So I officially decided to do the 10k at Ft. Collins. I felt good in the morning and hoped for a good day. I've decided that I don't like doing races by myself. I feel so alone and all I focus on is the run. I can't seem to focus on the scenery, people, etc.....therefore the run feels really long. Although we were wearing chips, there was no starting mat so I don't know exactly where the starting line was. I started out OK, then had trouble getting my MP3 to turn on. Had to futz with that a bit, but got it going. When I got to about 3 or so, I was bored and struggling. I kept pushing as I was a bit behind my desired time. We turned onto a trail at 3 miles and were heading back. At about 5 miles I really was done, with lead legs and just wanting to slow down. I pushed, but know I lost some steam. As I approached the finish line, I wanted to kick it in to push it. I did a bit, but not as much as I hoped. I ended up finishing according to my watch at 55:21, and according to the clock at 56:25. I was hoping to break 56 minutes, maybe even 55 minutes, so I was disappointed. Oh well. It is basically the same as last year's Turkey Trot...which I ran after being injured for 4 months and only running one 6+ mile run in training. Therefore I didn't improve at all even though I've been running more. The ext 12-15 lbs probably aren't helping, but I'll need to focus on speed or something for the future.

So, today is 10k race day. As expected, woke up to rain and wind. Got ready and Bill was going to take me to the other girls' hotel to meet them there. We get outside at it's raining pretty steady and there are gusty, cold winds. As we get in the car, I say to Bill--would you think I was a complete wimp if I just didn't do the race? I really hate the wind and then coupled with cold and rain I was really dreading this. He just said, 'it's your money'---so he didn't really give me permission or denial. We drove to the hotel, grabbed the trash bags that we brought for jackets and headed in. Met the group, got our bags on and started heading down to the start line. About 1/2way down, Bill said goodbye and I knew I was going to at least try.

At the starting line, I was chatting with Melissa and her friend Jennifer (that works with them and came down to do this 10k) and learned this was Jen's first race. I asked her what she hoped to run and she said 9-9:15/mile pace. I told her that's what I wanted so I suggested we run together. Then she mentioned that that's much faster than her typical pace and that was her goal. OK, well I'll run with her for a bit and see how it goes.

The race starts and by mile 2 the winds had died down and it stopped raining. Jen and I were still running together and keeping about a 9:20 or so pace. We throughout our trash bags and kept going. At about mile 3 we crossed a bridge over to Kentucky. That was a rough bridge as it was a long incline to get to the top of the curve of the bridge. I stuggled a bit and Jen really struggled. I had said to her earlier that if either of us wants to run ahead of the other, they should just go and she agreed. Yet as we got over this bridge, I was really liking running with someone. I slowed a bit to catch my breath and allow Jen to catch hers and back up with me. As we got to around 4 miles she said she was really struggling. I could see it but she was still doing OK, just slowed up a bit. Right then, I realized that I felt good but it didn't really matter. I saw myself in Jen....the way she was breathing, the struggle she had on that hill, it was all me and my running just a few months ago. I decided I didn't care about my time at this point...what difference does it make if I run a 58 min 10k or a 56 min 10k, I'm not winning so who cares? I thought about how many people, particularly Bill and Ken, have slowed themselves during runs to just stay with me and keep me going. It was now my turn to take that baton and give that to someone else. I think Jen may have wanted me to go on, but I just stayed with her and slowed when she needed it, then gradually picked the pace back up again on flatter portions or downhills. We saw Bill at about 4.5 and that was fun to have that to look forward to and have that nice distraction. After mile 5 there was a short little hill that was a struggle and I just plowed through and then slowed at the top for Jen to catch up. Then at about 5.5 we were crossing another bridge back to Ohio. It wasn't as steep as the first bridge, but still a stuggle. Jen was really waning at this point and I noticed I got a good block or so ahead of her. I saw Gary on the bridge and said Hi, then turned around and ran back to Jen. Let her know she could do it and we were going to finish together.

As we passed the 6 mile sign, we could start to hear the crowd and announcer. At 6.1, I yelled to push it and we sprinted to the finish. She stuck right with me through that sprint. This was her first race and I felt good about how I ran mine.

My GPS says we ran about 6.4 miles in about 59 minutes. After the race, I got 2 text messages with my time, one said 58:25 and one said 59:25. That was odd and I figured the 58.25 was probably right based on my watch. Well, the official time was 59:25, about a 9:34 pace. We still finished in under the hour and it was OK as the start was windy and rainy and Jen got her first 10k done in under an hour--about 7 minutes faster than my first one!

Jingle Bell Run 2007

Today's the Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run 5K. I find out just before the race that it's a new route, which is probably good because of the every-other-day snows we've been getting. They shoveled pretty good, but there is still icy patches and snow/ice chunks all over the route.

Ken paired up with me and we took off........literally. At the one mile point, they announced 7:55! What! That's the fastest mile I've EVER run, by alot. At mile two I was starting to struggle, but they announced 16 minutes flat. Slowed a bit, but still quite fast. Ken stayed ahead of me just a bit for this two miles and was my rabbit. Unfortunately right after that point was a big hill that I tried to run up (not walk a bit). I did it, but struggled, and therefore got a bad side stitch coming down the hill. I kept going, but had to slow quite a bit to get my breathing under control. Ken kept going and even Bill passed me (he had been just about 10 seconds behind us the whole time). Finally at about 2.55 miles I started feeling better and picked the pace back up. At about 2.7 we were turning toward the school and I wondered how we were going to get another .4 in. Well, it turns out the course was short and my watch said about 2.82 at the finish line.

After gathering with the group, we decided we needed to finish the 5k, so we ran around the neighborhood a bit to finish the distance.

According to my Garmin, I ran 3.16 miles in 26:45.
For the 5k, I ran it in 26:09! I beat the 27 minute mark, even with slowing down quite a bit that last .75 mile. That's a 8:26/mile pace.

Now to keep working on it so I can maybe do the 8:30-8:45 pace for the full 10k.

Turkey Day, Turkey Trot

So, today's the Kenosha Turkey Trot. Over the last two months I've been building up speed and trying to re-gain my distance in attempt to do well in this race. I really want to beat 58 minutes, maybe even push to beat 55 minutes.

Got up this morning to hear the wind blowing and seeing it snow. Not alot of accumulation, but big flakes....or "packets" of flakes as Bill called them. It was in the 20s, with a wind chill in the teens. The wind was from the northwest, therefore the first 3+ miles would be into the wind....yippee, my favorite.

Got going running with Bill and had a pretty good pace. There were a few places I struggled a bit, but was able to maintain a pretty good rate. At 5 miles I realized I was doing really good and I could have a good time. Then we turned west for the last .75 mile into the wind, and I got a side stitch. I was really disappointed and wanted to just keep going. Luckily it didn't get too bad and I was able to push through it.

Finished in an official time of 56:47! Woo hoo! I'm really excited as that is great for me, especially in the cold and windy conditions. Ran the first half of the race just slighly slower than the 2nd, by less than a minute, but still it's a negative split.

I'm really proud of myself and feel really good about this!

Now to meet up with the other Racine runners and head to the bar for the 2nd part of the race....bloody marys!