The Long and Short of a 5K Turkey Trot

I spent the better part of Wednesday thinking about Fred Duling and the incredible power of the human spirit. Of course, all this thinking was done as I ran errands, cared for children, hung out with my awesome 88-year old mother-in-law, did my meager share of Thanksgiving preparations, and stressed about strategized for my 5K Turkey Trot...among other things.

The 5K was in the forefront of my mind. The plan was to head up to Sonoma for what I'll call the 6th Annual Bartholomew Park Winery Thanksgiving Day 5K FunRun Turkey Trot because I don't know the official name or if it even has one!

Gee, XL, why on Earth would you drive an hour each way to run in an eentsy weentsy race with no swag whatsoever or even prizes?

This is why...

AM and me this Thursday...

I'm the nearly naked one...you can tell by the hair.

I found AM and her blog, Goals for the Week (now called Feet in Motion) last year when I started running and blogging. The 5th Annual version of this race was my first race, and AM was my first blogger meet-up :) Last year I finished the 5K in 28:52 and was all fired up because I had been expecting a time between 30 and 31 minutes. It was so fun, the people were super nice, and it was a beautiful setting. I vowed to return in 2011.

skip to the bottom if you want the short version...it's in blue italics all the way at the end

While temperatures were sub-freezing last year, this year the forecast called for pouring down rain *GROAN* My thoughts flashed on Fred Duling, I shut up and packed a Hefty bag, and set to creating a race plan. I had already planned on shooting the moon...'A' goal set at 23:52 (exactly 5 minutes faster than last year) and 'B' goal at 24 flat. My plan was to start slow (7:55 pace for the first half-mile) and bump the speed up every half-mile to be finishing off at 7:30 pace.

Enter stage left:  optimistic and persuasive friend

Uttering phrases like "go for it" and "what have you got to lose?" via chat, he convinced me to push the envelope. Go out at 7:30 pace and see how long I could hang on before imploding or exploding. "It's just a 5K" meaning I'd still be able to finish even if I blew myself out in the first mile.

Here's what happened...

I awoke way too early for my liking and was out the door by 7. It felt weird to be going off to a 5K race instead of a 2+ hour run. The rain was so light it was more of a heavy mist, and by the time I got to the venue, even the misting was intermittent. With temps hovering around 50ºF, conditions were my idea of perfection.

As I trotted around this beautiful place during my warm up, I remembered how last year I didn't warm up... I had been worried about completing just the 3.1 miles of the race! Once I felt loose, I hit the bathroom and stripped down to shorts and a tank. I set my Garmin to show just lap pace/time/distance, programmed the auto lap distance as one half mile, and put The Cure's Just Like Heaven on continuous loop on my iPod. I was ready.

The start felt awesome! Downhill + Adrenaline = 3:46.40 (7:33 pace) for the first half-mile no problem!

The road flattened out and I pushed a bit harder... 3:44.81 (7:30 pace) for the second half-mile.

Then there was a hill.

It was not a big hill, but it was a hill nonetheless. As I worked diligently to keep it fast, the numbers just kept creeping up. And then this guy pushing a stroller passed me. Going uphill. While having a conversation with the person next to him. The ensuing momentary demoralization allowed the pace to climb over 8 minutes per mile, and I finished the third half-mile in 4:00.37 (8:01 as my average pace).

Don't get distracted! Don't let the numbers get to you! Pay attention to the task at hand!

And I thought about Fred Duling and his daughter giving it their all in Philly. And I thought dream big. I rounded the next corner and floored it down the hill and back along the flat straightaway... fourth half-mile run in 3:42.61 (7:25 pace).

For the next half-mile, "keep it in the 30's" quickly segued into "stay in the 40's" which turned into "stay sub-8" and ultimately became "just keep moving forward." And there was this kid. He had flown off the start line with his dad, and I was now running next to them. The kid and I pulled away from the dad and ran together for the last mile. Our fifth half-mile was 3:59.45 (8 min mile pace).

As the kid and I began the final ascent, we were both fading but refusing to concede. He definitely had more gas in his tank, though. He would surge ahead and then walk until I pulled even and then surge again. Had I not been maxxing myself, this would probably have been super annoying. I kept trying to keep up with his surges. In my mind I was, but reality was not cooperating.

He finished about 10 feet ahead of me. I crossed the line in 24:01.

I was strollered. I was kidded (what do you call it when you're passed by a child?). I just missed my goal. I crashed and I burned.

And I had FUN. While I felt like I was dying at the end, rarely have I felt more alive. And for me, there is no better way to start a day of giving thanks than reveling in and testing the limits of this glorious thing that is Life.

********************

and the short version....


I ran a 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. Weather was cool and misty. Splits were as follows:


0.5 mile:  3:46.40  
1.0 mile:  3:44.81   
1.5 mile:  4:00.37
2.0 mile:  3:42.61
2.5 mile:  3:59.45
3.0 mile:  4:15.20
3.07 mile:  0:32.48


Finish time = 24:01


Yay! 

Toes, Underpants, and a PR

I don't know why I feel a need to share these things... but I do. Really... a need. They are inconsequential... like most of my blog. But the compulsion to dump it here... well, it is a compulsion and there's no stopping it.

This evening's ramblings... some people call this sort of deal "Three Things Thursday", but I don't really care for alliteration... anyway, this evenings ramblings are just that... ramblings. And of no real importance whatsoever.

Numero Uno

It's a first for me...

I'm going to lose it, aren't I? Will it hurt? Can you believe I'm a toenail-falling-off virgin?

Numero Dos

I am not a potty-training virgin, but this fourth time around is just ... I don't know... I guess I'm just not into it. My middle two kids were done with diapers before they turned two. Miss C is now 2 and a half. We have potties. We have a seat adapter. We have the undies. We casually talk about peeing and pooping in the little potty or the big toilet. She even tells me when she goes whatever in her diaper. We make mention of wearing the undies.

But she finds them to be infinitely more entertaining than wearable.

Numero Tres

Last night I ran a 5K "return-to-running" PR.

The workout was supposed to be 2 X 2 miles @ 8:30ish pace with a quarter-mile rest-jog in between. I started late (as usual). I just wasn't into it. As I was doing my warm up, I was complaining in my mind...

"stupid night running"

"darn kids... why won't they just go the *bleep* to bed?"

"i am sooooo tired"

"i think my hip hurts"

"i'm hungry... i don't think i've eaten enough today... maybe i should just go in"

"i wish we had real t.v."

I finished my 1.5-mile warm-up trot and stretched a bit. I toed the line at my mailbox and set off.

When my first lap was 10 seconds "too fast", and I just didn't feel like trying to slow down, I realized that if I held the pace, I could 5K PR. So I made a deal with myself... if I did it, I would be done for the night.

I could give you the blow-by-blow, but does anyone really care? It was dark. No skunks. Negative splits :) except that I was totally sucking it in the last 0.1 mile... no sprint for me... I was lucky to make it out alive!

Time:  25:20  (8:10 pace)

Three and a half minutes faster than my first 5K back in November.

Nearly a minute faster than my 5K 6 months ago in March.

Of course, I immediately plugged it into the McMillan Running Calculator.  *dork*

Looking at that Long Beach Half Marathon...

...and wondering how long it's going to take for me to really and for real run a new 5K PR... not just a "return-to-running" one.

Getting ready to shoot the moon :)

Have you ever lost a toenail? Did it hurt?

Trying to believe in oneself...

I've written about shooting the moon... the "go big or go home"... going all in or not going at all... and set myself a lofty goal for my next race.

That's great.

I probably should get ready to run it :P  And maybe find a hotel for that overnight so's I don't need to sleep on a bench! I took my first step in the right direction in terms of training last Sunday with my solid 12-mile run. And today I bought my plane tickets so I can actually get there!

I had been dragging my feet on these preparations because I am having a hard time believing in myself.

Surprised?

Don't be.

When I am prepped, I am solid with myself. When my prep work has been even somewhat sketchy, I begin to falter. Or rather when I am not seeing evidence of prep work my confidence plummets.

Last night I was just going to try to run 5 or maybe 6, if I felt okay out there. The whole lead-up was beyond annoying. The kids were just on my very last nerve from about the middle of dinner on. My tension had skyrocketed and I was thoroughly pissed that they had ruined my night and now I couldn't run and so I wouldn't even be remotely ready for this stupid half-marathon that I didn't even have a way to get to or a place to stay which was totally fine because I wasn't really going to be able to run in it anyway since I just suck so bad.

Whew... that was quite the run-on sentence... and that is exactly how I felt. Out of control and going down.

I finally headed out to run at quarter to 9. Pissed off. Tense. Utterly defeated.

And I rocked my run.

When I started off, all the whiny voices in my head were messing with me... so I turned up the iPod. I somehow got into a nice, easy groove, and halfway through my first 0.75-mile lap, I decided it was Progression Run Night :) I wanted to try to hit the paces that I set up for my race plan. I had no Garmin on... so it had to be by feel and just the watch.

As close to the money as I think I can get....

Lap 1.....................9:43 pace........................  9:43 elapsed time.................0.75 mi
Lap 2.....................9:20 pace........................ 14:16  e.t...............................1.5   mi
Lap 3.....................9:20 pace........................ 21:15  e.t...............................2.25 mi
Lap 4.....................9:06 pace.........................28:05  e.t...............................3.0   mi
Lap 5.....................9:06 pace.........................34:53  e.t...............................3.75 mi
Lap 6.....................8:29 pace.........................41:15  e.t...............................4.5   mi
Lap 7.....................7:45 pace.........................47:04  e.t...............................5.25 mi
Last wanderings...~10:00 pace avg................1:00.20 e.t..............................6.5   mi

Average pace for 6.5 miles = 9:17

Belief-in-self Level..... big jump :)

What's hard for me to acknowledge is that it could have very easily gone the other way. And I am so glad it didn't.

What are some things that you do to keep believing in yourself? 


What are some of your 'go-to' techniques for pulling yourself up out of an abyss, if you find yourself in one?

Shooting the Moon and my running goals

Urban dictionary defines shooting the moon as A task or feat that is difficult to the point of near impossibility.

In the game of Hearts, it involves taking all 14 of the penalty cards worth a total of 26 points. Wikipedia has this to say about shooting the moon... Attempting to shoot the moon is often a risky strategy.

My dad loved to play cards. We spent hours and hours playing Gin and Hearts. Whenever we played Hearts, he would shoot the moon. Pretty much every single time. He'd occasionally miss. Sometimes he'd have an escape route and other times it would all just blow up in his hand! He never seemed frustrated or disappointed when he 'failed'... he knew it was just a game. The outcome didn't really matter as long as you went for it and as long as you had fun.

"Always aim for the moon. Even if you don't make it, you'll land among the stars."

You could also use the expression "Go big or go home."

Or "Go all in or don't go at all."

All of these work for me but...

I love shooting the moon. 

It always reminds me of my dad... and that makes me smile :)

After spending a chunk of the summer semi-injured (which was nothing compared to spending 8 years hurting) and then participating in that awesome, life-altering experience as a part of Team Nuun (which I have been told to get over because people are sick of hearing about it), I am not solid in my half-marathoning place. And that's what's next.

October 9 I am running in the Long Beach Half-Marathon in... you guessed it... Long Beach. Based on where I was when I entered the thing, I had set a time goal for myself. It was unrealistic but not impossible at the time, but hey, Go big or go home. I was shooting for 1:50. Unless I get me a pair of rocket boots, that ain't happenin' now fo' sho'. 

Re-evalute. Reassess. Reset.

Stretch goal:  sub 2-hours.

Solid goal:  2:07 (yesterday I ran 12 in 2:01 and felt great)

Can-do goal:  survive and don't get hurt.

Sub-2 hours will be my shooting the moon goal for this race. And this race will be the jumping off point for my next two goals, one of which I never thought I would ever consider again. Have you guessed what it is?

Yep... a marathon.


Shooting the moon :)