HCA VA 8K recap ...

Location: Richmond, VA
Date: 11/10/12
Temperature: 38 degrees
Official Time: 41:00
Place in Age Group: 23/369
Place in Gender: 128/2264
Overall Place: 480/3587

The Course:

Fast and flat. Out and back.

This 8K course takes a straight shot up Broad St., which has a gentle grade, for the for the first two miles of the course. Just after mile 2, participants turn left and make their way over one block to Grace St., where they head back towards the finish. Runners are greeted with a the only climb of the course at mile four. It is smooth sailing after that, as the course flattens out and turns right onto 3rd street where the runners are greeted with a steep downhill into the finish.

(Note: This has been and will continue to be my favorite course in Richmond.)

The Good:

The Course: I love this course. It is PR friendly and easy to navigate. And the downhill finish is KILLER. And since they changed the finish this year to an even steeper downhill, it's better than it's ever been.

My Pace (initially): I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into this race. My run volume is down significantly from the last time I ran an 8K (20 miles per week now vs. 50 miles per week in 2010). I knew I could probably finish comfortably with a pace between 8:00 and 8:20, but I would have preferred to run sub-40. Honestly, I wasn't even sure if I was going to attempt to race until I got to the start line and then I wasn't really convinced. I decided to just run hard and see what happened.

Things started out well.

Mile 1: 7:45
Mile 2: 7:53


Two miles in and I was actually two seconds ahead of my pace from my 8K PR. That's when the wheels fell off. I have had a deep cough for about a week and a half. Once I got warmed up, things started moving around and I started hacking. So much so, that I couldn't run and cough at the same time. I am positive that I left part of my lung on the course.

Mile 3: 8:28
Mile 4: 8:54

Once I hit the mile 4 sign, I just told myself I could do anything for a mile and I hauled it in. 

Last 0.99: 7:57

I finished at exactly 41 minutes with an average pace of 8:15. Right where I assumed I would be.


Racing with my sister: Can I just mention how much I love that my sister is a runner? It took me years to convince her to join in, but now that she has, it's pretty much the best thing ever.

Pre-race, not really feeling it

With a post-race glow ...

My Music Selection: For the first time in pretty much FOREVER, I changed my race playlist. And then, I set it to random before I ran. Yet, somehow, the PERFECT songs came on at the PERFECT moments. I was pumped throughout the race and there was a song during every mile that reminded me to push myself.


The Weather: It was 38 degrees at the start of my race. And I dressed perfectly for it. By the end of the race, I was warm, but not overheated. In fact, I wouldn't have minded if it was a little colder.

The Race Length: Even with all the coughing, this race reaffirmed to me that the 8K is my favorite race distance. I love it and wish it was offered more often.


The Bad:

Missed Alarm: Since J was traveling and Gina was also running, I had to wake my kids up crazy early to take them to Earth Momma Mer's house. The plan was to get up at 5 a.m., get ready and then wake the girls at the last possible minute. Unfortunately, I failed to wake when my alarm went off. When I sprung out of bed at 5:30, just 10 minutes before we needed to be out the door, I found out that Gina wasn't up either. Obviously, we weren't really stressing about this race ...

My Mental Game: Despite the fact that this my favorite race, I really wasn't feeling it going in. I considered taking a DNS on multiple occasions prior to and including race morning. I knew I could run five miles, but I didn't feel like I could race five miles as hard as I would have liked to. And racing without giving it your all doesn't really sit well with me.

Considering that I already didn't feel strongly about this race, I also didn't really care if I had to stop to cough up a lung. Had I felt really prepared heading in, I may have tried harder to run through the cough. Basically, I was just disappointed in where my head was at. However, I did leave feeling like I wanted to up my mileage and get back on track.

The Ugly:

My Cough: I can not stress how bad must have looked along the course. My cough was (and kind of still is) deep and loud. And I was spitting out gunk left and right. I feel bad for anyone who happened to run near me. I am sure they are convinced that they were going to catch some sort of deadly infectious disease.

is running selfish?

I've heard people say before that mothers who run are being selfish. That they are putting their own needs and desires ahead of their families. And for this their families suffer.

I've never been able to understand this viewpoint. I didn't grow up thinking that women were supposed to be self-sacrificing. That they aren't supposed to have interests outside of the home. I never thought that it would be impossible to find a balance between family life and personal interests. And I have never EVER thought that going on a run was even slightly selfish.

In fact, recent days have showed me that I am a MUCH BETTER mother and wife when I run. Honestly, I am flat out MEAN on my rest days. So much so, that I am considering running at least 1-2 miles EVERY day to keep me sane and to keep my family from hating me.

Take yesterday for example. It was a scheduled rest day for me. The morning was going well. I dropped off the older girls at school and then Dilly and I were "supposed" to run errands. But, life got in the way, which meant that very little got done. And with every minute that passed, I became more and more stressed. By the time I picked up everyone from school, I was having a hard time keeping my cool.

The afternoon didn't get any better. The girls weren't listening and I still wasn't getting anything accomplished. I started screaming. Over EVERYTHING. It was bad. At one point, I stepped back and thought, "What the heck is going on? They aren't being that bad. Why am I freaking out?"

And that's when I realized what was different from a "normal" day ...

I HADN'T RUN.

And EVERYONE ELSE was paying for it.

So, the next time someone tries to tell me that I am being selfish or that my children are suffering because I make running a priority, I am going to ask them to spend a rest day with me. That way they can see how UNSELFISH my running habit really is ...

Three Things Thursday, Marathon Edition ...

1. We (J, the girls, and I) are leaving for the marathon today. Indianapolis is just shy of 11 hours from here, so we have one heck of a road trip ahead of us. The plan is to drive to Kentucky tonight and finish the rest of our journey in the morning. Hopefully, that keeps us from going INSANE in the car (both from the girl's screaming/fighting/whatever and the replay of DVDs we have seen a MILLION times). It's going to be a preview of the mental test of the marathon. Only, I won't be able to escape. Oh, and it's raining right now. Like huge a** thunderstorms. And we have to drive over little mountain roads. Fun.

2. Goals. Everyone keeps asking me what my goal time is for this race. But, honestly, my BIG goal for this race is not my time. What I really want to do is FOLLOW THE RACE PLAN. I almost always have a plan going into a race and I almost NEVER follow it. I need to follow the plan. I need to know I can follow the plan, so that next time (yes, I said next time) I can go for the UBER-GOAL.

That's not to say that I don't have a time I would like to hit. I do. It's anything faster than 5:06:38, my current PR. And I know that if I follow my race plan, I am going to kill that time. By a lot.

And speaking of my finish time. If you have a guess on it, you could win a prize. Head over to THIS post and see what I am talking about.

3. G and I were talking the other day about how you are either a marathon person or you're not. Some runners never have the desire to run 26.2 and others race the distance once and can be done with it. Then, there are the rest of us. We go back to the distance over and over (even if we swear we never will again). There is something that draws us in (for me, it's the bragging rights).

After my first two marathon training cycles, I swore I was never going to look at another marathon registration form again. I was done. My body couldn't handle it. Peace out.

But what I know now is that I wasn't properly trained for the event. I built my mileage too fast. I ran too fast during training. And I ended up injured. This time, things were different. My mileage base was larger than it had ever been BEFORE I registered for the race (even compared to other marathon training cycles). I knew that my body could handle it. And that what I needed to tackle was the mental challenge of the race. And I think I am well prepared for that. So much so, that I have already registered for the next one (National Marathon - 3/26/11, if you're interested). And a 50K is on the calendar for the end of 2011.

Seriously, who have I become?

progression ...

I am a new runner. Sure, I didn't start running yesterday, but my first race was only three years and one week ago. I have kids older than that. And although I have a high mileage base, I am by no means a seasoned runner, you need a lot more experience for that. And I want that experience. I know I can do and be so much more. I think I have barely tapped my potential. There is speed trapped in my legs and strength trapped in my psyche. And it is going to escape. It's kind of been sneaking out all along. I just failed to notice the progression.

As I approach my marathon (only 10 days from now), I honestly have no idea of what to expect. I have never made it to the start line of a marathon uninjured. I do not know what's in me. In so many ways, this race is really my FIRST marathon. The other two were just training runs where I pushed through the pain (and walked miles upon miles) to just finish the distance. I have never raced a marathon. And it's kind of freaking me out.

Which got me thinking. There was a time when I had never raced a 5K. And that was scary too. But, I did it. So, I am hoping by looking at how far I have come will help me gain the confidence to KILL this marathon. So, here it goes ...

On 9/29/07, I ran my first 5K in 31:00.
On 5/29/10, I ran my current 5K PR of 24:09.
That's a difference of 6:51 or 2:13/mi.

On 8/31/08, I ran my first half marathon in 2:37:59.
On 9/26/10, I ran my current half marathon PR of 1:58:02.
That's a difference of 39:57 or 3:03/mi.

The progression is HUGE. And I made it happen. It wasn't luck. It was training. And I am trained for this marathon. I know this. Now, I just have to BELIEVE it.

900 ...

I am a numbers person. When I was a kid, I used to find the patterns in phone numbers to help me memorize them (thanks to speed dial, I no longer need to do that). Since becoming a runner, my number obsession has intensified. Every bib number is an omen (this week's is 8818 - definitely a good one). Every split holds the key to the future.

Over the past three years, I have kept a record of every mile I have run and exactly how long it took me to do so. When I found my passion for running in August of 2007, I never thought I would become the running addict I am today. But I should have. I never do anything halfway. It's go big or go home. And going home is not an option.

During the last five months of 2007, I logged 251.17 miles. Not bad for my first few months of running. Then, needing a goal for 2008, on January 1, I started my quest for 1,000 miles. I ran and ran, but came up short. I finished the year at 923.79 miles. So, I tried again. And again, I fell short. A broken foot at the end of November 2009, left me 78.65 miles short of my 1,000 mile goal.

I was ticked off. I resolved that 2010 was going to be the year. Third time's the charm. No matter what, I was going to log the miles and break that threshold. I decided to take my running to a new level. Failure was not an option. And it's working.

As of yesterday, I hit 900 miles on the year (well, 902.75 to be exact). 1,000 miles is mine. I am going to crush my goal and test my limits. I am going to break through the mental barriers I've set and prove to myself that if I want something bad enough, I can make it happen. Because the only person who can stop me is me. And I guarantee, that is something I am not going to let that happen.

8 miles of mental game ...

If you been around here for a while, you know that I hate getting up early to workout. I much prefer my 9:30 a.m. runs. Or evening runs. Pre-P90X, I often had a sunset date with my treadmill. But over the past two months, I have made a real effort to wake up before sunrise to get my mid-week miles in (at least a few days a week). It hasn't been easy, but I have had friends who were willing to share in my misery.


On Mondays, I meet up with KT for 3-4 miles at 6:15 a.m. and on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, G (and whoever else we can trick into meeting us) run 8 miles at a time that starts with a 5 (otherwise known as WAY.TO.EARLY). This is our group from Tuesday. G and A (in the middle) are training for the same November race right now, and, well, M and I are not ...


And, although I DREAD getting out of bed, I have actually grown to like these runs. It's nice to feel so accomplished at a time that most people are still snuggling in bed. With all that positivity in my head, I attempted something I never have this morning. I set out for a SOLO early morning run. (See? Me, pre-run with no friends)


8 miles as the sun was rising. Just me and my Garmin. And let me tell you. It was TOUGH.


It was hard to get out of bed. It was hard to lift my feet. It was hard to motivate myself to go. I had to will myself to keep moving the entire time. My pace was slower than usual. I couldn't find my groove. Maybe it was because I am kind of freaked out about running alone when no one else is up. Maybe it was because I was constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure I was alone. Maybe it was because my children have been so mentally draining the past few days. Maybe it was because I didn't eat breakfast before I left. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.


I'm not really sure what was up. I just kept telling myself that I would be happy that I kept going. That I was training myself for the tougher runs that lie ahead. That I would be proud that I stuck it out when I wanted to quit. And I was.