Spring Spontaneity

Spring was so spontaneous this year that it decided to show up in Winter!  March was much warmer than normal, on average, and even had several days of record high temps.  While I enjoyed my short sleeves, flip flops and sandals, I was also thinking, "Oh, GREEAAAAAT".  I could only see this as a pre-cursor to a horrifically hot and humid Summer.

There was also another unwelcome side effect of the warmer weather - the Cherry Blossoms!  While normally they peak around the first week of April, these suckers came out 3 weeks early and didn't last nearly as long as they normally would.

Here are some pictures (taken via cell) of the cherry blossoms in my neighborhood last week, during peak bloom, and just 1 day before Spring officially began:

Here's some pretty trees in a shopping center on March 20; the first day of Spring.  I loved the lights:

Three days later, it was so warm out that my attic fan kicked on.  Why do I bring this up?  Because the very next day it was cold & rainy & windy and this is what happened to the blossoms:

Not to be outdone, Mr. Weather & Mother Nature conspired a few days later to dip the temps so low to issue a freeze warning and cause me to do this to my early-sprouting bulbs and plants:

Does this post have a point?  Well, not really.  Although it DOES mean that I won't be running the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler this weekend through any cherry blossoms.  Which makes me really sad.  It was specifically these beautiful puffs of pink and white that motivated me the last 3 miles of the race last year, as they were just so incredibly beautiful.  Hopefully other pretty flowers survived and I'll see a few of them for a few seconds as I run past the DC Tulip Garden


And hopefully I'll be able to reach down deep and find my own inner motivation, as I won't have anybody specifically cheering for me this year, either.  That actually does make a HUGE difference.

I've decided to give myself a time goal.  I don't usually do this, but I feel like I should be able to meet the goal.  Crossing my fingers that I'll be able to get a PR.  THAT itself should push me!  Maybe I also need a good running outfit.  I love the themed races, if you couldn't tell by my previous post.  ;)

St. Shamrock Leprechaun Races

March 10th marked the first day of my 2012 racing season.  I started off with the 4 Courts 4 Miler.  My friend Travis convinced me to sign up for it.  It didn't take much persuasion, as it sounded like a fun, festive race.  I was NOT excited for the elevation of the course, however.

Check out the elevation chart at the bottom of this photo

That's right.  A nice, long, easy downhill to start, with an ugly, long, tough UPhill to end.  It was not pretty.  I had decided that I would just treat this race as a nice training run, as my big Spring race is the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler on April 1st.  I had my fancy dancy HUGE IronMan GPS watch on so I could monitor my heart rate as I went.  I wanted to stay in Zone 2, as this is what my coaches have prescribed for the non-track workout runs.  Well, I can tell you that race day forces you to behave differently.  And so do hills.  Sure, it's easy to go for a leisure Z2 run on my own, but in the hype of race day and going up hills, my heart rate spikes in to Z4 and even Z5.

Going downhill is easy-peasy!

It was a very cold morning and everybody set off fast down the hill.  I didn't go all out as I knew I needed to keep something in the tank for the run back up those hills.  I checked my heart rate and it was keeping steady.  Then at mile 1.5-ish, I looked down and saw my watch had borked.  It was frozen and the screen was all funky.  I pulled myself over to the grass to walk, tried to press some buttons, tried to restart it, tried to warm it up with my breath . . . nothing worked.  So I got back on the road to run the rest of my race.  I was disappointed that on my very first race, my very expensive watch didn't perform.  And I didn't have any data to go back to after my race.

Oh well.  I can tell you that I had to stop a few times to walk while going up the hill.  And I can also tell you that by the time I crossed the finish line, I was ready to vomit.  :)

My throw-up face.

Love that the photographer zoomed in on my socks. :)

I felt fine about my finishing time, as I didn't really have a goal in mind.  I'd never run a 4 mile race, and I had never really had to deal with the extreme hills before, so I pretty much didn't care about my time.  And despite the cold temps and freezing wind, it was a really fun atmosphere with some great people.

The next weekend, I drove down to VA Beach to participate in my first Team Z race event!  Team Z is the triathlon club I joined in mid-December.  It has been SO incredibly helpful in my quest to become a better triathlete.  While it is quite pricey, they offer countless clinics, skill-sessions, and professional coaching at all group practices.  They offer you very specific training plans based on your abilities and goals, and provide you with tons of options on where to train with the team during the week (every day except Friday - rest day!), as well as multiple options on the weekend bike and run long workouts.  I've learned so much from just the last 3 months.  Anyway, I signed up for the Shamrock 8k.  Normally I wouldn't travel 3.5 hours for an 8k, but like I said, I wanted to experience a Team Z race event.  It was kind of a hassle figuring out the logistics of getting down there in time for my packet pick-up on Friday while not using a vacation day from work, but I'm SO glad I decided to go through with it.

Friday night we had a team dinner and ate through a crazy thunder & lightning storm.

This is before it really started coming down

We had fun at the dinner avoiding the leaky ceiling (our table was on a dock over the water with temporary roof and walls that could be removed in the summer time), the water streaming in on the dock floor, and indulging in good food, dessert, & company.

My carefully painted nails. Notice also my awesome blood blister on my right big toe.  Sexy.

My coach was jealously eyeing it, so I obliged him with a taste

Chocolate Chunk milkshake

The 8k was Saturday morning. Those of us who were running and supporting (most of the team would run Sunday in the half & full marathon) got there early and met up as a team before the race officially started.

We hung out and talked and laughed and enjoyed each other's company.

Recognize my outfit? ;)

My coach asked me what my goal was for the race.  Honestly, I didn't have one.  I'd never run an 8k race, so I didn't have a time to beat, nor did I care about going all-out, as I didn't want to run the risk of getting injured before the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (I'm so afraid of a repeat of last year!).  So I told him that.  He asked me if I DID have a time goal, what would it be?  I told him that I thought it'd be awesome if I could run an average 10.5 minute mile throughout the course, but I didn't expect that I'd be able to do that.

We all made it to the start area and got settled in to our corrals.  The race started and I set off.  Like the weekend before, it was really fun to people-watch, as most everybody was dressed festively for St. Patrick's Day.  This race, after all, WAS on actual St. Patrick's Day!

It was a very flat course, which I appreciated.  I also loved when we turned the first corner and got to run along the boardwalk parallel to the beach.  The morning sun was out and the breeze felt so nice.  I really took in the scenery and enjoyed myself.

I crossed the finish line feeling like I was ready to stop running.  :)  I went through the finisher's "chute", collected a bottle of water, some food, 2 shamrock race koozies, annnnnnnnnd.........  A MEDAL!  So freakin' awesome!  I had no idea this race offered me a medal!  I've never heard of getting a medal for anything less than a half marathon.  I was STOKED!  I got my official finisher's photo taken, then headed down to the beach to enjoy the festivities and beauty of the morning.

My shamrock headband blew off my head when I rounded the corner to run on the boardwalk

I laughed out loud when I saw how this turned out!

Watching the dude do his sand thing

The festive people enjoying the post-race party

Beautiful morning on the beach

King Neptune protects

My cell phone self-portrait

After wandering around for a bit, I remembered to check my watch to see how I did.  I was shocked to see that my watch told me I ran an average 10:23 mile pace!!  I beat my goal!  So awesome!  I was completely surprised and really proud of myself.  Yay!  I was thenready to go meet up with my team to celebrate.  I caught up to them at our pre-determined breakfast spot and we all indulged in some hot, delicious food.

Nomz

That evening was another team dinner and some pep talk for the half & full marathoners who would run their race the next day.  I was feeling mighty good with my race out of the way and nothing to worry about but eating & enjoying the scenery.  :)

The next morning I woke up early to drive 3 of my housemates to their race and to help my coach set up the huge tents on the beach.  Boy, did I underestimate the man-power it would take!!

Beautiful morning on the beach before the sunrise

I ended up coining myself as "Coach's Assistant" that day, as after the 2 hours it took to assemble the tents, I then was given a big camera and was in charge of taking pictures of Team Zers on the race course while cheering everybody on.  It was actually hard work!  I don't know most people on the team, as there are hundreds, and I just joined a few months ago.  Normally it would be fairly easy to pick Zers out of the crowd, as the team color is green.  However, it being a St. Patrick's Day theme, EVERYBODY was wearing green!  My coach had to call out to me, "Zer!" so I could get the camera ready and try to get some action shots.  Pressure!  I also under-estimated the amount of energy it takes to constantly cheer, yell, and be enthusiastic for hours on end.

I was thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day!  We did get a team photo of those who stuck around after all the marathoners finished.

This was probably only half of the team that day.
A LOT of Zers stuck around DC that weekend to run the Rock n Roll half/full marathon

I drove home that evening bone-weary-tired, but really happy with the weekend.  A few days later, I got this email listing my official stats of the race.  My watch was a bit off as far as my pace goes, but I was still faster than my dream goal!  WOOT!

Another happy finish to the race I ran yesterday, but that's for another post!  So far, an awesome start to my 2012 race season with Team Z!  I seem to really have benefited from all the training and knowledge I've obtained so far.  I'm really looking forward to the rest of this year!

2011 Races

**Originally started writing this post in Aug 2011**

Hi.

Have I mentioned that I hate running?  Well, I do.  I hate it.  The only thing that makes me actually do it is when I have to train for a race.  I hate the training.  I dread the training.  But come race day, I am all excitement.  And once I cross that finish line?  ELATION.  I feel so awesome!  And I immediately think, "I bet if I trained harder, I would have done better."  And then that leads to me thinking of what my next race should be.

I've had some pretty annoying set-backs this year in training, working out, and completing my races.  Here's a quick recap of all of my 2011 races:


Crystal City 5k Fridays


This is the picture of me struggling to get through the first 5k in April (I signed up for 5; each Friday in April).  This was also my first official race of 2011.  I REALLY hurt my knee during this race, which I blame on my having to run for my life from crazy trail lady a few weeks before.  I think that must have been where I tweaked it.  As I was running this first 5k, my knee was extremely painful and I couldn't walk after I crossed the finish line.  It was also SUPER cold!  Not the most flattering of photos, but it documents that I actually did it:

I had never had knee pain before, so I was pretty annoyed.  I iced it.  I applied Epsom salt compresses.  I drugged myself.  I bought a knee brace.  2 days later, I participated in the..

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Despite my injury, this race was AWESOME!!  This is my 2nd favorite road race (after my half marathon) that I've participated in.  The cherry blossoms were just absolutely gorgeous, and the weather was perfect (a bit on the too cold side, but at least VERY sunny!).  I have lots of pictures to share with this one.  Even though I was in pain the entire time and had to stop and walk pretty often after reaching the 5 mile mark, I was all smiles as I took in the beauty of the cherry blossoms.  I can't even describe in words the happy feeling I had running along Hains Point in a canopy of puffy white & pink flowers.  I would LOVE to run this race again!

In the wee hours of the morning, before the sun was fully up, my friend Michelle (she flew out for her spring break!) and I made our way to the starting line:

Not sure why I stood so crooked

Yeah, it was cold

Getting ready to start

Coming back across the memorial bridge toward Lincoln  

About half-way through

Scenic pictures that Michelle took while she waited for me to finish:

Random runners on the final hill before the finish line

Nearing the finish!

FINISH!

Me & Michelle enjoying the after-race high

**Continuing with the writing of this post March 2012**

Crystal City 5k Fridays 

I had to take a few weeks off after the Cherry Blossom race to let my knee heal up before I could attempt another race.  So I missed the 2nd & 3rd 5k Fridays and jumped back in on the 4th 5k with my sisters, Julie & Tami!  This was their VERY FIRST RACE!  I was so super excited for them both.  It was less than ideal race conditions as it was really cold and rainy.  Tami had flown in from Germany for sisters' weekend and Julie drove down from WV to join in on the race.  My knee was acting up, Tami's knee was acting up, and Julie was sick with what she found out later was strep throat.  None of us were at the top of our game, but we did our best and had a lot of fun, which was the most important part!  Tami got us matching purple sweatbands and we sported some purple clothing of our own just for kicks.

Some pics pre-race:

At my house

Game Face

We took shelter inside the bldg across the street from start line

The only decent official race-day photo:

Tami crosses the finish line

The three of us post-race:

And the final 5k Friday:

Next up in June...

Run Amuck 5k 

This was a fun I-don't-care-what-my-time-is race for me, as I'd never done an obstacle course race before. It was a mud run that took place on the Marine Base down in Quantico.  You run through the course and complete certain tasks before you can continue on.  It was a lot of fun and challenging at times.  I even lost my shoe in the mud at one point!

Tulip & Me making our way to the start

Me & Stacy

Stacy, Tulip & Me waiting for our wave to start

Got the hang of it by stretching my
short legs to reach the next tire

Awkwardly making my way
through the tires

Flailing my arms like a girl

Found my lost shoe!

Triumphant with my shoe in hand

The result after cleaning off in the forceful water from the firetruck

A week later, I competed in the 

Washington DC Triathlon Sprint

I wasn't really happy with my performance in this race, as I was stuck in the mode of comparing myself to others, which is never a great thing to do.  Overall, I averaged a better swim, bike, run, AND transition time than my first triathlon, and the distances were slightly longer.  So I really had no reason to be so hard on myself.  The run was REALLY tough for me, though.  It was mentally draining, as we passed the finish line 4-5 times before we could actually cross it.  That definitely wore me down.  But, in the end, I DID finish, and I got a medal.  Awesome.

My official race profile picture; taken at the expo 2 days before the race

All my gear

Mandatory bike racking & body marking; day before race

Tip: don't sleep on white sheets when you have
permanent marker all over your body 

Woke up to my race numbers
stamped in to my sheets

Taken on my cell phone as I made my way to transition area about 3:30AM

Transition area opened at 4AM

*****SWIM*****

View of swim start from afar

Swim done.  Coming up the ramp in the back

Happy to be done with the swim

Getting myself to transition

*****BIKE*****

No actual pictures of me on my bike, so I paused the video and got some still shots

Rounding the corner

About to cross Memorial Bridge toward Arlington Cemetery 

We would then turn around and head back toward Lincoln

*****RUN*****

Girl in front is much happier than I

Struggling to even pull a smile for the camera

Finally able to turn the corner and cross the finish after passing it tons of times!

YES!

*****FINISH*****

Me & my boss, Ted at the finish

Cindy (Ted's wife), Ted, Juan (their neighbor) & Me proudly wearing our medals

Obvious champions

Being tough

Last finisher's pose

Took a break from racing for a few months until November, as I tweaked my Achilles in August to the point of not being able to walk.  Stupid injuries.

Veteran's Day 10K

I almost didn't run this one because I had slacked off on my training, spent all of the day before playing tourist around DC and then attending a hockey game; didn't get home until late that night, etc.  But I forced myself out of bed that morning and did it.  Not my best race by far, but at least a beautiful day!

Coming around the last turn

Sprinting to the finish

Ta-Da! DONE!

Turkey Trot 5k

This was a really fun race!  I seemed to find my zone and ended up getting one of my best 5k race times!  Plus, I got to race it with my sister Julie and my brother Todd!  Todd's family came in to town from St. Louis for Thanksgiving.  This was Todd's first race ever.  He pretty much hated it, but I think if he got the gumption to try another race with a working iPod, he would have a better experience.  No official race day photos, but some cell pics before and after.

Before the race.  Me, Julie, Todd

Me prancing to the finish line!

Post race we are all smiles!

That is the end of my 2011 race season.  While there WOULD have been one more race in December with Julie to round out the year - a 15k for me, 5k for her - it was a complete and utter disaster:

 Hot Chocolate 15k & 5k 

I don't feel like going in to all the details of why this race totally bit the big one and was a MAJOR disappointment.  But you can click HERE to read an article in the DCist, or HERE to read an article in the Washingtonian, or HERE to read an article in the Washington Post.  Needless to say, I was furious and fuming for days afterward.  

Julie and I still got our chocolate, and actually got a cute official race photo as well, even though neither of us were able to run our race.

We're good fakers.  ;)

 My 2012 race season starts in 3 days!  For the next 8 weekends in a row I have a race scheduled.  First a 4-Miler, then an 8k, a 5k, the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler (Yes! I made the lottery again to run it!!), then the 5k Fridays in April.  Crossing my fingers for no injuries!  I will try to update my blog more regularly with news of my new life with Team Z - the triathlon club I joined mid-December.  First Triathlon of the season is in mid-May!  Yay!