we were able to make our way back in the direction of the race route to finish. We did stop for a couple pictures and a big drink of water when we reached the Capitol building. At that point we checked the time. I wasn't sure how behind we would be because of the detour and walking we were doing. I thought we may only be able to get in 5 miles. We realized we would have time to finish 6, but not the 7th mile, the one that would give us our 11 total for the day. That would have to wait until after the parade.

Once we hit 6 miles we had about 3 blocks to walk to where the parade would be. Those blocks just happened to be at the finishing area of the 5k. I really enjoyed walking the sidewalk and watching people finish!! I'm not sure if I've mentioned in past recaps, but the competitive run, which is what we did, starts half an hour earlier than the rest of the race. The number of participants is so large and there is so much entertainment along the course, that it can take an incredible amount of time to finish. I've walked it twice. One year, it took over 2 hours! So, when we finished our 6 miles, it had been an hour and a half since the general start of the race. At one point, not that long ago, Race for the Cure in Little Rock was number 2 in the country!! I'm not sure what the numbers were for this year.

I didn't know anyone in the parade, but I wanted to be there to honor my friend who normally is a part of it, and also because it is such a special part of the day. The song played during the parade this year was called "Run For Life" by Melissa Ethridge. This was the first time I have heard this song, and it touched me so deeply. Between the song and watching these amazing, strong women walking with huge smiles, I just couldn't keep my emotions under control.

A few of the ladies made eye contact and I'd gesture towards them, clapping or something. It's so hard to explain these experiences. One lady walked over and hugged me. But, it wasn't a hug FOR me... like she wasn't comforting me. It was a thank you. I've been trying to figure out how to put that moment into words and that's it. She was thanking me for being there. For the support. For the tears I'm shedding because I hate so much what they, and anyone with any form of cancer, has to go through. It's amazing what can happen when we show a little vulnerability.

The parade ended, but we waited another minute or two for things to clear up (emotions included!) before we started our final mile. I really didn't want to run anymore, but we had to get back to the car anyway, and it was almost a mile away. So we sucked it up and got moving. I was thankful that a good bit of that final mile was downhill or flat. :)

It was such a good day. The feelings were as much of a roller coaster as the hills we ran all morning long. I wouldn't have it any other way though!!

Firecracker for the Troops 5k

Last week I was in Virginia visiting my best friend, Darby, and helping out while she recovered from having a baby. I had no expectation to get any runs in because my focus was to be there for them, but I took stuff just in case it worked out. I managed to get a couple runs in, one being a last minute decision to do a 4th of July 5k. I've always wanted to do one, but have never made it a priority. When our friend, Denise, mentioned she was doing a race on the 4th, Darby encouraged me to join her.

We left in time to hopefully get to the course with enough time to park and get out packets. It wasn't until we were on the way that I found out packet pick up closed at 7:30. Our GPS was telling us that we would arrive at 7:26, and we knew we would still have to walk to the main area. Oops!! Turns out the parking garage we used was fairly close and they didn't actually close the packet pick up line right at 7:30. We got our bibs pinned and then I got a little warm up while running our shirts back to the car while Denise tried to meet up with another friend who was also running.

By the time I got back it was about time for the race to start. There were so many people. I have never participated in such a large 5k! Aside from Race for the Cure, which in the past has been in the top 5 in the country :-D Even then though, the competitive run is a few hundred. The Firecracker for the Troops 5k had over 1600 finishers!!! It makes me wonder if this is normal, or if I feel like it's huge because of where I live.

The race started on an uphill. Having lived in Virginia, I knew the area somewhat, but not well. I definitely was not expecting this course to be as hilly as it was. Denise has been dealing with an injury, and I knew I wanted to stick with her throughout the race, so neither of us went in with a finish time expectation. Our running pace was not bad, but we did walk a few times in the last half. I was more than ok with that! It definitely felt like the race directors tried to squeeze in as many hills as possible. It was also a pretty muggy morning. For all the hills and humidity though, the course was beautiful and I had a really good time. I probably rambled on too much, subconsciously hoping to distract Denise from her pain. The geese that joined us on the course were a fun distraction as well. :)

The last half mile was pretty much all uphill. Walking still happened, but we did cross the finish line running, picking people off (passing them with a good kick in the last tenth. :) ) as we went along. We finished with a time of 38:44.

After finding the water we found a shaded area to sit for a few minutes. There were many vendors so we decided to walk around for a few minutes before leaving. While doing that we found FOOD. Lots and lots of food. Along with the number of participants at this race being more than I'd ever seen, there was also more food than I had ever seen at a 5k. Tables and more tables full of different kinds of bagels, cookies, goldfish and fruit snacks. I've done half and full marathons that had less at the finish line. It was amazing!

This was a really fun race with lots of excitement before and after. It would have been easy to stay and hang around for a long time. However, I had a little baby waiting for me back at the house, so we headed out. I may have a summer race bug now though. I might make it more of a priority to sign up for one near me next year! :)

Training and Last Minute Races

In my last post about the Little Rock 10k and Half Marathon, I mentioned that I have been a sucker for challenges lately. Well, that did not end with Little Rock weekend. About a week later I registered for another half marathon- giving me 6 weeks to train. The challenge with this one is, I plan to run the whole thing. Not only that, but I have it in the back of my head that I'd like to PR. Since I had been training for Little Rock, I had the distance in, however, it was walk/running, and I needed to run run. lol New challenge plan: Train for a PR with some speed work as best as possible for 4-5 weeks before tapering. I've never trained for less than 12 weeks for a half marathon. Let's do this...

I'm actually pretty surprised at how well it has been going. My friend Angela and I have done a majority of the training together building up the long runs, and getting some tempo runs in mid week. Twice I've tried new forms of speed work, and doubted my ability both times. I ended up pulling out speeds I've never done before for the distances I was covering. It was amazing! The long runs have not been bad, quite fun actually, but they have had me wondering how I'll be able to PR. I just tell myself, to keep training and we'll see what happens on race day.

Last week I had an evening 5k with my daughter that I worked into my long run. She's not a big runner, but really wanted to do the race. So about three weeks ago we signed the two of us up. Angela and I decided to run 8 miles as close to the start time as possible. Since I figured Evie would be walk/running the 5k, I wanted to get one more mile in, so I ran from my house to meet Angela at the location of the race, and then we did an out and back run from there.

GloRun Recap~
Angela and I made it to the start line with a few minutes to spare. We each found our families and figured we would see each other at the finish line. I was thankful my daughter would have walks through out this race because our run leading up to the race was good, but difficult. I would have been just fine to be done running completely at that point. Walking would be nice. Turns out, Evie had more in her than either of us expected. The course is a two loop course, starting and finishing in the downtown area.
I knew Evie tends to take off fast, but the couple times we have run together, she faded quickly. At this race however, she ran further during each run than normal. At times, I couldn't even keep up with her. I don't know if this is because she was running faster than I am really able, or if it was because I had just run 9 miles. I chose to not look at my watch through out the race and just see what happened. We weren't being chip timed or anything and I really just wanted this to be a fun run for Evie.
I was impressed with the sideline support at this race. We live in a little-ish town and in the past, the 5k's I've done have been fun, but lacking in the sideline and post race areas. I loved that Evie got to have a fun experience with a lot of spectators.
As we were finishing, Evie had a lovely kick to the finish line. I'm so impressed, and proud of her! Based on my watch, the course wasn't not quite a full 5k, our finish time was 31:58 with an average pace of 10:33. We had hardly finished before Evie was asking to do it again next year!

Another week of training went by and brought us to today. We reached peak training today! Angela was doing another 5k this morning, so we met early to get in 9 miles before her race, and I planned to do the final 3 on my own. We had a good run, but it was challenging. It felt hard and as we were finishing I actually said I was done and wouldn't be doing three more. I didn't mean it of course, but I was done in that moment. We ended up finishing a little later than planned, and Angela's family had left for the 5k already. So I took her to the race, arriving 10 minutes before start time. I figured since I was there I may as well participate also. I ran in and got registered with just a couple minutes to spare. Talk about last minute! It was an adventure for sure!

Chip's Share It Forward 5k Recap~
After the 9 miles we had just done, I really was not sure what I had to give in my last three. My only goal was to hopefully not walk. Angela and I began together with another friend, but I was pulling ahead just a little. Angela told me she really had nothing left to put in, but she didn't mind if I went on. She also had a goal to finish before her husband who was also running, but had not been running very regularly. (For the record, they tied, with the exact same time and pace :-D ) I told her I was staying and just up around the corner we were going to pick it up to pass him. Around 1 mile there was a water stop. Angela's husband and one of her daughters he was running with, stopped for water and I told her this was our chance to pass. She really wasn't feeling it, and I heard her tell her daughter to stick with me. So J and I continued at a faster pace. I wasn't paying attention to numbers, just trying to go by feel. And stay with J. She's a fast kid! I was feeling mostly ok until the last mile. At that point I was pushing to stay with J. We caught up to her sister with about half a mile to go and the three of us stuck together for just a little bit. With the last 1/10 or so to go the girls each sped up. I didn't get my normal kick, but I finished as strong as I felt I could, just a few seconds behind J. This race had time chips on the back of our bibs (which was an unexpected surprise to me) and a tent set up at the finish line for official results. J and I headed over and I was shocked to see that my finish time was 28:33, average pace 9:12! How in the world I pulled a 9:12 pace after a difficult 9 miles, I'll never know. I was extremely pleased though.
This was my third year to do the Chip's 5k and I'm so glad I made the *very* last minute decision to do it!

I now have two weeks until the RussVegas Half Marathon. I'm greatly looking forward to tapering. Even with all the last minute races I have been doing, and the fact that I have been training since July, I'm still not burned out on running. Tired? Yes. Exhausted really. But I have looked forward to every run I have done, even the ones I knew would be hard.

I'm truly excited about RussVegas, whatever is in store for me there...