Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

St. Paddy's Day Run

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Location:

Snoqualmie,WA,

Member Since:

Jan 31, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Marathon PR: 4:17 at Portland Marathon, Oct. 2007

5K PR 24:37 2009

10K PR 52:58 2010

Have run 22 marathons to date.

No injuries, ever.   :)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Qualify for Boston (4:05 for my age/gender) - or, perhaps, to use my desire for a BQ as a way to get in the hated speed work so I don't just get slower and slower over the years.  This goal is "under (re)construction" right now, until I figure out whether it is truly what I want. :) 


Long-Term Running Goals:

To continue learning about myself and about running, and to enjoy being a fit, happy runner for life.   To always know why I am running and the best way to get the most (both mentally and physically) out of my runs.  To keep a sense of humor and remain optimistic about myself as a runner.  To enjoy running more and more with every passing year. 

Personal:

Baby boomer generation.  Jogged a little in my 20's and 30's.  Started running seriously in 2002.  Low-carb runner since January 2010. 

I love long runs and cold, cloudy weather.  I don't believe in "junk miles."  I am an optimist.  I adore dark chocolate, fog, my family, and knitting -- not necessarily in that order.  

"As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are."  -- Joan Benoit Samuelson 


Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Brooks ST3 Lifetime Miles: 891.35
Vibram Five Fingers KSO Lifetime Miles: 23.77
Brooks ST3 II Lifetime Miles: 965.17
Lunaracers II Lifetime Miles: 198.23
Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Lifetime Miles: 104.14
Asics Piranha Lifetime Miles: 536.83
RunAmocs (Softstar) Lifetime Miles: 16.23
Piranha II Lifetime Miles: 219.53
Race: St. Paddy's Day Run (3.1 Miles) 00:26:02, Place overall: 81, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.500.000.003.104.60

~40F, light wind, raining. 

In a nutshell:   I am overjoyed, amazed, absolutely thrilled.   Thank you, Bonnie!!!! I did just what you advised.  PR of over 3 minutes.  :D

Before the race: I kept my jacket on trying to stay dry for the warm up, an easy jog with some strides and a couple of hill sprints.  Although I live less than a mile away, I brought the car to leave clothing and store different clothing if needed.

Mile 1 (8:28): A smallish crowd of about 400 runners, we took off down the first block, with a very slight decline, turning into a paved forested path. At this point I felt totally walled in with the bodies; there was no method for lining up and the whole field was scattered with walkers and runners of all speeds.   A runner just in front of me tripped and nearly fell, flailing arms for about 4 yards.  I broke through and took off a little too fast to get away from the mass of bodies.  Had to rein myself in when I realized I was breathing far too hard (teensy glance at watch - 7:38 - yikes).  We went a short way down the path, and then made a hairpin turn to come up the other side of the little wooded area - uphill.  Emerging back onto the residential streets, the next few blocks were uphill, then flat, then uphill, then flat, finally flattening out for a stretch before the 1 mile marker.

Mile 2 (8:41):  This mile began with seeing my wonderful family by the side of the road as we passed near my house.  Waved quickly and pressed on.  Long downhill with some turns - at times too steep to be helpful or comfortable - then a long uphill, the worst on the course.  Some time in here I was thinking, "Me no like."  I never felt like my legs were having trouble (even now, they feel great), but my lungs burned and I never could quite exhale enough.  I followed Bonnie's advice and didn't look at my watch,  just tried to stay on the edge of what I could tolerate and paid attention to my form. 

Mile 3 (8:03) and last .1 (8:08):  A big part of this mile was on another paved, forested path.  Only one uphill stretch here, but some other challenges.  A steep downhill on gravel, a sharp turn, some ice at the edges of the path, and one short, snow-covered bridge.   When I knew there was only about .5 left to run, and I knew there were no more hills, I pumped my arms and just went as fast as I could maintain.  Approaching the finish, I saw the clock and really could not believe it.  Got a little teary even.  Remained gasping for breath for at least a minute after the finish.

Post race - I finally met Jeff!   I got a wonderful little trophy and a Footzone gift certificate. 

You guys can now all say, "I told you so."  I've earned that.  I promise I will never burden you all with whiny predictions of doom again.  (You can remind me of this if I forget.)   I was not being falsely modest in my doubts this past week, I truly had no idea I could perform that well.  I can't say I really enjoyed it - until it was over of course!  It was extremely uncomfortable.   And the AG award reflects the small, uncompetitive field that was racing.  But I don't care.  I just might have to sleep with the darn thing.  I am so pleased and encouraged by this. 

Brooks ST3 Miles: 4.60
Comments
From JD on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 15:25:40 from 166.217.171.67

Awesome! Very good splits! You continue to amaze me with your strength and improvement. Congratulations on the age group win as well. You just made my day!

From Kelli on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 15:26:20 from 71.219.76.202

5ks are super hard, so I avoid them! That is absolutely amazingly great! I am so happy that you had such a good race and that your family was there to cheer you on and that you placed 1st! WONDERFUL!!!!

From Burt on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 15:30:52 from 98.167.151.26

Way to go! First place AD is always great. Funny that you'd never met Jeff before. Thought for sure two people with Snoqualmie in their blog titles would know each other.

From Carolyn in Colorado on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 15:51:00 from 71.229.164.25

Yeah!!! Way to go! Congratulations on the PR (better than my PR, by the way) and your age division win. You are amazing! Yeah!!!

From jefferey on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 15:56:07 from 67.171.56.220

When we lined up we were right next to a couple running with a weimereiner(sp?). I thought of you and wondered whether you might give them a piece of your mind8-)

It was really hard to get past all those people. Maybe it wasn't a gazillion, but it sure seemed like it. Great report! I liked yours a lot better than mine. Nice job on the PR!! All those miles are good for something.

From Bonnie on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 16:02:23 from 71.210.101.173

I told you so, I told you so, I told you so!! YIPPEEEE!!

I was thinking on my run today that I was going to write this, even before you gave me permission (I actually posted a little while ago, but it did not actually get posted, odd). I swear I had you down for 26 mins! I know for sure you have at least a 25:30 in you on an easier course, especially now that you know you can do it. A little practice will go a long way for those middle miles!

YIPPPEE ... I am very happy for you

From azdesertmonsoon on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 16:15:11 from 63.228.146.159

Congratulations on a great race!

From Marion on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 17:29:11 from 71.213.107.184

WOW! That is amazing! Way to go speedy sister :) That is one fast 5k! :) Big smiles and ((((hugs))))! WOW!!

From Metcalf Running on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 19:48:51 from 71.219.123.68

Woot Woot!!! That is so great! You did amazing!

From April27 on Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 23:55:35 from 99.188.251.180

Wow you did so good! And on such a hilly course! Great job! I would sleep with a trophy too if I got one!

From nicole on Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 12:39:51 from 24.17.114.112

WAY TO GO! You DOMINATE! And a trophy as well- that is awesome!

From Snoqualmie on Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 13:55:48 from 67.171.56.164

Thanks everyone!

And Jeff, it felt like a gazillion at the start to me too. I didn't want to be rude and line up near the front, but there were all kinds of people up there who didn't belong; passing them was difficult and annoying.

From Sean Sundwall on Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 16:04:38 from 24.16.6.48

Fantastic job on a course that is not easy and in conditions that are very normal for us but still not great for racing. Your ultimate 5k is still way down the clock. This summer you will be able to crush it on some of the faster courses in the area. BTW...I'm strongly considering changing the direction of the run next year to avoid the congestion on the path. I heard that feedback from a couple people.

From snoqualmie on Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 17:29:01 from 67.171.56.164

It was a great experience, Sean! Thank you for all your hard work. If you are going to change the course I'd understand, but I loved the downhill and flat finish! It gave me a lot of energy to know that the hills were all behind me when I came out of the bog trail. And btw, I love the trophy! I'm sure I would have enjoyed the bobble-head (lol) but this seems more apt. :)

Mostly, what this race has done for me is to bring me back to even considering short distances and not feeling like such a v02 failure. I would not have even entered except that it was in my own neighborhood and I wanted to see what that would be like.

From Sasha Pachev on Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 16:37:15 from 64.81.245.109

It is encouraging to know that you can close a 5 K with an 8:03 mile on a rolling terrain. Which probably means with some practice you could learn to run 8:00 pace for the whole 5 K, that would give you sub-25:00.

For a comparison, I would struggle to close a 5 K at much faster, if fact as little as 5 seconds per mile faster, than my 5 K average pace off 20 seconds per mile slower starting out.

Also means that with your tendency to being on the slow side in short distances you could probably learn to run the full marathon at 8:50 pace.

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