YMCA New Year's Resolution Run

First off...

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

2013 ranks right up there

 

as one of the most memorable

 

years of my life!

 

From one of the lowest of lows-

 

 having melanoma and starting the year off with surgery to remove it

 

and all of the fear and worry that came along with that;

 

to one of the highest of highs-

 

finishing my first marathon with my husband right there next to me

 

and my best friend there to cheer me on;

 

2013 was a year I will NEVER forget!

 

I learned a lot about myself

 

and have gained a new appreciation

 

for the "little things" in life.

 

With all of that being said-

 

I am ready to make 2014 an AMAZING year!

 

 

 

Here in the Midwest we are in the middle of an Artic Blast

 

and I am NOT a fan!

 

Actual temp of -20 degrees this morning

 

with a real feel of -47 degrees.

 

I think Mother Nature

 

has gone completely crazy

 

and needs to be put on meds!

 

I am also beginning to think that I may be crazy

 

as I am the one that chooses to live here!

 

It has been a very cold winter so far

 

and it is only January 6th-

 

I AM READY FOR SPRING!

 

Saturday morning we were lucky

 

and had a very brief warm-up

 

(if you can call 20 degrees "warm")

 

 just in time for the

 

YMCA New Year's Resolution Run.

 

We signed up for the 5 mile run series

 

 and did the first race

 

of the YMCA Winter Running Series

 

back in December.

 

Because we were participating in the series

 

we already had our bibs from the first race

 

and didn't have to do any packet pick-up.

 

We arrived at the Y with just enough time to pick up

 

our timing chips and get ready to race.

 

We were inside briefly before we got warm and headed outside.

 

Pre-race

 

Pre-race

 We did a little stretching

 

 and a quick warm-up jog around the parking lot.

 

Before we knew it everyone was heading to the start line.

 

Getting ready to race

 They did a count down from 10

 

and we were off.

 

In the December race we started off pretty fast

 

so we tried to hang back a bit in the beginning and took it easy.

 

As we came to the first mile marker I check my watch-

 

 we were at 9:22/mi pace

 

and I thought to myself that it was feeling much better than last time.

 

By this point I was already getting warm

 

and flipped open the flaps on my mittens.

 

As we headed to the 2 mile marker

 

I was thinking that this race

 

was so much more enjoyable than the last one-

 

temperature was perfect,

 

pace was way better,

 

and I was able to take it all in

 

and really appreciate starting off the new year

 

in such a positive way.

 

At the 2 mile marker

 

I check my watch-

 

9:17/mi.

 

At this point we are running on sidewalks

 

and it was hard to get around people

 

but we managed to

 

pass a few as we headed up a hill-

 

what a great feeling!

 

I love passing people on the hills-

 

it makes me feel so strong and gives me

 

such a boost of confidence!

 

As we headed to the 3 mile marker

 

we were on and off the sidewalks

 

due to them being snow covered.

 

At times it was hard running

 

in the loose snow and I wished that I had

 

done some training runs outside.

 

Mile 3- 9:13/mi

 

I was liking what I was seeing on my watch

 

and the run was feeling really good at this point.

 

I noticed that I felt more relaxed,

 

my breathing was good,

 

and I wasn't clenching my fists

 

 like I was at this point in December.

 

Shortly before the 4 mile mark

 

we merged with the 5K runners

 

and once again this gave me another boost

 

of energy and confidence

 

as we were able to pass several more runners.

 

Mile 4- 9:01/mi

 

As I saw my watch I was pretty happy.

 

We were doing exactly what we needed to-

 

we held back in the beginning

 

and were able to pick up the pace

 

with each mile.

 

Just after the 4 mile mark

 

there is an incline and once again

 

we continued to pass people at this point

 

and it felt amazing!

 

As we turned the last couple of corners

 

 we really picked up our pace-

 

we paced ourselves enough in the beginning

 

that we still had some energy left in the tank

 

to have a solid finishing kick.

 

As we came down the street heading back to the Y

 

we passed a few more people!

 

We turned into the parking lot

 

and sprinted it out to the finish.

 

Finish time on my watch was 44:58.

 

We didn't beat our time from the first race

 

but we enjoyed this race a whole lot more.

 

We paced ourselves,

 

had negative splits,

 

and had a strong finish!

 

Post-race

 My Race Stats:

Gun time: 45:03

Overall Place: 57/114

Division Place: 11/24

Sex Place: 23/65

 

Tim's Stats:

Gun time: 45:03

Overall Place: 58/114

Division Place: 11/13

Sex Place: 35/49

 

Overall 5 mile Series Standings (2/3 races complete):

Heather- 33/61 with a total time of 1:28:42

Tim- 34/61 with a total time of 1:28:42

 

Female 5 mile Series Results (Top 10):

9- Heather Wellendorf