hot chocolate 10k:::: asheville, nc

.:race details:.

date: january 26
race day pick up? yes. there were 3 opportunities to pick up your packet, race morning, the night before at the pasta party, or the night before that when they had a chocolate tasting.
start time:  845 am [10k], there was also a kids hill climb and marshmallow dash
did race start on time? yes
adequate restrooms?  yes, there were porto potties outside and the bathrooms inside the school
aid stations:  4 or 5 water stations.
course spectator support: there were groups of people all over the course and the finish line crowd was great.
course terrain:  all paved, starts downhill, then flattens out... until the last half mile. holy hill.
shirts:  long sleeved cotton shirts
medals:  none
would i race again?  absolutely
any complaints? a couple of the water stations weren't really ready for runners, but it wasn't that big of a deal.
what you need to know:  get there early, they encourage you to park in one of the downtown garages and they bus you over [which worked great, we didn't wait long at all, and we were able to stand inside the library where it was warm].

my race:

i ran 2 miles to warm up [i had a little time before the race started and i figured i'd might as well use it to chip away at the 20 miles]. i've never ran like that before a race but apparently i need to. i was using this race to help me out with the 20 miler, not going for any time goals, so i wasn't looking at my watch. my ipod died for a little bit around mile 3 so i heard the split called out as i passed and it was under 30 minutes. whaaaat?

then the internal battle started... do i push it and try to PR [or get my goal of a sub hour?] or do i take it easy and set myself up for a better 20 miler. i decided to keep cruising and see how it went. when i got to mile 5 i started pushing it. i knew i had that sub hour and i wanted it really badly. i felt like i needed it for some reason. stupid? yes. but oh well.

then came the big @ss hill. holy pace killer.

according my garmin i ran 6.27 in 59:58... but gun time was.... 1:00:00.

i cannot believe i ran the whole race in the nines! i know that may seem glacial to some of you, but for me that's great! guess i'll have to break an hour some other time :) but a 6 minute PR? i'll take it all day every day!

Flying Pig Half Marathon:::: #4 of 12 in 2012

flying pig half marathon, cincinnati ohio

half mary # 5

race# 4 of 12 in 2012

time:  2:16:25 (PR)

division:  408/1116

gender: 2125/6772

expo:

The race expo was Friday and Saturday and it was the largest expo I've ever attended. If you want to read more specifics you can check out this post. There were tons of volunteers which was really nice. There were really long lines for all the booths that had free samples. We got tech shirts, posters, and duffel bags (all really nice).

race morning:

Traffic was pretty crazy on the Ohio side of the river. Luckily Brad's parents live in Cinci and are pretty used to it. We decided to park on the Kentucky side of the river (AKA the better side!) and walk over. That worked pretty well. I had my standard Clif bar and some G2. We arrived around 6am (race time at 630am). You'd think that would be plenty of time but it totally wasn't. I was hoping to see Jill and my friend Becca before the race (it was Becca's first half!!), but that didn't happen.  I got to my corral (pigpen) and the bathroom line was RIDIC.

Not happening. I could have stayed and went (chip timing) but I didn't want to have to bob and weave more than I was already going to have to.

the race:

I felt prepared for this race. Ready for the hills. Hoping for a PR.

Prepared but not super confident. I had an A goal. One that I shared with NO ONE. Super secret.

And my B goal was 2:20.

This was the first half that I've done that I ran with someone I knew (my friend from home, Jill).  Oddly enough, we had never ran together before. It worked out a lot better than I'd hoped. She is a little faster than me but she wanted me to pace her, she usually goes out too fast.

Here were are within the first half mile of the race. I was a little stressed trying to maintain a good, steady pace. I REALLY wanted to catch up to the 2:15 pace group, but that never happened. They started from the E corral and I never saw them again. [Side note:  I registered WAY early for this race and plugged in the only finish time I had-- 2:32. I could have/should have/wished I'd been in the E corral].

I felt really good throughout the race and Jill and I did well staying together until about mile 6 or so. We were going up a hill and she found a new gear! I walked for a minute, got my legs back then started back up.

The other races I've done have been more rolling hills. You get a little up, you get a little down. My strategy to this point has been to walk uphill if I need to, then run down. This course was different because the uphill wasn't steep, but it was pretty consistent over about 3 miles. I ran most of it but took a few walking breaks when I needed. Maybe one day I'll actually run an entire half! ;)



Anyways, I was really pumped up at the halfway point. My legs were getting a little tired and I was worried I'd emptied my tank by running some of those hills, BUT I was right on pace for a sub 2:15. Anytime I felt like slowing down I just repeated my mantra, "HUSTLE HARDER." I also used 'dig deeper' a couple times.

 

 

The crowd support at this race was amazing. This was my favorite sign and I thought it was pretty funny that Brad picked it out and got a picture of it too! I love me some Luke Bryan and I thought this was the sweetest sign ever. HINT HINT Brad! Some others:

My mother in law made this hot pink "C" for me and it says 'Go Courtney Go!' It was super sweet of her to make (this is my father in law carrying it) and it was also great because they held it up while they were in the crowd. I could always pick them out when I was running up to them throughout the course!

 

There were so many people out cheering us on, so many great signs and well staffed water stations. There was no GU supplied on the half course which I thought was odd for a race this size. Best moment of the race? A group of girls had taken those tube popsicles and cut them in half and were handing them out. BEST POPSICLE EVER!!! I grabbed one and Jill and I killed it!

 

As I came to the end of the race I was getting super excited. I totally had my sub 2:15!!! The weird thing was, as my watch hit 13.1 I STILL COULDN'T SEE THE FINISH LINE?!?! WTH?  So of course I started getting super frustrated, but I kept running.

 

So what happened? The course was long. My watch said 13.46 when it was all said and done. Everyone else I talked to said the same thing. I was PISSED.  I met up with Jill, she finished a minute or so in front of me. There was a lot of different food out for racers, but they didn't have any bags for us so it was kind of dumb. There was no way to carry stuff, I ended up dropping half of what I picked up. They had cold Gogurt, which was a good idea. No chocolate milk (bummer) and believe it or not I made it thru the whole chute without getting a water. Not cool.

 

I found my family and we loaded up to go to brunch. Brad, his parents, and his cousin and her husband all came out to support me which was really nice! We had an amazing brunch in KY after the race... I had french toast with fresh berries, chocolate drizzle and powdered sugar! YUM!

 

 

When I saw my final time for this race my initial reaction was disappointment. Then I had a come to Jesus with myself and decided I needed to get over it. I was being a turd. I reminded myself of all the things I should be thankful for, and I got over it.

 

Besides, I'm totally going to get that sub 2:15 eventually!

 

After brunch we went home to shower and Brad took a long nap. He'd had a tough day ;)

 

(This was in the AM before the race). While he was napping I met up with Jill, who organized 12 in 2012! We had been trying to meet up all weekend but we kept missing each other. We met at Starbucks and chatted for a while. It was so great to meet her and her beautiful family!

I stole this picture from Jill!

 

All in all it was a great weekend and I would definitely run the Pig again.

 

I wanted to give a big shoutout to my friend Becca who rocked her first half at the pig!!! She's already got the bug and I'm hoping we can do a race together later this year!

Strawberry Plains Half Marathon:: 1 of 12 in 2012

So if you follow me on twitter or read my last post  (basically if you pay me any attention whatsoever) you know I was freaking out a little nervous about this race.

I made my mind up about several things though:

1. I'm running 12 half marathons this year. They aren't all going to be perfect and they aren't all going to be PR's. 
2. Run what you can, walk what you can't. There's no shame in walking. 
3. Have a good time and enjoy it. Be thankful. As many of you this weekend, I ran in honor of Sherry Arnold.  This tragedy really hits home and I pray for peace for her friends and family. 

I went and picked up my packet on Friday night. There was no expo and pickup was at a store called Academy Sports and Outdoors. I quickly picked up my packet and headed to the hotel. 

I love the shirt and have worn it all day (it's a long sleeve tech t)

I put all my stuff out for the next morning (as usual I couldn't decide what to wear) and got to bed early.

Here's what I decided on:

This was my first time using my iFitness single pouch belt. I used a double pouch for my first half and loved it and felt the same about this one! THESE BELTS DO NOT MOVE.  I'm planning on comparing the two in a later post, because they both have pros and cons. (iFitness is also sponsoring 12 in 2012 and gave us all single pouch belts free of charge). 

I also wore some Nike gloves to keep my hands warm! 

I drove to the race, parked and got ready to run! It was nice because they had the school's gym open so we didn't have to wait in the cold. The race started promptly (I think... I honestly don't notice unless it's a long delay) at 9am. 

I tried to start slow but as usual I think I'm way faster than I actually am at the beginning of a race. I crossed the first mile marker around 9:30. Crazy. 

The race was out and back in a T shape. I actually like out and back courses because I LOVE the back part. Knowing that I've already ran something just makes me that much more confident that I can do it again. I dunno. It was also on beautiful land. I only saw 1 human spectator (walking her horse out to pasture) and lots of animals:  turkeys, horses, cows, goats, and dogs... even a chocolate lab!

There was a lot of snow and wind, but luckily it wasn't really sticking. My toes were a little cold during the beginning but luckily they warmed up quickly. Here's what it looked like:

Anyways, I have no idea about my splits because I need a "Garmin for Dummies" book. Still don't know how to upload anything. At Mile 12 I knew I could break 2:30 so I got going. 

Chip Time:  2:28:14  Average Pace:  11:19

THAT'S A NEW PR!!!!!! I am extremely happy with my time. Most of my long runs have been at a 12 min/mile pace on a treadmill with no incline. Definitely a great start to 2012!!

Biltmore Baptist VBS 5K Hero Run

This weekend started out with a 5K race at my church. I wasn't expecting a whole lot, mostly because the point was to raise money for one of our missionary families that works with an orphanage in Haiti. 100% of the proceeds went to the orphanage. I thought it was a wondeful idea and I was really happy to be a part of it.

It was also great that I set a new PR! 31:37, shaved a whole minute off! I started strong and the first mile was actually right around a 9 minute mile. That's unheard of for me! Then I got hot and I got bored. The race was three laps around the church, and I'm not complaining, but midway through the second lap I got passed by the kid who won the race... A little depressing!

I walked some, but tried to keep it at a minimum. I also reaffirmed what I supsected:  It is not a good idea for me to drink the night before a race. I was super dehydrated. After the race we got free strawberry smoothies, delicious! I also grabbed a coupon for free chick-fil-a chicken minis for b-rad.

I'm hoping at some point to break 30 minutes this summer. I'm also hoping to run a full 5K at some time this year :)