Monday, January 6, 2014

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
 
 
We signed up for the 5 mile run series
 
 and did the first race
 
 
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