On Sunday I completed the RGJ Journal Jog for the 2^nd year. Last year during this race I surprised myself with the pace I was able to maintain. Last year I averaged 8:42/mi and I was hoping to come in around 9:00/mi. This year, my goal was to average about 8:25/mi. I thought this was a pretty lofty goal, but according to my favorite running calculator, it said I could do it. This would bring me in at 41:48.Lately, most of my 5k races have been around 8:25ish, and this was an 8k.

One of my running friends was also doing this race, so I was really excited. 99% of every race I have done, I show up by myself, walk around the post-race activities by myself, and then leave by myself. So it was awesome to have someone to talk to before and after the race. Note how I didn’t say during the race. She is way too fast for me. We lined up together by the 8-9min pace area. That was a bad idea because for a small race (about 500) it took too long to cross the actual start line. She took off, and I was left to my own thoughts and pace. In the first mile of the race, I heard one of the most amusing comments, a little kid running next to his dad said “Dad, Jenny has a brown spot on her pants…and it’s on the butt part”. Love it!

I have a horrible habit of staring at my watch during races, and this race was no different. The first mile ticked off at 8:19. I usually like my first mile to be my slowest and since my goal was 8:25, I was going too fast. I usually try to pick someone ahead of me who seems to be going about my pace and stick with them until them, and then make it my goal to pass them in the end (yeah I know, it sounds presumptuous and competitive, but it really helps push me). The woman I chose was wearing a black tank top with a neon pink stripe going down the back. There were a couple times during this race I got perfectly in stride with another runner. This is always awkward. Do you say “hi”, or “hey, how about them Dodgers?” I usually try to de-stride myself from them as quickly as possible. Miles 2 and 3 where a bit of an uphill and I think I got a little too comfortable with slowing down. The next miles were 8:32 and 8:34. The woman with the black tank top was still in my sight. The great thing about miles 2 and 3 being uphill, meant miles 4 and 5 were downhill. During the Reno 10 Miler last month, I ran more by feel (I was going for a hard effort) not by what my Garmin said. I decided to adopt this attitude for the remainder of the race. I was feeling pretty good, and decided to pick up the pace a little. The woman in the black tank top did too. Mile 4 was at 8:05. For the final mile, I wanted to leave it all out on the course. As we made the final turn for the finish which was about .4 miles, I really kicked it in to high gear. It was then I realized I didn’t see the woman in the black tank top anymore. She must have really taken off in the end. When I was nearing the finish line I saw 40:50 on the clock. Wow! I then made it my goal to come in under 41 minutes. I gave it everything I had left. My legs felt wobbly and there were a few steps in there that I thought my legs were going to give out on me. Unfortunately, I was too far from the finish and I crossed the finish line at 41:04 L. I was a little bummed, but happy with my performance.

After my breathing calmed down, I went in search of my friend. I found her in the snack line and we decided to go to the nearby park and await the official results. As we were walking to the park, I passed a woman in the opposite direction and she said “Oh my gosh, good job out there. I was really trying to catch you, but you just flew by me, but it really helped me push it in the end trying to get you.” I laughed and told her she did a great job too, even though I had no clue who she was. I started to think, maybe I was the person she chose to keep close to the whole race. Then she turned and started to walk away and I saw the back of her shirt. Black tank top with a neon pink stripe going down the middle. I honestly have no idea when I passed her, but little did she know, she actually pushed me the whole time.

My friend thought she might have had a chance at placing in her age group, so we went to check the results. I was pleasantly surprised as I completely forgot about chip timing. My official chip time was 40:44, that’s 8:12/mi! I was super excited. I have to continue this running by feel thing rather than relying on my watch. I am the proud owner of a shiny new PR by almost 3 minutes!

Official Stats:
Time: 40:44
115/431 overall
30/240 in gender
5/34 in age group
Splits: 8:19 / 8:32 / 8:34 / 8:05 / 7:32 (that last .4 was in an average of 6:50/mi)

 

Super late to the party post. I ran the Reno 10 Miler almost a month ago, but I never got around to writing a race recap. This is actually going to be a very vague race recap, because unfortunately I have already forgotten the details :( So...without further ado (I actually thought it was without further adieu, but I Google'd it, and ado means bustle, flurry, or fuss <as in "Much Ado About Nothing">, while adieu means goodbye. So all this time I have basically writing without further goodbye?!? Yikes! Well I want to give a big thanks to Grammar Girl! I will never make this mistake again.) (I guess there was further ado after all).


As I have stated in earlier posts, last year I earned the 3 letters no runner ever wants to get. The dreaded DNF (did not finish) on a race (dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuun). I was struggling with IT band issues but decided to run it anyway. I have learned that that is Not. A. Good. Idea. I think I made my injury worse and I had to spend a longer time trying to repair myself. This year, however, I have been feeling strong. My goal numero uno was to finish the race. Goal numero dos, come in under an hour and a half.

I arrived at the race early and did a short little run around to warm up. Since my goal was to finish the race and coming in under 1.5 hours was second, I lined up in the middle backish and reminded myself to take it slow the first mile. The course is actually pretty awesome. We start under the Reno Arch.

Yep, right there, only in the daytime.

The course then heads up to the University of Nevada, Reno takes a lap around the track, heads back downtown, onto the river path, and past a bunch of fancy homes I could never afford, and then to the finish. What I failed to realize was that, 75% of this was uphill. However, that didn't seem to phase my body (yay body!!!!) I felt stronger than I ever have in any race over 3.1 miles. The only real lesson learned during this race, was that I should never use any kind of energy chews. I am not the most coordinated person on the planet. So trying to chew, swallow, AND run. Yeah, not my strong suit. I had to opt for the chews though because, I forgot to purchase gels before race day, so I was stuck with what they had at the grocery store.

Splits: 9:04 / 9:28 / 9:27 / 8:27 / 8:36 / 8:54 / 9:15 / 8:45 / 8:47 / 8:37
Total Time: 1:28:03 (met goal 1 and 2)

Obligatory race pics:

P.S. sorry for all the "()"

On Sunday I ran Kaleo’s 5k in Carmichael, CA. I was really excited for this race because the peak elevation was 50ft. I have been wondering if elevation really does affect performance. Here in Reno, I train and usually race at 5000ft. Max and I made a weekend trip to Sacramento for the race. It was a short, but fun trip. We ate at this awesome restaurant that is unique to the Sacramento area called Brookfield’s. They had the most amazing garlic fries I have ever tasted. I was expecting fries covered in garlic salt, but this were covered with olive oil and actual garlic. Needless to say, I was definitely in need of some Orbit Gum (for that nice clean feeling, no matter what). After dinner we saw Guardians of the Galaxy. AMAZING MOVIE!!! It was funny, action packed, and super cheesy. I loved every second of it.

 

On the day of the race, I woke up and went down to the free breakfast the hotel offered. I was a little bummed because my race morning breakfasts are usually incredibly plain. I opted for a piece of toast and some apple juice. I was bummed because this was one of the awesome hotel free breakfasts with waffles and pancakes, etc. I showed up to the race about 45 mins early in order to get my bib and warm up. I was a good runner and actually warmed up for a full 20mins prior (usually my warm-up consists of about 5 mins of slow running…the end), and I included dynamic stretches and even 4 100m strides. I have a bad habit of judging my competition and while warming up I saw 2 other runners stretching dynamically and running pickups as well. One was a man and the other a woman and they were both super fit looking.

 

At the start line, those 2 runners were lined up right at the front. When the gun went off, I kept repeating to myself, don’t go out too fast. I settled into a comfortable pace for the first maybe .25mi until I glanced at my watch and saw that comfortable pace was 8:47 min/mi. Since I was hoping to PR in the low elevation, I knew that pace wouldn’t cut it. I picked up the pace a little and fell in perfect stride with a man right in front of me. I looked down at my watch again and saw 7:38 min/mi and I thought, what the heck, let’s see how long I could stay with him. I ran the first to miles directly behind him. Right after mile 3 started I noticed he was starting to slow, I was still feeling pretty good, so I passed him and tried to work on catching a man in a bright yellow shirt who was a ways ahead of me. This last mile was tough. I had to do a lot of self-talk to keep myself going at the same pace. With about a quarter mile left, I started closing in on the guy in the yellow shirt, I knew I had less than 2 minutes left of running and thought, I can do anything for 2 minutes. I stepped on the gas and passed him. I kept that final pace all the way to the finish line.

 

I have to say, I was very proud of myself for this race. I really wanted to slow down for most of the race, but I was able to keep going. I do believe if that man that I paced for most of the race wasn’t there, I would have slowed, but I was determined to keep with him. The result? A brand new shiny PR! I dropped exactly one minute off of my last PR. I came in at 23:46 which is 7:39min/mi. I was hoping to come up with an age group award with that time, but there were some pretty fast people in this race. Including the 2 runners I saw warming up earlier. I think they got 1^st and 2^nd overall. The women placed 2^nd overall with a time of 17:XX. Crazy!

 

Official Stats:

Time: 23:46

26/171 overall

10/114 female

7/23 in AG

 

 

As far as my training went for the month of July, not so good, I fell short of my weekly mileage goals every week. It has been very rainy here this month so I had to do a lot of treadmill running, and unfortunately, I can only run on a treadmill for so long before I want to shoot myself. Also, with having class on Saturdays, I am unable to go as far for my long runs as I planned on. Also the class interferes with my Tuesday and Thursday runs. I just haven’t worked out a plan to get all my runs in. I am a little worried about the upcoming 10miler in 2 weeks. I am definitely not as prepared as I should be. I did get a new PR for the mile, 6:37! I never thought I’d see a 6min pace for me in anything. So that’s pretty awesome.

 

Total Miles: 90.8mi

Peak weekly mileage: 7/14/2014-7/20/2014 (28.8mi)

Longest Run: 11.3mi

Average Pace: 10:11 min/mi

Races: 1

Truckee Firecracker Mile – 6:37 - PR

 

Lesson(s) learned

• Sometimes you have to sacrifice in order to stay on schedule
• Juggling work, school, personal life, and running is a lot harder than I thought it’d be

 

Plans for August:

Arrive at the 10 miler injury free and enjoy the race. Don’t stress too much about time. I have no other races I am signed up for, so I would like to return to building a stronger aerobic base for running.

 

Upcoming August Races: 1

Reno 10 Miler – 8/17/2014

I am officially a half marathoner (can I say half marathoner? I know people say they’re a marathoner when they finish a marathoner, so why not for a half?) This Sunday was the Downtown River Run. I signed up for the race a few months ago on a whim. This race featured a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and a newly Boston Qualifier full marathon. I really wanted to sign up for the 5k, but I knew this year I wanted to complete a half, so before I wimped out, I signed up quickly. This past week, I was crazy nervous. I would just be sitting and my desk and suddenly want to scream out in excitement and nervousness. I was really worried about not being able to sleep the night before, but surprisingly I slept like a baby (why do people say this when babies are constantly waking up?) a person who sleeps really well.

Begin race recap:

I woke up at about 5:30am. The race didn't start until 8:15, but I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to use the bathroom, and digest my food. I arrived at the race at around 7:45. I met up with a friend who was there to cheer me on. She was great at keeping me positive and reminding me how hard I’ve worked. I wasn't really sure if I should warm up before the race because my plan, if executed correctly, was to run slow in the first half and gradually increase during the last half of the race. I decided on a quick little jaunt down the road, it was probably only a .25mi jog, but it helped my nerves a little. Two minutes before the start of the race I lined up near the backish. The national anthem was sung and we were off, right on time! My race plan was to keep the first few miles at about a 9:30/mi pace. The first mile came and went incredibly quickly, I checked my watch 8:57. Dang, I have got to slow it down! The next 3 miles went by equally as quickly and without any problems.

Miles 1-4: 8:57 / 9:22 / 9:27 / 9:27

The next couple miles were a little confusing. This was an out and back course along the Truckee River path, and near the turnaround point we were supposed to come to a fork and go to the right and exit the river path and run on the road by Patagonia, and then loop around into a park and back onto the river path, this was all according to the course map posted online. However, when I approached the fork, runners who had already completed the loop and running back towards me were coming in from the right. So the group of runners I was running with all veered the left and entered the park first. There were no signs or volunteers in the area to direct us which way to go. I told my husband he could wait for me in the park to cheer me on, I told him the time I expected to be in the park, but because we ran through the park first, he was not there. Suddenly I felt kinda sad, I was counting on him to help lift my spirits and keep me going strong. We looped around onto the road and right as I passed Patagonia, there he was with Casper cheering me on (he apparently didn’t feel like going into the park and had only arrived along the street 3 minutes before I approached, perfect timing). His presence worked and I felt refreshed again. During mile 7 there were 2 women who were running right behind me. One of the women must have been really tired because the other woman was coaching her, telling her to imagine the eyes of her favorite person, and think of every detail. She also suggested saying the alphabet backwards. I’ll have to remember some of those “get your mind of the pain and tiredness” tricks.

Miles 5-9: 9:27 / 9:27 / 9:16 / 9:09

During the next few miles, things were starting to go downhill for me (unfortunately the race course was not). Every incline, big or small, felt like a giant mountain. My legs started to feel as if they didn't want to support my weight anymore. It was weird; they didn't hurt or feel that tired, they just felt wobbly. This part of the half marathon is where the real race is supposed to begin, according to some articles I read. Those who started out too fast will start to fade and because I started out slow, I was supposed to fly by them. Hmm, yeah, that didn't happen. I didn't necessarily get passed by that many people, but I think I only passed 3 people total (one was walking). I actually thought about walking during the last two miles, I was mentally and physically done with the race and on an incline, but I knew I would be embarrassed later to tell everyone that I walked, so my pride kept me going. Around this time I checked my Garmin and was trying to do the math to figure out if a sub 2hr race was still possible. I would have to run the next 2 miles in under 9:30 to make it. It was going to be a close one. During this part of the race I was supposed to be steadily increasing my pace until the end. I honestly felt that I was slowing each mile. I rounded the corner to home stretch of the race and I glanced at my watch. It read 1:59:10 already, and I still had the .1 mile to go. In my head, I knew I wouldn't make it. But, there was a runner a little bit ahead of me, so I thought since I wouldn't make my goal, at least I could beat this guy. I took off at a full sprint and passed him, I honestly was going to slow back down, but I thought, eh, what the hey, finish hard. I crossed the finish line feeling like I wanted to pass out. I made sure to stop my watch right as I crossed. Looked down at my time and felt elated. My watch said 1:59:47!!!! I did it! A sub 2 hour half marathon! I am so glad that there was a guy that I really wanted to pass in the end, otherwise I would not have made it.

Miles 10-13: 9:09 / 9:02 / 9:11 / 8:56 / 6:20 (last .1mi)

Rounding the corner to the finish

Looking back at me splits, I apparently was not slowing down when I thought I was in last couple miles. After the race, I collected my medal and met back with Amy and some other runners from the running group I run with. Amy decided to be a race bandit and run the 5k, and Luis placed 3^rd overall in the 5k. I have to admit, during those last 2 awful miles, I was thinking I would never do a half marathon again, only 5k’s for me, but now, I am excited to do my next one.

Amy and I

I was excited to see this one because it looks like I actually
land mid foot!

Official Final results:

Time: 1:59:48

13^th out of 40 in AG; 213^th overall out of 488

Today was the Leprechaun Race. It Marks the first solo race I have repeated since I have started running last February. I was really excited about this race, because I thought it would be a true test to see my progression. Last year I ran the race in 30:33. My goal last year was to come in under 30mins. I was close, but no cigar. This year, my goal was to come in under 25mins. My current PR was 25:43. During this race, there is a leprechaun you are trying to beat. He starts after every runner has passed the start line. If you beat him, you get a special prize. Last year, he passed me in the fist 1/4mi. I learned a lot of valuable lessons last year and used them to make a better race this year.

I had a plan to arrive at least 20mins early so I good could a good warm up in. Unfortunately for me, everyone seemed to have this idea and there was absolutely no parking, and since this event was taking place downtown, everything was metered. So I had to circle all of the side streets and then park a good distance away from the race. I technically got my warm up in, as by the time I found a spot to park, I had to haul booty to the starting line. Last year, I lined up in the back in front of those with the strollers and spent the first mile or so weaving in and out of runners and walkers. This year, I chose a spot up near the front but not quite with the crazy fast runners. I made it to the start line with about 2 minutes to spare. As as the gun went off, I took off. I was channeling good thoughts and sub 8:00min miles the entire route. I kept picking other runners near me to try and stick with, but it wasn't working out so well. There was one girl in some awesome shamrock socks that was perfectly in front of me for the first mile, but she was able to hold the pace and I wasn't. Then there was a guy with a gigantic clover on the back of his shirt, lost him. Next, there was a woman with a green tutu, same situation. Finally, around mile 2.5 I realized, I should just try to run to the best of my ability instead of trying to cling to someone else.

The course was generally flat except for the last half mile which has a slow ascend. However, since I started out too fast, I didn't have much gusto for the final climb. I gave it my best and huffed up the incline. Right when you get to the top, you can see the finish line and big clock. When I looked at the clock it said 25:XX. As said as it was to see those numbers,I was slightly heartbroken, but just glad that I beat my time from last year. As I got to the finish line, I realized I was not wearing my contacts and have sucky vision, and the clock was actually reading 24:XX. I have to admit, when I thought I saw the 25:XX I slowed down a little because for a second I thought "why bother". Here my goal this year is to think positive, and I crack at the first sign of defeat.

Believe it or not, I am actually very happy in this picture, I just don't know how to pose for photos.

So if you haven't figured it out yet. I PR'd! My official time 24:46. Almost 1 minute off my previous PR and 6 minutes faster than last year! I am super excited. I finally was able to see a 7:XX pace next to my name! Now, I can set a new goal to strive for in the 5k distance. Also, though I did not beat the leprechaun this year, he didn't pass me until 2.5 miles in.

I love automatic PRs!!! This Thanksgiving I completed my first 10k. I have been looking forward to this race for sometime as it is another runners rite-of-passage here in Reno. It has only been going on for about 15 years, but it is probably one of the most popular races in the Reno-Sparks area. there were 1200 people alone running the 10k. There were hundreds more running the 2 mile. I am actually surprised that a race on a holiday is so popular.

Anyway, like most races I was worried about how I would run. I was fughting a cold and I had some crazy bumps on the bottom of my foot that felt like rocks in my shoe whenever I put pressure on it. In addition to that, I always put a lot of pressure on myself, even though I know I shouldn't. Even though this was my first 10k, I already had a time I would like to come in at in my head. My goal was 55:00 minutes. That would put me in just under 9:00/mi which according to the writers over at Livestrong:

 "completing a mile in nine minutes or less is running" 

and I'd like to consider myself a runner, so running was what I was going to do. I arrived at the race about 45 minutes prior to the start. I was excited that my hubby came with me to cheer me on (and also get some race pics of me).

Pre-race pic

It was super chilly (32 degrees). I was a little bummed to find out that they were not doing a chip start time, only a chip finish. Which means when the clock starts, it starts for everyone no matter when you cross that start line. I didn't want to line up in the front because I knew I would end up in some insanely fast persons path and probably be trampled annoy the crap out of them. So I lined up in the middle near the frontish. One of the girls I run with on my Tuesday and Saturday run group, Amy, was running the race (this was also her 1st 10k) and said her goal was to keep up with me. (I'm not sure where she got it in her head that I was even remotely worthy of a goal of hers). She lined up with me before the start and we took off together. There was only about a 10 second delay from when the gun went off to when I actually started running. It was a good and wide course, so I didn't feel like I was trapped behind a lot of people. I got out the crowd pretty quickly. About a mile into the race, she slowly started to get faster and before I knew it she was ahead of me. I really wanted to speed up too, but I was trying to stay modest and not burnout later.

What seemed like an hour later, we passed the 2 mile mark. I felt like I was going to loose it there. That was the longest 2 miles of my life. I was already exhausted feeling, and somehow really cold and hot at the same time. I actually thought about giving up right then and there. I knew I'd regret it later if I quit, so I kept on keepin. After mile 3, things feel into place. I actually forgot I was running and allowed my mind to wander. I was feeling relaxed and good. The race did a few out and back turns so I was basically able to see everyone in the race. It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces along the way. Before I knew it, I was at mile 5, my watch said I was at 4.82. I picked up the pace a little bit and was able to hold on until mile 6 again 5.82 according to my watch. Here I was at mile 6 thinking I only had .2 miles to go. So I gunned it as fast as my legs could carry me. I was flying by other runners.

Thinking I'm almost done.

After a time, I realized I still did not see the finish line. I looked down at my watch and I was at 6 miles. Now according to their mile markers I should be finishing. But nope, the course was actually a little over a 10k (6.28mi to be exact) and they were just horrible at placing the markers. I still had .28 miles to go, and I was out of gas. So...as you can probably guess, everyone I passed during my preemptive sprint to the finish, passed my up while they were sprinting to the true finish.

No biggie though, I still finished. Not with as much finesse as I hopped, but I finished nonetheless. And the best part is, I hit my goal! I finished in 54:38. Amy (you know the one whose goal it was to stay with me) finished in 53:34. All in all, I thought it was a good race. I think I could have gone slightly faster throughout the entire race, but I think it went well my for first. I even got to take some post race pictures with a giant turkey!

Amy and I with the Trotting Turkey!

Splits: 8:39 / 8:48 / 8:55 / 9:01 / 8:58 / 8:35 / 9:01 (the final .28)

Overall time: 54:38 

357/1223

Okay, so I am probably the worst blogger in the history of blogging. I have noticed I have really only been posting when I have a race recap, or once a month, whichever comes first. I started writing this blog so I could keep track of my training and I don’t know, maybe look back down the road in a few years and reflect on how my running obsession began. But, according the frequency of my entries, it doesn't look like I’ll have much to reflect on. I did the same thing when I tried to keep a journal when I was younger. I wrote in it about once a year and it was always about some new boy I had a crush on. I digress. I think one of my New Year’s Resolutions this coming year will be to blog weekly. Anyway, a lot has been going on in my little world of running. I scored another 5k PR in the Trick-or-Treat 5k on October 29^th. It was a little short of a full 5k (I think it was 3 miles on the dot), but I will take a PR anyway I can get it. So…my new PR is 25:19 (8:07/mi)! I can almost take the sub 25 minute 5k! I wont get a chance to try out another 5k for some time because 5k season in our area is definitely over.

I am only signed up for one more race this year, the Turkey Trot. It's one of the bigger races here in Reno with over 1,000 participants. It will be my first 10k ever and my longest race to date. Because it's my first 10k, I'm not taking it too seriously. I just want to get a feel for the race distance. Best part about this race, is I get a free sweatshirt, rather than a t-shirt, AND it was only $25 to sign up!!! This could potentially be my last race for a while. My hubby and I are looking to start a family pretty soon. I really hope to keep running throughout pregnancy, but I think racing will be out.

How many times can I change subjects in one post? Three. I'm changing subjects again (but that's what happens when I have a lot to say and don't post enough). I have started running with a new group last week. Northern Sierra Endurance Training, they are a free running/training group here. I love free! They typically meet on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Saturdays and have 3 different distances you can run depending on what you're training for. I met up with them last Tuesday and Saturday. I ran with this group once before a few months ago and I was scared to go back. The group took off at a pace faster than I could keep up with. One of the guys in that group didn't want to leave me behind, so he ran with me the entire time. I felt bad because I knew I was holding him back. This time however, there were 2 newbies to the group who were running the same distance I was, so we agreed to stick together. They were a perfect pace for me! I decided to make Saturdays my long run day rather than Sunday, so I chose the 8mi distance. There was one other guy who was running that distance and he didn't want to run by himself, so he said he'd run at whatever pace I wanted to. He forgot his glasses, so I was appointed navigator. Bad idea!!! I have never ran a new course without getting lost! And true to form, I got us both lost. I missed a turn somewhere (there were over 16 turns to make total) and we had to backtrack. So our 8 mile run, turned into 9.25mi. Oh, well. He had good spirits about it. I felt good about this run because the last time I ran more than 6mi was over 3 months ago. We averaged 10:07/mi while talking, with hills. I know that may not be a fast pace for some, but it was a fast training pace for me to be able to talk all the way through.

All right, enough of the chatter.

Do you still have any races you are signed up for the rest of the year?

Seeing as how I am transitioning from a sprinter running no more than 400m to a longer distance runner. I always thought the 5k race, would be my race. It's short enough for me to keep some speed. I haven't really sprinted since high schoold and my fastest 400m as of late was 1:10, which according to McMillan Running Calculator hsould put me at a 19:48 5k (yeah right, in my dreams). My fastest 5k to date was 26:27 which I ran 4 months ago. I suck at running distance, and I would love to one day achieve a 19:48. I have done numerous 5ks since June and have not PR'd. But finally today I ran a little faster.

My company sponsored a team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. For some reason everyone at work thinks I'm this great super fast runner. I told one person, I run about 4x per week, and he thought that meant I was really fast. I have tried to explain to him many times that I run slow during those 4x per week. Somehow word got out and one of my co-workers (he is an MMA fighter) decided to make a competition out the Race for the Cure. As an MMA fighter, I knew he was way more in shape than I was. I kept trying to talk myself down to anyone who would listen, but for some reason no one would listen and thought it would be some great race between him and I. Yeah...not even close. He finished in 18:52. However, boosted by the little competition I was able to PR! It did have a few more switchbacks than I would have liked because it was all in the parking lot of a hotel, but it was flat! Gotta love flat! I finished in 25:41! Not super fast by any means, but super fast for me. I averaged 8:17/mi! My splits were 8:03 (starting too fast like always) / 8:28 / 8:28 / 6:59 (final .11mi).

This was my first 5k since the Safe and Healthy Homes 5k I did in the middle of May.


This was an interesting race. It was held in Fallon, NV (about an hour from Reno). This 5k was
a 5k for the rest of us". The way this 5k was set up was that runners started in waves according to their weight. The more a person weighed, the sooner they'd start. Each group started 2 minutes after the previous group, and the timer officially started with the last group starts. I was in the very last group, so I started 12 minutes after the first group took off. This was fun because, I was able to pass a ton of people. It's a good ego booster. I wish I would have kept track of how many, but I didn't. This was probably the first race ever where I wasn't passed.

I have 3 complaints about this race:

1. It was way too hot! I know this wasn't the race directors fault, but it was a scorcher. I felt like I could have went a lot faster had we had some shade along the way.
2. There were about 6 or 7 turns on the route. I think the best races are comprised of one big loop, or out and back. The entire time I was wondering where in the heck I was going.
3. This was supposed to be a "flat and fast" route, not so. According to my GPS was a slow incline the entire way. I hate any type of incline. I am horrible at hills.

The cool things about this race were:

1. It was only a $20 entry fee.
2. We got Tech shirts and not the cheap cotton shirts.
3. Everyone got finishers medals.

 I had a lot of expectations for this race because I just finished running the Reno Tahoe Odyssey. Which is a 12 person team relay race that covers 178 miles. During my legs I was consistently running sub 9 minute miles, so I really wanted to finish this 5k with an average of sub 9:00/mi. Mission accomplished. I finished with an overall time of 26:27. A new PR by 1:43 minutes! This averages out to 8:32/mi. Since I started running in February, I have shaved off about 5 mins from my overall time. 

I am excited for my next race, another 5k on June 23rd.