Wicked Wine Run 5k

One of my friends I met through a mom's group invited me to do The Wicked Wine Run with her. I didn't have anything going on that weekend and it sounded like fun so I signed up. They had a 5k and a 1k "wine tasting walk" you could sign up for just 1 for $30 or both for $45 so I figured I might as well sign up for both. Later I signed up for the Jenks 5k on the same day so I would run a 5k in the morning and a 5k in the evening. I planned to go for a sub-20 in the Jenks race and then take it easy during the Wine Run. I ran a 19:55 in the morning and was feeling so pumped. We left for the Wine Run early because my friends hadn't picked their race packets up early. I had gotten mine the day before and they were giving out packages of pork rinds as part of the race packet goodies. Carter wanted to try one and then said it tasted like a dog's breath smells. We hung out talking for a while and then I decided to run a mile warm up because my legs were still feeling a bit sore from the morning's race. I ran out on part of the course and saw we started on gravel and then went onto a trail path much like Turkey Mountain and from there wonld onto a paved path. I was glad I had run a fast time in the morning and wasn't tempted to go for anything impressive at this one as it was going to be a very slow course with lots of hills and lots of changes in surface. The scenery was gorgeous.

Standing at the race start ready to go.

They had us line up at the start in waves based off pace. The first wave was runners who were under 9 minute pace and they had signs for under 8 minute pace and then under 9 minute pace. As we were standing preparing for the race to start they announced awards would go to the top 3 overall male and female finishers. She said she thought it was a bottle of wine and I got excited but then was corrected that the award would just be an etched wine glass. We took off on the gravel and wound down onto a trail path. I was running a bit behind a guy who was out in front. There was a golf cart leading the way and when we got onto the trail it started spraying dust up in our faces and making it hard to breathe. I think they eventually figured that out and took off ahead of us to give us some room to breathe. I went through the first mile in 6:45 and a woman came blowing past me. I was so tempted to go with her but I knew that wouldn't be smart since I had run a race in the morning and I could already feel it in my legs so I let her go, but I did pull away from the guy I had been running with. There were a lot more uphills in the second mile and that's when I could really feel the morning 5k was on the hills. My 2nd mile split was 7:10. The woman ahead of me had built a pretty big lead and the guy behind me was long gone so I decided to just coast it in the last mile. I enjoyed running along, looking at the gorgeous scenery and finished my last mile in 7:22. As I came up on the finish I saw my friend, Niki, standing by the finish line excitedly cheering for me. I stopped my watch as I crossed and had finished the 5k in 21:58 which was 7:05 pace. I felt pretty good about running the race in under 22 minutes as my 2nd race of the day and with it being a challenging course. Directly after the finish they had a table with white wine set up to the left and a table with red wine set up to the right. I grabbed a glass of red wine but saved it until after I drank some water. Niki and I stood around chatting while we waited for her friends who were walking to finish. I eventually ran a mile cool down and they still hadn't finished. She said there had been 4 waves of walkers and her friends had been in the 2nd wave so they started way later than I did. When they finished she introduced me to the friends I hadn't met yet and I really liked all of her friends.

A picture Niki got of me finishing.

 

We had a while until the 1k started so we chatted, sipped our wine, and waited. I changed into dry clothes because I had gotten sweaty during the race. The 5k just had a glass of wine at the finish line but the 1k had 4 wine stops on the walk. They alternated between white wine and red wine at the 4 stops. They weren't filling the cups very full but I was still feeling a bit tipsy by the time we finished. By the time I pulled my phone out to text Thomas asking him to pick me up I saw he had called me and he was already there waiting on me. My friends were headed straight to a friend's birthday party right after the event so I could ride there with them but needed a different ride home. Since Elise would be asleep by the time I needed picked up, I asked Thomas if he would give me a ride and he agreed. As Thomas walked up to me they were getting ready to do awards so I quickly grabbed my wine glass and we were headed out. Overall the event was a lot of fun! I was glad I was too cheap to pay $10 to park because I wouldn't have been able to drive home between running the race and then drinking wine. I probably only had the equivalent of 2-3 glasses of wine, but it hit me hard!

The wine glass I won.

Jenks 5k

A few years ago I had 3 students in class all from the same blended family. I've since become friends with their mom and chat with her from time to time. Their older brother is on the cross country team and the team puts on a half marathon and 5k each year as a fundraiser. By the time I heard the date I had already signed up for an evening 5k at the Wicked Wine Run. I knew the Wine Run was more for fun and I wouldn't be trying to run fast but I still figured it wasn't the best idea to double up with a half marathon and 5k in one day. She then reminded me there was also a 5k on race day and I got really excited for that. It was right after the Twilight Thriller where I had a disappointing race that left me wishing I would have a shot at a fast 5k this season before the half marathon. It seemed perfect to support the cross country team, see my previous students, and get a shot at a sub-20 5k. I knew the course was most likely extremely flat and it did not disappoint. Race morning came and I was excited and a bit nervous. My speed work on Tuesday after the 15k had been rough and it's always nice to have a strong speed workout going into a 5k as a confidence boost. I was pretty sure I could run sub-20 but I also wanted it so bad I knew I'd be disappointed if I didn't hit it. My goal was to go out in 6:25 and just try my hardest to maintain pace. I figured if I bombed, I bombed, at least I gave it my all!

My awesome cheering crew for the morning!

I did my mile warm up and then ended up stretching in the bathroom so my muscles would stay warm as I stretched. It was low 50's and I didn't want to stretch outside and risk my muscles getting cold and pulling too much as I stretched. I was still feeling a little tight in my legs but overall pretty good and excited to give the race hell. As I headed toward the front of the race no one seemed interested in being right on the line. I typically hang back a little bit from the line because I'm usually at least 10 runners back. Since no one was going up on the line I went ahead and stepped up there next to a couple men. We took off at the start and I was immediately 5th overall with one woman ahead of me. I looked down at my watch and saw I was running 5:50 pace but told myself not to panic and slow down. If this felt like the race pace it wouldn't make sense to drastically slow down and possibly lose a bunch of time when my Garmin may not be totally accurate. I was glad I didn't let the pace on my Garmin dictate how I ran as it was showing 6:30 pace shortly after that. Going into a turn at about the half mile mark I heard my friend, Roo's, voice. She is a coach for the girls' cross country team but just had a baby in August so I wasn't expecting to see her. I looked up and yelled her name as I excitedly waved to her. She got so excited and yelled out that I was kicking butt. At that point I had passed the woman ahead of me and was running along with one man a bit ahead and two guys directly in front of me. I passed the two guys right before the mile mark which I went through in 6:14.

I was really excited I was already 11 seconds under pace and I was feeling great. There were a couple of really tiny hills on the course and the rest of it was crazy flat. I had been worried about getting lost on the course because looking at all the past race results, the first few runners were really spread out and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see anyone near me and the course map only showed the half marathon course. Lucky for me there was a lead vehicle that drove along a little bit in front of us the entire race. I pulled up next to the man in front at about the 1.5 mile mark and he went with me initially but then slowly fell off pace. We turned onto a section of the course that overlapped with the half marathon and made sure to stay over to the left as they were running on the right. We went out and back on that road and then my watch beeped for the 2nd mile in 6:19. I was starting to feel tired but also felt like I could maintain the pace and was getting really excited as I was 17 seconds under my goal pace so I was pretty confident I would be under 20 minutes. The whole last mile I kept telling myself how fast I ran the last mile would determine how much under 20 minutes I was able to finish. Before I knew it we were turning onto the road where the track was. I knew we would turn onto the track and run a lap to the finish line. I was so excited as I approached my previous students Luke, Adelaine, and Norah standing with their mom, Danielle. I smiled really big for them before turning onto the track.

Something I had forgotten from running the half marathon a few years ago was what a strange transition it was for my legs moving from the hard pavement on the road to the soft track. The minute I entered the track I could hear Roo cheering for me like crazy. My legs felt weird on the soft track but I told myself it was the last quarter repeat during a speed workout and I really needed to give it hell. During the entire lap Roo was going nuts cheering and I could hear lots of other spectators cheering me on. I pushed it all the way in and smiled as I turned the corner to the straight away and saw 19:40 on the clock and an overall finisher tape stretched across the finish line. I powered all the way through to the finish line for an official finishing time of 19:55. I ran the last 0.18 miles of the course in 5:38 pace which is killer for me! I was actually surprised I had run it that fast as I felt like I couldn't get my legs going that last section on the track. My watch showed I had run a personal best 5k in 19:29! That was exciting to see. Last year at the Jingle Bell 5k I ran a 20:56 but my Garmin showed a 20:26 5k personal best for the race. Then a few weeks later at the Race Into the New Year I ran a 20:29 on the course which was certified and 3.14 miles long. So I feel like it is possible I could run around a 19:30 for a 5k on a course that is a little closer to 3.1 rather than almost 3.2 miles. I was just really glad that I had killed my goal of 6:25 miles as it took a faster pace than that to get under 20 on this course!

 

I love that you can see Roo cheering in the background of this picture with her hands in the air.

The banner I got to run through at the finish line.

6:16 pace is something I definitely didn't expect to see!

Say what?!!?

Danielle was standing at the finish line to congratulate me and gave me a hug. Roo came rushing over and Luke and Adelaine also came over. It was awesome to have so many friends at the race, especially since I'm used to running races with my entire family and was doing this one solo. As I headed over for water I got stopped by people who were just so excited a female had finished first overall. One guy even showed me some cool pictures he had taken and offered to text them to me. Those are the pictures I have of me finishing the race. I stood talking to Luke and Adelaine for quite a while and then jokingly asked them who wanted to run my cool down with me. Luke said, "Let me go ask my mom." Then I ended up with quite the cool down crew, running it with Luke, Norah, and their older brother, Josh. It was so much fun to talk to them as we ran and they were so pumped about my race they were all talking about how many laps they were able to run at the jog-a-thon. That may have been my favorite part of the morning. The race had full sized candy bars so I made sure to grab one of them and enjoyed it later in the day. I got a plaque for finishing first female and a mug with gloves in it for winning my age group. The best reward from the race was running a sub-20 5k for the first time since graduating college. It was an awesome feeling to bust out a time like that after all these years and everything I've put my body through baby-wise. It was a feeling that lifted me up all day long and quite honestly still has me quite excited!

Twilight Thriller 5k

The Twilight Thriller 5k is a highly anticipated race at our house. There is a costume contest at the race each year and once Ty figured that out, it has been his mission to win it every year (which he has done). It started with him in a gnome costume and then was him with Carter in the single stroller which he transformed into something awesome and now is him with the double stroller. It is fun to see him get so excited and work really hard to put together something awesome for the stroller. It is even more fun now that Carter is really getting into it. Each night Ty went out to work on the stroller Carter went out with him to ride his bike in the driveway and watch as Ty worked. One night Ty put the windshield on while Carter was asleep and the next day when Carter saw it, he was so excited saying, "I didn't know daddy did this!" In 2013 Ty made the stroller into a plane while he and Carter were pilots. In 2014 the stroller was a train and he and Carter were engineers. In 2015 the double stroller was a pirate ship while Carter, Ty, and I were all pirates and Elise was a mermaid. This year Ty decided on a fire truck. He, Elise, and Carter were all fire fighters and I was the fire they were chasing to put out. Ty put a lot of thought into it and was super excited that I always jog back after I finish my race so I can run to the finish with them. He instructed me to run a little bit ahead of them as we approached the finish line so it looked like they were chasing the fire. He even thought about getting silly string for Carter to spray at me to "put me out" as we finished, but decided against it. Read about last year's race here, 2014's race here, 2013's post by Ty here, and 2012's race in my 29 week bumpdate with Carter here.

The Twilight Thriller is put on by the same people who do the summer race series we run each year. We love the races and they are a lot of fun. They put a lot of awesome details into the pre-race excitement, race fun, and post-race party. They do a great job and we have a lot of fun at each race but the course just isn't conducive to running fast times. I've never run a time at this race that is consistent with what I am capable of compared to speed workouts or previous race times. Going into the race I knew I was in good shape and ready to run a fast 5k time, possibly even break 20 minutes on a good course with a good race. I also knew this race wouldn't be a good one to shoot for a good time due to various different factors. I also knew that the other 5ks I have coming up before the half-marathon won't be good for it either. One is a wine run that takes place on trails and the other is the Run to the Lights race at Silver Dollar City which is incredibly hilly. So although I knew this wasn't a race to shoot for a good time, I also got my hopes up that I might possibly be able to pull one out although I have never done that in the previous 5 years we've run it! I figured since I ran 20:35 for the second half of my 10k I should easily be able to run under 20:29 which was my fastest 5k time from last year. I decided I would shoot for that and then see if I could run under 20 minutes if I had a really good race.

I decided to run a 2 mile warm up because I've been doing really well in my tempo runs with a longer warm-up. Then I headed over to give Ty and the kids kisses before the race, drank a little water, and headed to the start line. I stretched the last few minutes before the race start. The announcer made some comment about the race starting soon so I was finishing up my last quad stretch as he said, "Runners go!" Every time we've run this race they've done a countdown so I was not expecting it to start like that at all and was completely unprepared for the start, dropping my leg and taking off. I felt really good right from the start. I felt like I was running strong and when I'd peek at my Garmin my pace was staying around 6:20-6:30. By the half-mile mark I was the first female in the race and there were just a handful of men in front of me. It was already getting incredibly dark as the race started at 7pm. I looked down and realized I had forgotten to put my light up shoelaces on with all the excitement of changing in the car after attending a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's right before the race. The course is out and back on a soft gravel path. They have us turn around right before the trail crosses a street so the course ends up being a little short at just over 3 miles. I know running on softer surfaces slows you down but I was surprised that as we stepped up to cross a river on a concrete bridge my pace went from 6:20 to 6:05 as I ran on the harder surface. I knew the bridge was at about 0.75 miles into the race from all the previous times we've run the race so I expected to hear my watch beep for the mile mark shortly after crossing it. I never heard it so I eventually looked down and was at 1.3 miles so I missed my first mile split. It had been 6:25, right around where I would have liked to be. The first half of the race is a slight incline and then you turn around and run uphill on the way back.

Taking off at the start of the race.

Thomas and Jeremy at the start of the race.

Once I hit the mile mark I had passed everyone I could see ahead of me. When I neared the turn around I saw two guys headed back on the way back and realized there were 2 men with a huge lead on me and then I was alone. It was dark enough it was difficult to see. Since I wasn't wearing anything that lit up, people still coming out toward the turn-around couldn't see me. I cheered for Thomas, Jeremy, and dad as they passed going the other direction. Then things got really congested. The people still heading out for the turn around were taking up the entire path. There was no where to run around them as I would have had to run down a ditch and into the woods around the path to pass them and then come back up onto the trail. With how dark it was, that was not an option. So I spent most of that mile yelling out "coming through," so they would move and allow me to pass. Even doing that I had to weave in and out due to people wearing head phones so they couldn't hear me. At one point a guy ran directly into me and then later I was tripped by a younger boy. I felt like I was still running a good pace but there were a lot of obstacles during that mile to say the least! I missed my mile split again during the 2nd mile, but later saw I had run it in 6:40 which I felt like wasn't bad considering I had almost fallen down twice and was yelling so people would know I was there most of the time. I had never had such a difficult time before but I think it all came down to forgetting my light up shoelaces. Since people couldn't see me, they weren't moving out of my way.

Going into the last mile I felt like I was picking up the pace. I was also running alone and starting to feel tired. Running through the massive groups of people had worn on my legs. I kept pushing, telling myself if I wanted to run a PR, this would be the section of the race that would determine it. As I turned the last corner on the trail and could see the finish line and the parking lot in the distance, I really started pushing the pace. I could see the clock at the finish line was around 19:40. I knew there was no way I would break 20 minutes, running out past the finish line to finish out to a full 5k. I crossed the finish line in 19:58 and just kept running. Everyone was really cheering for me since I was the first female. They all looked confused as I kept running through the finish line and the group of spectators gathered around the finish, turned the corner, and kept running. I probably could have finished a little faster if I had been able to turn left and run straight down the road, but I had to turn right and then take another immediate turn which slowed me down. I had gone through my 3rd mile in 6:46 and finished out the 5k in 20:36. I was disappointed with my time and jogged back to the finish line to grab a water before running back out on the course to finish with Ty. I got to see Thomas, Jeremy, and dad finish as I ran by and enjoyed cheering for them. I got stopped by multiple people congratulating me on a fast finish and one woman who said, "You're so fast, you're on fire," referring to my costume. I cheered mom on as I ran by her and saw the fire truck lights approaching shortly after that. As I approached Ty and the stroller I could hear Elise crying and Ty said she had been crying for me for about a mile. Once she heard my voice as I started talking to Ty, she stopped crying and was fine for the rest of the race. Carter got out to run to the finish with about a quarter of a mile to go and really took off. I was impressed that he was able to hold pace through to the finish. Ty directed me to run ahead of them so they could chase the fire and Carter was so proud to cross the finish line.

Ty and Carter finishing the race.

I finished out my cool down and then we all enjoyed some root beer (Carter), cream soda (me), and beer (mom, dad, Ty, and Thomas). I didn't see Jeremy drink anything other than water so I'm not sure if he had anything else. We ate some treats and Carter smuggled a couple extra Halloween Oreos as we waited for awards. Ty won the costume contest. They gave us a bucket of candy and a light-up tutu as the prize. I was first overall female in 19:58 so I got a trophy. I was also 3rd out of 211 total finishers. Thomas finished in 22:23 which put him 9th overall and 1st in his age group. Jeremy finished in 23:32, good for 2nd in his age group and 17th overall. Dad finished in 23:55 which put him 3rd in his age group and 21st overall. Mom ran an awesome race finishing in 32:50 which put her 6th in her age group and 91st overall. Ty finished in 35:23 which put him 15th in his age group and 123rd overall. 

Posing for a picture after receiving our award for the costume contest.

With my trophy for being the first female finisher.

Thomas with his age group award.

Jeremy with his age group award.

Dad with his age group award.

Initially I was really disappointed. I ran a 5k race one second slower than the second half of my 10k. I ran it in an average of only 4 seconds per mile faster than my 10k. My last mile of the race was slower than any mile of my 10k. But I also knew there were factors that were out of my control. The course was short and I had to run through spectators after the finish line to add the extra distance. I had to fight through crowds on the way back after the turn around. It was 90 degrees and windy. It was really dark and I couldn't see my Garmin and also missed my mile splits. Plus I know the dirt trail is not optimal for running a fast time. I still kept dwelling on what a disappointing run it was and how bummed I was with myself for not running faster. But then I looked at past results to put things in perspective. I ran over a minute faster than I did on this same course back in June for the Starry Night 5k. I also finished the race almost a minute faster than last year. Last year we ran a 5k the weekend after the Twilight Thriller and I ran 20 seconds faster there so I'm confident that I would run much faster on a different course with different conditions. I looked to see how Jeremy and dad's times compared to the Zoo Run 5k and they both actually ran slower at this race which was a short course than they did at the Zoo Run which is a certified course. I still think a sub-20 is in me, it would just have to be on the right course and I'd have to run an awesome race. There will always be bad races and I'm just glad I had a bad race this weekend rather than in my half-marathon. So I'm letting go of the disappointment and focusing on the 15k I will be running on the 29th. I've never run a 15k before so it will definitely be a PR!

 

 

Corndog Challenge 5k

So we are back to square one with my phone. We tried updating my phone with a software update that was supposed to fix the photo issues I was having. It didn't work and I have been unable to upload my photos for Wordless Wednesday so I'm posting about our 5k from Friday and I'll try uploading photos again tomorrow. On to my post about the Corndog Challenge 5k...

Last year Ty and I were out of town when the rest of my family ran the Corndog Challenge 5k. The race is affiliated with the state fair. You have the option of running the classic 5k or the challenge 5k. The challenge 5k includes eating a caramel apple (an apple slice covered in caramel), drinking a beer or lemonade, and eating a mini-corndog during the 5k race. I wasn't too bummed to be missing the race as we were with Ty's family and enjoyed a hot dog roast that included a hay rack ride which was a blast, plus I wasn't sure about eating while running. It didn't sound too appealing to me. Then I saw the pictures of the race and it looked like a blast. Jeremy finished first overall and won two megaride passes to the state fair. He gave his second pass to Carter and they were able to ride unlimited rides for the entire duration of the fair. I was really looking forward to running the race this year and possibly winning megaride passes for Carter again this year. As we lined up at the start, Jeremy was standing behind me for his first race since nearly dying after being hit on a run back in January. While the national anthem was sung, I got tears in my eyes looking at the flag. I pictured 8 months ago, the first race we all ran without Jeremy. He was still in a coma at the hospital and I was hopeful that in a year we would be able to push him in a wheelchair during that same race. Here we were just 8 months later and Jeremy was lined up at the start of the race, ready to run with us. I honestly couldn't believe it and I still can't believe he was able to run the race. It has been a long, exhausting, and emotional 8 months and I can't believe it has led us to where we are. I am so incredibly thankful and amazed with Jeremy's continued recovery and gains in physical and mental functioning.

Group shot before the race.

There was a problem with the timing chip mat so the race ended up starting over 10 minutes late. The temperature was over 90 degrees and the wind was gusting like no other. I knew from looking at the course map that it wouldn't be a fast course as there were so many turns and loops. During my warm up I realized it was also going to be hillier than I expected. My goal was to win a megaride pass for Carter. According to past results, the winning time was typically around 24 minutes so I figured I should be able to do that. I also wanted to attempt to hit 6:45 pace overall which was what I ran at the July 4th 5k a few months back. Factoring in the wind, the heat, the course, eating food during the race, and the fact that I had done a few too many squats in the days leading up to the race, I felt that was a reasonable goal. I wanted to run hard enough to feel like I got a good workout in, but not too hard as I was hoping to get a long tempo run in on Sunday morning. I didn't want to run hard enough that I would need more than one day to recover. When we took off at the start we were running into the wind so I got a good feel for how strong it would be. I passed the first female by the half-mile mark and was feeling really comfortable. I figured unless there was a really fast woman who started too far back, I should be able to hold onto the lead. I went through the first mile in 6:35 and then saw a water stop ahead with a sign reading "Caramel Apples". I knew that meant we would be eating the slice of apple and grabbed one as I ran through. The apple was slippery and slid right out of my hand. I slowed down, ran back, and picked it up to eat it. In retrospect I should have gotten a new one, but in the heat of the moment I just picked it up and took off. It wasn't too bad eating it as I ran. I got a bit of apple peel stuck in between my teeth though and that irritated me for a while until I was able to get it out.

Jeremy standing at the start with dad and Thomas.

During the second mile we crossed over onto a loosely packed dirt path that just blew dirt up into our faces. We went down off of that onto a baseball field which I wasn't expecting. On the course map I saw a little loop between the 2k and 3k mark but didn't realize it was going to be on grass filled with potholes. I wasn't too pleased with the change in surface and could feel myself slow down as I was making all the sharp turns through the loop. The awesome part about running the loop was as I came out I saw dad going in followed closely by Jeremy. I was so excited to see them and to see that Jeremy was running so well. I cheered for them quite loudly. I also noticed that I had a considerable lead on the woman behind me. Right around the 2 mile mark I went through the aid station with lemonade and beer. I hadn't thought about which I was going to take before the race and at the last minute decided on lemonade. It was much harder to drink than I expected and I felt like drinking it slowed me down a lot more than eating the apple had. There were ice cubes in the drink which I chewed up as I got them in my mouth because that seemed easier than spitting them out. The cup was really full and it took me a while of running and sipping to drink it all down. It was also very sweet and I could feel it swishing around in my stomach afterward. I think next year I'll try the beer instead. My 2nd mile split was 6:52. I felt like I hadn't slowed down that much but I think between eating the apple, drinking the lemonade, and taking all the turns in the course, I just naturally slowed down. The first mile had the fewest turns of the entire course and was all on pavement.

During the 3rd mile we ran out on a road, turned around, and went down the other side with a median between the two sides. At that point I saw Jeremy again and we yelled for each other. He was looking really good and I could tell he was running a faster time than I had expected. I started worrying about eating the corn dog with how my stomach felt after drinking the lemonade. We went through a water stop with less than a half mile to go and I saw the sign for corn dogs as I went through it but there were only people passing out water, no one with corn dogs. So after all my worrying, I missed out on the corn dog. I went through mile 3 in 6:50 for a finishing time of 21:24 on the 3.17 mile course which my Garmin showed as an average of 6:45 per mile. I took off on my cool down and saw Thomas and dad finish so I cheered for them as I went. I missed Jeremy finish so I wasn't sure if he had finished in front of Thomas or if I just hadn't seen him go by. I ran out to Ty and the kids and ran to the finish with them. Carter was having a blast and told me all about seeing Oma run by. I went through the corn dog station with them during my cool down and grabbed a corn dog to eat since I hadn't gotten one during the race. Granted I was talking to Ty as I ate it, but I ended up aspirating it and coughing quite a bit so I was glad I had missed it during the race. Carter and Elise had enjoyed getting treats at each station because Ty passed them in some as he ran.

Ty running by mom during the race.

After the race Carter enjoyed playing on a bounce house and made a friend. Elise jumped a little bit before other kids came over and then she had to get out for safety reasons. She spent the rest of the evening running over to the bounce house and attempting to climb in. We each got a food ticket and a treat ticket which we could use for a large fair corn dog which was delicious and a beer. They also had free ice cream so we really raked in on the treats. I was trying to figure out where Jeremy had finished and how I had missed him and he didn't really say much so I went over and typed his bib number in to see his results. I was shocked to see he had finished first in his age group! I was also amazed that he averaged under 8:30 per mile for the race! We stayed for awards and I was so excited to get a picture of Jeremy receiving his medal. I finished 2nd out of 333 finishers overall, 1st out of 205 females, and 1st out of 47 in my age group. Thomas finished 9th overall and 5th out of 129 in his age group with a time of 24:49. Dad was 12th overall and 1st out of 13 in his age group with a time of 25:54. Jeremy was 17th overall and 1st out of 39 in his age group with a time of 26:17. Ty pushed the double stroller with both the kids. He was 70th overall and 13th of 39 in his age group with a time of 34:56. My mom had a really strong race, finishing in 36:32 which put her 82nd overall and 2nd out of 20 in her age group.

Jeremy with his medal for winning his age group.

Mom and Jeremy after the race, you can see how big the corn dogs were here!

I didn't feel sore on Saturday, the day after the race, and ran an easy 3 miles along with a strength workout. Sunday morning my legs still felt pretty good but I could feel that I had done squats in my thighs. I wasn't sure how a tempo run would go but I figured I'd go out and attempt it and at least run a faster paced long run if things didn't go well. Jeremy decided to run with me so I ran a two mile warm up with him and then took off for what I hoped would be a 9 mile tempo run. I didn't pay attention to my pace on the first mile of the tempo I just ran what felt comfortably hard. When my watch beeped for a 7:07 mile I was pretty stoked with how good that pace felt. I just continued on with what felt right and didn't look at my pace worrying. I figured if the wheels came off during the second half, oh well, I'd run a race on Friday and couldn't expect to have a strong tempo with just one recovery day between. But I was able to hit anywhere from 7:01-7:13 for the next 8 miles and averaged 7:07 pace for my 9 mile tempo! I was so excited with how it went. I definitely didn't go into the run fresh, having run the race on Friday and then done strength training on Saturday. I could feel that in my legs the last couple miles but was still able to push for 7:01 and 7:04 miles at the end. I had done an 8 mile tempo run two weeks prior with a 7:21 average. I was so impressed with how much faster I was able to run my 9 mile tempo! Last year I ran 8 miles at 7:17 pace two weeks out from my half-marathon and then averaged 7:15 pace for the race. With two months of training left before the race, I'm getting excited about where I am training-wise. I feel like things are starting to come together and I'm really seeing the fruits of my labor up to this point. Now I'm really excited to see what I can do this weekend at the Zoo Run 10k. I'm hoping for a strong race!

Blue Moon 10k

The Blue Moon was the last of 3 races in a summer evening race series we enjoy running. All 3 races start in a parking lot, run out and back on the same dirt running path, and then end in the same place where they started. For the first race of the series I ran the 5k as my first tempo run of the summer. We were out of town for the second race so I ran a virtual run, finishing a 10k tempo run in 45:39 which averaged out to 7:22 pace. This race I was signed up for the 10k and planned to run it as my tempo run for the week. My goal was to run between 7:15 and 7:20 pace and beat my time from my previous 10k tempo. On our way there Ty was talking about how he planned to add a few miles to the end of the 5k to turn it into a long run so I suggested he just switch to the 10k. Thomas offered to run with the kids in the stroller if Ty ran the 10k so he wouldn't have to run a long run with the stroller and Ty decided to go for it. Jeremy was volunteering with the race and was given the job of passing out finisher's medals to all runners who completed the entire race series. It was exciting knowing I would see him as I crossed the finish line.

All of us with our race shirts and medals.

Dad, Thomas, and the kids ready for the race.

The 10k started 15 minutes before the 5k and I realized that meant I would most likely see mom on my way to the finish. When we took off at the start I was the 4th female and remained there for the first mile which I went through in 7:03. By the end of the 2nd mile I had worked my way into 2nd female and hit my 2nd mile in 7:28. I was disappointed with that split and focused on getting back to my goal pace of 7:15-7:20 for the next mile which I was able to do with a split of 7:14. Something about this course I always run really inconsistent miles and typically consistent miles are a strength of mine. My Garmin shows elevation loss in the first mile and elevation gain the 2nd mile so maybe that's why but I have never noticed a "hill". I caught up with the 1st female a little bit before the turn around which we hit before we crossed another road. We started chatting after the turn around and I thought about just sticking with her and enjoying a running buddy but then I looked down at my watch to see we had slowed to 7:55 pace as we chatted. I wanted to make the race a strong tempo run so I took off. By the time I heard my watch beep for mile 4 I was running alone with the person closest ahead of me barely visible, especially since it was getting pretty dark. I went through mile 4 in 7:29, thanks to slowing down and chatting, oops! 

A picture mom got of me taking off at the start, I'm in a grey tank and blue tutu.

Ty taking off on the 10k.

Ty off to a good start, photo from the race photographers.

With a mile and a half to go I reached the turn around for the 5k. It was super congested since I was passing runners and run/walkers who were finishing a 5k somewhere in the 30 minute range which is the largest pack of runners. I had trouble getting around some packs where people were running 3-4 wide on the right side and slower runners were still headed out toward the turn around. It really slowed me down, but it also kept me from being alone. Since I'd run half of my 5th mile before hitting all the congestion, I was able to make it through in 7:10. The traffic definitely affected me during mile 6. With around a mile to go I saw mom running ahead of me in the light up tutu and cheered for her. She yelled that there was a 10k runner coming and to move over. It was the only time I was able to pass freely. I think most of the runners weren't even aware that 10k runners were coming back through otherwise they may have been more courteous trying not to occupy the entire course. Mile 6 I came through in 7:19 despite all the weaving around and took off as hard as I could for the finish. Coming up on the finish I was flying by the 5k runners and one guy looked over and took off, trying to beat me. I knew he wasn't in my race but it was still fun to sprint to the finish against someone and I out kicked him as we made our way onto the pavement. As I crossed the finish line I saw Jeremy handing out medals and he congratulated me on my run. I was able to finish the last 0.23 of a mile in 6:39 pace.

Me finishing, photo from the race photographers.

With Jeremy after finishing the race.

My official finishing time was 45:14. I had 45:15 on my Garmin. I was a little bit disappointed at first because I hadn't run consistently and I felt like I was capable of running under 45 minutes. But then I saw my average pace was 7:16 per mile which was so close to my overall fastest goal so I was good with it. I could have given in once I caught up to the first female and coasted in but instead put the hammer down and really focused on running a strong tempo run which I was proud of. It was hard when I started comparing my time to the 42:30 I ran in April but I reminded myself I had been doing speed work for a long time before I ran that race and I have yet to do any speed work since April so I'll get there. It will just take a few months.

I ran my cool down out to mom and ran to the finish with her. She had planned to run a mile, walk a half-mile, run a mile, walk a half-mile the entire race but had forgotten her Garmin so she just ran the whole way. I was impressed with how well she did, especially considering she is just getting back into it after her injury. After watching mom cross the finish, I jogged out to finish my cool down and then walked until I saw Ty. Then I ran to the finish with him. He was somewhat regretting his decision to do an entire 10k and felt 5 miles would have been a more appropriate long run for him. I felt bad since it had been my idea, but he was able to finish his first 10k looking strong. When Ty finished we headed to get ice cream and I saw Elise enjoying an ice cream as she played with Uncie Taco.

Mom finishing the 5k.

Thomas sharing ice cream with Elise.

Carter sharing his ice cream with Elise. Carter wanted to wear light up shoelaces too, so he wore my old ones.

We stayed for awards. Dad finished 3rd out of 16 in his age group and 22nd out of 334 overall in the 5k so he received a medal. Thomas pushed Elise and Carter in the double stroller. He started all the way at the back and later realized he should have lined up farther up as he was behind large groups of people waking together. He described his race as a fartlek as he had to sprint to get around groups of people and then slow, even walking at times, when he couldn't fit through. Given how narrow the trail was he had to run down onto the side of the hill at times which was a mess! As he approached the finish line Carter told him that Ty normally lets him out to run to the finish. He said he was disappointed to slow down and let Carter out as he was getting ready to pass the only stroller runner ahead of him, although that runner only had a single stroller. Even with all the weaving, sprinting, slowing down, walking, and then running at Carter's pace, Thomas was able to finish 5th out of 13 in his age group and 67th overall with a time of 27:12. Mom had a very impressive race running the entire way for the first time in over a year, thanks to injuries and a long recovery. She finished in 35:20, good for 6th out of 16 in her age group, 96th out of 218 women, and 179th overall. She was very excited she was able to run the whole way without pain! I finished 1st out of 51 females and 7th out of 95 total runners in the 10k. My time of 45:14 averaged to 7:16 pace. Ty completed his first ever 10k in 1:06:50. He was 8th out of 15 in his age group and 48th out of 95 total runners. I was proud of him for pushing through to the finish, especially given his lack of training recently. We all really enjoyed the event. Carter and Elise were dancing around, just having a blast at the post-race party but we knew it was time to get them home as it was already past 9:00! Elise was in bed by 10:30 and Carter was in bed a little after her so it was a late night for them both. By the time we had showered and eaten dinner, we didn't get to bed until after midnight. Thankfully the kids gifted us with sleeping in until 8 am. Which worked out great because I got to watch the Olympic women's marathon as I made and we ate breakfast. We have almost a month until our next race which will be a 5k for all of us. I'm excited to get some speed work in between now and then and see if I can squeeze in under 21 minutes!

Dad with his award, photo from the race photographers.

Me with my award, photo from the race photographers.

Starry Night 5k

There's an evening summer race series near my hometown which we love and run each year. The three races are in June, July, and August. This year we will miss the July race, but my mom went ahead and signed us up for all 3 because there was a promo for a light up tutu if you signed up for the whole series. I'll do a virtual run instead of the actual race in July. I was really looking forward to the Stary Night 5k in June because not only would I have the light up shoelaces mom got us for Christmas, I would also have a light up tutu! Plus there's something about running in the dark which is super fun and they have ice cream at the finish. It's good ice cream too, fudgesicles, creamsicles, bomb pops, you get the picture. After the Get Busy Livin 5k I was burned out and felt like I needed a break so I took 2 weeks of just running what I felt like which ended up topping out at 2 miles a day. Then I decided what I needed was to take the summer to just build a good base and pick up training in the fall. I figured I'd just run base miles with a tempo run thrown in every other week as I used the off weeks to build my long run up to 12 miles to prepare for a fall half-marathon. I decided to use the Starry Night 5k as my first tempo run so I went into it without having done any speed work since mid-April. I knew I hadn't lost all of my fitness since I was still running but I knew I had lost quite a bit of speed. I went into the race with no real expectations, but thinking I could probably still run around 7 minute pace. I knew for sure it would be faster than last year's race at under 3 months postpartum as well as last year's July race, the Midsummer's Night 5k.

Group shot in our race shirts. I opted for a tank top and love it!

Showing off my new tutu!

Dad with mom and her new tutu.

I went out for a mile warm up and then decided to run a little extra because I felt good and had time so I ran almost 2 miles as a warm up. Typically if I'm running under 9 minute pace for the warm up, I know it's going to be a good race and I was hitting 8:30 pace. I felt like I could have a strong race but I'm always a bit nervous when I go into a race with no speed work or tempo runs because I typically use my times from those workouts to judge what pace I am capable of. I took off at the start and felt strong. I looked down at my Garmin a few times and then decided not to worry about it and just go with how I felt since I didn't know what pace I was capable of anyway. Pretty much from the start of the race I was in the 3rd overall female position. At the half mile mark I caught up to girl in second and ran with her for a little over half a mile. I went through the first mile in 6:50 and was pleased that I was under 7 minute pace. About a quarter of a mile later the girl I was running with dropped off pace and I knew we were nearing the turn around point of the race. I saw the first female pass me going the other direction and when I turned she was far enough ahead of me, I could hardly see her. I got to run past dad, Ty with Carter and Elise in the double stroller, and mom. It was fun to see them, cheer for them, and have them yell encouragement to me.

Family shot before the race.

Taking off at the start, that's me to the right of the picture in a blue tutu and grey tank top.

Shortly after the turn around I caught up to pass a guy in front of me. We ended up running together for about a mile. It was nice to have someone to run with and to push me in that middle mile which is usually the hardest for me. We were running side by side on the right side of the trail as people were still heading out toward the turn around on the other side of the trail. It was a lot more congested than usual and in some places I didn't have room to run beside him and would have to tuck behind him until we got around the group going out. I went through the second mile in 7:04 which was slower than the first mile, but I was still fine with it. As we crossed a bridge which I knew meant we had about three-quarters of a mile left, the guy I was running with started dropping back. It had been nice to run with him, so I was a little bummed to see him go. But right around that point in the race I had started to close the gap on the first overall female so I could see her in front of me. Since I had lost my running buddy I started focusing on catching her. There were arches along the path that were wrapped in lights so I would watch her cross under one and then count to see how many seconds elapsed before I crossed under the arch. At a half-mile to go I was 15 seconds behind her. I knew it wasn't probable that I could make up 15 seconds in such a short distance, but I told myself it was possible. When we hit a quarter-mile to go I had cut her lead down to 10 seconds. I knew it was pretty much impossible to catch her, but I used her to help me keep pushing as hard as I could. As we turned the corner toward the finishing arch illuminated by lights, I pushed as hard as I could to the finish and then happily grabbed the water they were handing out to finishers. My third mile split was 7:00 which made for a 21:03 on the slightly short course. I was able to finish 7 seconds behind the girl in front of me.

I ran a cool down back to Ty and ran the finish with him. Carter wanted to get out to run so he ran the last quarter-mile or so with Ty as I followed along with Elise in the stroller. Then I headed back out to run the rest of my cool down to mom and finished with her. We all enjoyed some ice cream and waited around for dad. He had walked out to run/walk to the finish with mom and missed her go by. So he ended up walking out to the turn around and coming back so he walked a 3 mile cool down! Ty ran a cool down out to find him and then mom and Carter walked out after them. I stayed back with Elise who was walking circles, dancing to the music, and picking trash up off the ground. Everyone else arrived back just in time for awards. I had finished 8th out of 403 overall, 2nd out of 271 women, and 1st out of 62 in my age group. Dad was 27th overall and 3rd out of 17 in his age group finishing in 23:40. Ty was 200th overall and 36th out of 46 in his age group with a time of 34:22 while pushing the double stroller and without having run since the Get Busy Livin 5k in April. Mom ran/walked the race in 41:11 which put her 299th overall and 13th out of 20 in her age group. That evening as I talked to Ty he mentioned there were a lot more runners this year than there had been in the previous years we've run. I looked it up and normally there are around 250 finishers, this year there were 403! It is a fun race so I'm not surprised it is becoming so popular. After having so much fun at this race, I'm really bummed we won't get to run it in July. I decided to sign up for the 10k in August and I'm kind of wishing I could run a 5k on the same course in July to see how much I could improve my time. But at least I still got a light up tutu because that was awesome! Now I'll keep building my base miles for the fall. Our next race will probably be a July 4th race and I have no plans to do speed work between now and then.

Finishing the race.

Carter and Ty finishing.

With my award.

Elise playing with my tutu as I buckled Carter into his car seat.