Lady Track Shack 5K

The Lady Track Shack 5K was one of our favorite races last year and once we saw how cute the shirts were this year we had to sign up again :). Aside from getting ready for the Princess Half which is now only a couple of weeks away (yikes!) we have been working at improving our pace during our training runs. After last week's fantastic race, we were looking to see if we could run this 5K even faster :).

 

 

Aside from cute shirts, the route through Winter Park was really pretty and ladies only races are always really motivational for me...I just love the whole sisterhood thing :)

 

I absolutely gave it my very best effort today so I felt really good when I came over the line, even though I realized I still have some work to do to achieve my goal of a 30 minute 5K. When I found out later that I was only 15 seconds over I was thrilled!

 

 

2013 is working out really well so far :)

 

Seasons 52 5.2K

Today was just a perfect running day:). We got up early for our first 5K of the year and saw a coyote in our back yard before we even left! It was pretty cold when we arrived in Winter Park so we took a little run to warm up. I don't usually run at all before a race and it actually really helped so I think I'm going to do that every time now! We didn't take cameras to the race location which was such a shame because it was gorgeous!

 

It's a Team Daaaaamn! reunion!!

 

I wore my new Christmas kicks. I've been running in Newton's for so long but I actually really love these Asics too now!

 

 

Track Shack do such a nice job of their events - there were just over 2000 runners and we all had a really great time and ran really well.

We don't let a bit of sweat get in the way of a great post-race hug :)

 

It's been forever since I did a straight 5K and I've become really reliant on intervals so the goal was just to keep running the whole time. I was shooting for under 33 mins ideally so I was really thrilled to see my 5K chip time come in at 30:34!! That's the fastest 5K since October 2011 for me:). I feel really motivated to do some speed work now and try and get back under 30 minutes. 2013 is going to be awesome!!

Lu's Amazing Race!

After months of rigorous training, today was the day that Lu officially became a MARATHONER!! Team Daaaamn! were there to catch the big moment just outside Epcot...


Just watching the people coming over the line, sharing their determination, suffering, elation and accomplishment was totally insiprational. I can't imagine how amazing it must have felt to be on the other side of the gate...

It was the 20 year marathon anniversary for Disney. The medals were gorgeous!

 

Lu cried when she came into the home stretch, here she is recreating the moment!

 

 

Lovely Lu!!

 

 

Team Daaaaamn!

 

 

This is my favorite picture. I wonder how many times marathoners just look at their medal and can't quite believe they actually did it.

 

 

And in her own words...

 

How totally inspirational! CONGRATULATIONS LU!!!

Janathon is here!

I so needed a brand new year with new goals and new challenges:). 2012 has been exhausting and I'm totally ready to hit the ground running (literally) in 2013!! I feel really motivated and positive about my new goals and losing some weight:). And I can't think of a better way to start the year than by signing up for Janathon (link here)!!!

Janathon is a virtual event organized by a group of runners in the UK. Basically it's a challenge - you have to run (or do some other form of exercise) and blog about it every day for a month! I did the same challenge in June last year and despite some rule bending here and there, I did it and the results were amazing (link here)! Here goes...:)

Day 1: Bike trainer, 20 minutes

This one was huge for me today for a number of reasons:

1. I have been really lazy lately

2. Things have a tendency to stay in their boxes in my house if they don't get opened and assembled in about a week. I didn't want my new bike trainer to become one of them!

3. I haven't ridden my bike since we moved in October so now the tires are inflated again and I have located all my biking paraphernalia I have no excuses!!

4. I need to have some way to exercise indoors that does not involve a DVD. I would rather sell an organ than do a DVD. Unless its the Thriller dance. Which is really good exercise so it counts;)

Anyway, after a frustrating hour putting it together and some help from Mike my new bike trainer works!!! And it feels a lot like real biking. And it's sweaty :)

Day 2: Bike trainer, 20 minutes

I rescheduled tonight's planned run for tomorrow so I figured I'd do the trainer again. This time I pimped it up with a special towel cover that has a remote control holder. It's actually called a bike thong which made me giggle :). Day 2 done!!

Day 3: Run, 35 minutes, 3 miles

Lu's back!!! Ebaaaaa!

Day 4: Nothing
Day 5: Nothing :(
Day 6: Run 75 minutes-ish, 6 miles
Day 7: Bike trainer 20 minutes
Day 8: Nothing
Day 9: Nothing
Day 10: Run 35 minutes-ish, 3 miles

OK it's officially over. I have too many days to catch up. Janathon - you have gotten the better of me! See you in June when I'll be ready for you. Grrrrr!!!

Goals for 2013!!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

 

The verdict is in and overall I did pretty well with my 2012 goals :) Here are my results:

Goals for 2012:

1. Run over 450 miles. I actually managed over 466 miles this year!
2. Do at least 12 events, including one that is not solely running. I did 14 'in-person' events including a sprint tri, a rowing event:) and 3 more virtual events!
3. Complete two Half Marathons (yikes!). I did one Half and a 10-miler so I was a 5K short :(
4. PR at two different distances. OK so I'm cheating a bit here - I technically PR'ed at the 10-miler and a virtual 5-miler since I've never done these distances before ;)

I have mixed feelings about this year to be honest. I definitely added a lot of variety with some obstacle events and plenty of cross training mid-year. I also managed to transition to a whole new routine in a new city. Moving house twice has been the biggest challenge over the past year but I have still managed to stay active throughout and more importantly managed to stick with it throughout the hot summer. The big success of the year for me though in 2012 was finding Lu! Having a running partner has added so much joy to the process for me and I treasure our friendship and the accomplishments that we have shared :).

So, here are my goals for 2013...drumroll please...

Goals for 2013:

1. Run more often. I managed to get miles in during 2012 through plenty of long runs. That said, I didn't run as regularly as I'd have liked to. This year I ran on average just over twice a week. In 2013 I'm shooting for an average of at least 2.25 runs a week.
2. Do at least 12 in-person events, and one each month. This will keep me active all year round.
3. Complete two Half Marathons. This time I mean it :)
4. PR at two different distances - existing ones. No cheating allowed!
5. Lose 15 pounds. Nuff said.

My fitness level has already suffered from too much Christmas season over-indulgence so I'm really going to need to step it up! I've added a bunch of events for 2013 on the blog so that I can start planning now. For Christmas I have a lovely new pair of sneakers and a shiny new bike trainer and rack for my car too. So no excuses! I've also found a local Weight Watchers group. 2013 is going to be amazing!!! Happy New Year!!!

Hero Rush!

When we saw there was going to be a firefighter-themed obstacle race in the area (www.herorush.com), Lu and I thought it sounded like a real challenge and something a bit different to try. We made the hour and a half drive to some of the most gorgeous scenery you can imagine in Ocala on Saturday morning. For the first time we were actually late(!) but the organizers were really cool about the whole thing and put us into a later wave. Which gave plenty of time for pre-race photos :)

Teamn Daaaammmnnn! members wear matching headbands. Since Mike wasn't able to join today - we went for sparkly ones :)...

 

There was smoke everywhere which was a bit ominous...

 

 

We wore gloves mainly to look fierce but they did actually come in handy for the very first obstacle - the firefighter pole. I really, really had a hard time with it! It looked like such a long way down. But I took a leap of faith and it was actually easy in the end!

 

And then we were off for the rest of the 4.2 mile, 17+ obstacle course...yikes...

 

The obstacles were challenging both physically and mentally. We had to drag tires over walls and under barbed wire, get through a smoke-filled and a foam-filled maze, climb the usual walls, hay bales and fences, and go through a couple of icy baths. All of the obstacles had a firefighting spin and for the first time we did EVERY single one of them!!!

 

There was a kids course too and at the end of the race the spectators got to watch us get blasted by ice cold fire hoses operated by the kids. Here I am getting out of the water shouting "she's a teacher" as Lu gets lambasted. I'm such a good friend :) 

 

 

But she saw the funny side...unlike pink headband lady who had evidently lost her sense of humor...

 

Some poor guy actually fell into one of the fires - but was OK thankfully...

 

Finishing is winning!!!

 

Loved the medal and the T-Shirt!!!

 

So now we are offically "Rushers" and with a whole new respect level for real firefighters :)

Happy Running :)

The official photos are in and this is what happy running looks like :)

Making a Comeback!

Today was a very, very special race for me for a number of reasons:).

My last race (the Tower of Terror 10-miler a couple of weeks ago) was a huge challenge for me which really damaged my confidence. I have also been through a house move since then and have only been able to squeeze in one measly training run since. On the treadmill. Which barely counts:(. The house move has been incredibly stressful too and I've been so fed up. The Space Coast Half training plan requires a decent weekly long run so with last week a bust I really needed to do at least 7 miles just to stay in the game this weekend which really put the pressure on. So all in all, I wasn't exactly feeling sure that I would actually be able to finish the ironically titled "U Can Finish" race today.

The race was a Distance Dare with a 5-miler and then a 2-miler. There were medals for doing both so I got a nice and sensible early night on Saturday night, and got up at 5am this morning for my big comeback race!!

 

Challenging goals are so much more achievable in bite-sized chunks so Lu helped me to strategize and we decided to run the first 5 with 5:1 intervals, walk a mile in between both races and run the last 2 miles straight through for a total of 8 miles.

 

It was a perfect running day and the sun was just coming up as we got started. The race course was through the UCF campus which is amazingly pretty :)

 

 

As usual with all Track Shack events, it was really well organized and attended. Here we are after the 5-miler and 1-mile walk ready for the second part of the race...

 

Me and "Fire Socks" in action...:)

 

 

Love running with little kids in the short race...

 

And kids at heart. I want to be just like her when I grow up:)

 

Lu knows how to make running fun :)

 

 

We laughed a lot and focused on having fun and just finishing...

 

 

The strategy paid off perfectly and I just stayed focused on each piece as the run unfolded. Before you know it - we were all done!!

 

And then we lost the car:(

 

I remembered eventually that I have a "locate my phone app" which put an end to our wandering aimlessly across campus parking lots. But you know what? I think we walked for about 4-5 miles extra! Which means we probably did a Half Marathon today. Totally awesome and exactly what I needed!!