Twisted Resolution Run 5k :: Race Recap / Review

This morning I got up for a little "fun run" put on by The Big Peach Running Company in Decatur.  It was a Resolution Run 5k - but not a race race, more like a legit honest to goodness, get out of bed, quit being lazy group run.  I liked the idea and I liked that it was free and seeing how I have a half marathon in like a month I figured I needed to add to my Pure Barre work outs.

The 1st mile was good.  Honestly, cannot complain about it.  The pace of the group was good and manageable and I was just cruising.  Around mile 2 my legs started to get tired.  I think it was a combo of the hills and the Pure Barre workouts.  So I started taking walk breaks.  I wanted to listen to my body and not push myself too hard.  I actually buddied up with some lady who said "I want to keep up with you" and it kinda shocked me since I was slow and trotting around.  Mile 2 - 3.1 were the most unfun just because of hills and my tired legs.

The ran out of water at the middle point so by the time I got back to Big Peach I was thirsty and was getting a headache.  And they were handing out "resolutions" on the run - but I got so tired of carrying them, I ended up ditching them.  But one of my resolutions was to buy new spring gear.  Yeah right - I am poor!

What I have learned - I need to foam roll and stretch out my muscles a little bit more! =D

But I came home to  deader than dead laptop which sent Kyle and me to Best Buy. Oi.  But that means I got to load my Garmin onto my computer and it actually works!! So now I can look at elevations and my splits again.

...but, I have a lot of work to do.  But I am headed to FL tomorrow and I want to do some beach running!!

Three Things Thursday.

Today is so rainy that I wish I had taken a mental health day and could stay snuggled in bed or on the couch with my two pup pups.  But, no such luck.

1.  I am thinking that once I get married... I am going to merge this blog into this blog (I actually already changed the blog name to "The Shanahan Shenanigans" because I want to make sure it is not gone by the time I am actually a Shanahan) and then merge this one  (which I need to rename as well) into that one as well.  It is kinda hard to keep track of 3 blogs and since the wedding one will turn into a life update one and lets be honest, I am not doing a heck of a lot of running or racing I think these can all be merged together.  HOWEVER... I'd like to somehow keep my past race history tab and my PR area and my race bucket list tab.  So I would need to figure out how to work that all in.  Granted I have 163 days to figure it out.  Any suggestions?!

2.  There is a FREE 5k in Decatur on October 26th that I am doing and excited about.  Because 1. I LOVE Decatur and 2. I love Chocolate.  It starts at the Big Peach in Decatur (114 E. Trinity Place, Decatur 30030) and then runs for 3.1 miles and then get Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa and Chocolate Fondue.  No fancy schwag bags or anything - but if I understand right ... The Chocolate Tour is scouting Atlanta as a race location.  But as usual, don't quote me on that.

3.  Still debating Savannah.  No set decision made as of right now.  But I am leaning towards no.  And Kyle also is leaning towards no.  I have never been THIS unprepared for a race ... normally I am pretty unprepared but in shape enough to tough it out.... but this would be too many miles of toughing it out.  You know? 

… Big Peach Sizzler 2011 Race Recap …

I just may have lost my brain but because I have run this race the past 2 years I decided why the heck not and ran it again this year.  I love everything Big Peach and I have always liked this race so even though I knew I was not prepared nor would I be on race day I decided to run it just to see how it would go and how I would be able to handle 6.2 miles.

 

Saturday I had a few errands to run around the Buckhead area and I slipped into Big Peach to pick up my race number and packet.  I like having my number and shoe tag before the race so I do not have anything to worry about.  Sunday night I got my race outfit and gear ready for the next morning and Monday morning I was up bright and early  (after hitting the snooze button about 6 times) to let the dogs out, to grab something quick and easy to eat and then head to Chamblee to run 6.2 long miles. (The past 2 years I lived basically at the starting line, but we moved so I had to drive there this year.) 

The race… it went as well as I expected it to and I expected it to be unpleasant.  No lie, I woke up with a cramp behind my knee that I just could not shake (I’d like to blame Mulligan and him taking up the whole bed for that one…).  I decided to just take the race slow, walk when I needed to walk and run when I could.  I lined up on the right side and in the middle of the pack and was off.  Mile 1 was good.  The hill wasn’t hard (thanks Blast) and Mile 2 went well too (minus the bigger hill that I got 75% up and then took a walk break). Tropical Storm Lee decided to ran on us starting around mile 2 (for me) so needless to say it was a rainy race.  I found a good steady groove around mile 3 but with that said I was doing a methodical walk/run and ran more when the song got me going.  My body started to hurt around mile 4/mile 4.5 but I was kind of picking people off and passing people which as fine in my book.  Mile 5 was the hardest and I was so happy to see the finish line partially because my body hurt and partially because I was wet.

In years past I had complained about water stops not being stocked and that was not the case this year.  I think out of the past 3 years I have run it – this year went the smoothest.  The post race party/expo thing was kind of a cluster, but I will blame that on the fact that they had to move it underground so it was more crowded than it had been in the past.  Truthfully I grabbed my shirt and bolted because the parking deck underground was H-O-T and I needed air and away from stinky runners.  The shirts are a bright neon no cars can say they didn’t see me coming orange (worst than traffic cones) but I will still rock it from time to time.

Once again… Big Peach put on a great race.  =D

Finishing time: 1:15 Average Pace: 12:03

New Running Shoes!

I went to Big Peach today to JUST pick up my race number for Monday’s 10k and walked out with my race number and a new pair of running shoes.  Granted… I was just about due for a new pair, I am still wondering how exactly I walked out with shoes.  I blame it on the 4 zillion workers in the shoe are that bombarded me.  And really I just wanted to see the new color combo for my typical running shoe not walk out with a pair but oh well.  As mentioned, I am almost due for a new pair and now I am prepared and I do need to start breaking in my pair for Atlanta 13.1 and Rock and Roll Savannah.

So here are my new shoes and let me tell you – they’re wickedly bright.  You’ll be able to see my feet coming from 76 miles away.  And for serious, this picture does not even do them justice… they are WAY brighter in real life.  Like no joke, Lime Green, glow in the dark – but thankfully people will see me coming so I should *hopefully* never get hit by a car!  I will probably start breaking these bad boys in this week.

I once read you should never pick a running shoe based on the shoe color and I of course will wear these Brooks shoes until they start giving me issues and then I will get refitted but really, who picks the color combos?!

Do you pick your shoes based on the color combo? 

Big Peach sizzler Photos.

So the photos from this weekend are in. True Speed Photos did a mighty good job of capturing the moment around mile 6. Him yelling "hey 1045 big smile big smile" ... thanks for the good laugh! =)

Big Peach Sizzler 10k 2010

This time last year I ran my 1st ever 10k (read race report here) with one of my really good friends who constantly pushes and motivates me. And man did she motivate and push me to the finish last year. I made the decision that I wanted to try and run as many of the same races each year to see how much I have (or have not improved in a year). So this weekend was the Big Peach Sizzler 10k... 6.2 miles, starting right by my apartment, and all I wanted was it to not be as humid as it was last year.

The Big Peach Running Company is my favorite running store here in Atlanta - the staff is awesome (knowledgeable, friendly, always willing to help) and they are stocked full of basically anything and everything you could ever want, need, and not really need when it comes to running and when yo find something you want, they have options and make your decision just a tiny bit harder. Big Peach puts on a few races each year and every time they host one I try to take part since they're well run, organized, and just fun.


This years race was no different. The night before I took Kyle to our little pizza joint and I carb loaded on tortellini (and put myself into a carb coma), checked the weather (to learn it would be hot and humid, typical atlanta), and i picked out my outfit & put the race number on my shirt... and called it an early night, err i crawled in bed to try to make it an early night but of course I was sucked into E! ...

Race morning was no different than past race mornings - woke up early (too early this time since the race started basically in my apartment complex's parking lot), took out the pup, got dressed, and filled up my water bottle and was out the door. The 1st thing I really noticed was the crowd - Big Peach races always have good turnouts, but there was just a lot of people. Race started at 7:30 and I was feeling good. It is great how properly eating can make such a difference, who woulda thought? The weather was actually really nice a touch a heat but not too much. Since I lived around the start I was really comfortable with the terrain which I think gave me an advantage. As people were dropping off at the 1st hill (which really isn't a hill, its a slow incline), I was chugging up it since I run it weekly... and I knew when the flat parts were coming... and the hilly-ish part of peachtree I could handle those hills pretty well too since I was familiar with them. When I got to the 1st water stop I was thankful I decided to bring my own since they were dry, no water. I heard lots of grumbles around me and it worried me a bit about the water situation at the 5 mile mark so I started to ration my water. Thankfully for those who didn't get water at the 1st stop were able to get bottles of water from Thrive Personal Training not too far down. I somehow lost a contact around mile 4 or so ... half blind running was a 1st for me and the photo guy just around the 6 mile mark was super fun yelling "hey 1045 big smiles big smiles" -- thankfully Miley Cyrus was on so I was able to keep it moving and going. I was about 3 minutes shy of a PR, but I am content and okay with my time. Knowing that I beat my MCM "pick up the stragglers car" in my garmin by over a mile gave me some much needed confidence goinig into October... ...granted 20 miles is much farther and longer than 6.2 so my legs will be more tired by then... honestly, i think it is all about playing games and when your mind is telling you no more to just keep putting 1 foot in front of the other.

I think the reason why I like this race so much is because I run a lot of this course just for fun. It starts by my apartment and much of the middle course is part of my brookhaven route and then the buckhead part is what i run when i take breathers from the office. ...and if i ever start running to work again it is the exact course.

I am happy to report that I made it this year without losing anything. *last year I lost my timing chip, drivers license, and credit card* And I did miss having my running buddy and being told the "Nick Saban would kick me off the team". PS. When are we running again and doing brunch?!

so the stats.the important things.
Last Year's Time: 1:21
This Year's Time: 1:10 (a whopping 11 minutes faster than last year) - and I beat the 14 minute mcm pace man by 1.18 miles. Take that 14th St. Bridge

I am happy with my time. I ran The Peachtree in 1:10 and that was when I was in much better shape than I am now - so maybe there is hope for MCM :o)

**i'll post pictures once they're posted**

big peach 5k race.ARPRIL is gone

I decided at the last minute (on 4.24) that I wanted to run the Big Peach 5k. My reasoning: I could ride the Marta to the start – run 3.1 and then run myself home. I have been needing to get in the miles in preparation for Marine Corp and with Big Peach being about 3 or so miles from my apartment, I said WHY NOT! Plus. it benefited the Leukemia & Lymphoma society and if a race is attached to that organization 9 times out of 10 I am in. I did not know anything about the race so I checked out the course map and realized that it was roads that I run every now and then while taking breaks from work so other than the hill heading up Roxboro I thought it should be a fairly easy race… then this past Monday I ran the course backwards and realized it may be a little bit harder than I initially thought so I kinda went into the race siked out which is never a good thing. Then for the past 3 or so days I have been all out of sorts, body rejecting food, crazy tired, achy legs even though all I do is climb stairs and look for my lost car in the parking garage ….. On top of all that, Erin and I went out for a much needed happy hour/dinner so after margaritas and tacos I was not quite sure if I was even going to make it to the starting line & I thought that even if I skipped it my race entry went to an amazing cause. Before going to bed I checked the weather and there was like a 30% chance of thunderstorms (with lightening) from 6am – 11 am (prime racing hours) so I turned on “Lovely Bones”, set my alarm, and said lets play this by ear…. and if I do not run I WILL get 6 miles in this weekend at some point – whether is was pavement or treadmill.

SO. Race Day: I flaked out and stayed in bed and slept some much needed zzz’s. I took the dog on 2 long walks to make up for it and Sunday I had this great big plan to hit LA Fitness and knock out 6 miles on the treadmill and call it a day. Well, the treadmills decided to be difficult and 2.42 miles later I was calling it a day. Long story short it is common knowledge that I would rather hit the pavement than step onto a treadmill. But with this heat (84 degrees feels like 95) and the humidity, I had to take it inside. Well I was flying high, I got into a groove on the dreadmill, was rocking and rolling and them bam I read “belt stopping” at .83 miles. WTF?! So I started it back up again… same thing but at .26 miles the belt stopped. So, I moved 1 machine over and could not get back in the groove. I was hot, sweaty, annoyed, and then BAM at 1.33 miles – belt stops. I decided to call it quits and just head home. THAT IS WHY I LIKE RUNNING OUTSIDE THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP ME .83 miles in or .26 or 1.33

April is OVER! Thank God. Where in the world is 2010 going?! April was a fairly unproductive month for me in regards to running, work has been so busy and I fear with my new role it is only going to be busier so it will be a true test of learning to balance life.  I even titled this entry “big peach 5k race.march is over” to start with and started this paragraph saying “march is over” – that is how fried my brain is and has been.  I need a vacation. I ran 26.47 miles which is much less than my 50 some last month and my 50+ goal for the month. Why do I always seem to have low miles the month after a BIG race. I did not hit my 50 mile mark, but for me to get as high as I did, I am surprised. I did a 5k (and PR’d). I got a rocking free sample of Body Glide (remember, you can win a free stick). The pollen was (and still is) outrageous and makes it really hard to breathe. For the most part I slaved in the office, spent a lot of quality time with my dog and kyle, and just tried to enjoy life.

Here is hoping April is full of miles and I am really stoked about a friendship that was so unlikely but is becoming awesome with one of my fellow Nike Team in Training Gals. We’re talking about treking to Nashville together in September to run The Women’s Half as training for Marine Corp for me and her first full at the Nike Women’s Marathon! I love friendships that come out of no where!!!

Don’t forget about my FREE Bodyglide giveaway.