Monday, October 22, 2012

Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis 2012

I was really nervous going into this race because I knew I was going to push my comfort level. I am one of those people that trail other runners. If I like your pace, I'm going to follow you for a while. My first mile pace was 9:42.7. I was actually feeling really good. I was a bit afraid I was going too fast, but I wanted to see what my body could do. I kept pushing my pace and then really started to feel it around mile 10. To be honest, I'm surprised I lasted that long!! I kept thinking about that asshole punk that robbed me at gunpoint while I was out running. Since that day I have been so scared on my runs and I definitely don't run as much as I would like because I'm afraid it will happen again. I think the anger really helped push myself.

Weeee!
My goal was to come in under 2:10 and my official time was 2:06:01!!! I really hope to come in under 2 hours during my next 1/2 marathon (tbd).


A new PR!!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Beautiful Fall

A Tree's Shadow - October 16, 2012

I was walking around the St. Louis Arch grounds and snapped this picture. The lighting was just perfect and really showcased the yellow/red leaves on the trees. I loved the contrast against the green grass. I was using my Canon 7D (15-85mm wide angle lens), f/22, 1/40s, ISO 400, 31mm.  I edited the photo in Lightroom to bring out the shadows. 


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Halloween 10k

I debated about running this race. I had a friend in town and we really hit it hard Friday night. I had a rather large headache most of Saturday and just wanted to sleep in on Sunday. But I got my butt moving and headed to the start line.

It had rained most of the night, so I thought it was going to be rather cool Sunday morning. Boy was I wrong. It was super humid and wiiiindy. I overdressed big time.

I started out pretty fast. I wanted to push my comfort level to see how long I could maintain faster speeds. There were many times when I wanted to walk, but I ran the entire race, even all of the hills. I'm really proud of myself.

My goal was to come in under an hour and I crossed the finish line with an official time of 58:59!

Here are my splits:


My goal is to run a 9:40 pace this weekend during the Rock -n- Roll Half Marathon. I'm just not sure I'll be able to push my comfort level for another 7ish miles.


Monday, October 8, 2012

Mo' Cowbell 2012

Well, I loved this race. I wasn't sure what to expect because Mo' Cowbell 2011 was my first half-marathon and it really kicked my butt. ...I also trained really hard (for a beginner) for that race. I live in Soulard and it's rather hilly, so I'm always running uphill, downhill. The Mo' Cowbell course is relatively flat. I find flats kind of boring. 

All bundled up, started out with 38° temps.
I didn't line up in any corral, I started in the back because it wasn't crowded. I found myself passing a lot of people, but it wasn't an issue. There was tons of space to pass. My first mile pace was 10:39. It was nice and slow and I liked that. I knew I'd have to pick it up if I wanted to PR. I wasn't pushing myself at all.  I was breathing comfortably, I wasn't too hot or too cold. There was a slight breeze, but it felt nice.

At mile 6. That girl next to me has got to be freezing!!!

At mile 7. Shedding my jacket.
The course finally gets challenging around 9.5 miles where there is this looooong uphill that lasts a little over a mile. This thing kicked my ass last year, I think I walked the majority of it. This year though, I ran the entire hill. It wasn't really that hard. I mean, I was plenty tired for already running over 1 hour and 40-ish minutes. There is a nice downhill segment after the bitch hill and then back to flats. I think the absolute worst part of the race is the steep downhill before mile 12. OUCH! The sucker killed my knees. I wanted to walk it, but I wanted to stay strong. After sprinting down the hill, I had to walk it. I walked maybe a tenth of a mile and then told myself to get going. But... then we hit the last water break and I extended my walk there too. I decided to suck it up and run to the finish, whew I was in a lot of pain!!!

Happy with a new PR!
I'm really proud of myself, I didn't train as hard as I should have. I only did three long training runs: a 7- and 9-miler back in August (after Sea Wheeze Half Marathon) and only one 10-miler in mid-September (all other runs were 5 miles or less). So I'm happy with my finish time: 02:12:55... a new PR!!! By like 7 minutes!!! My next race is in two weeks. My goal is to finish under 2 hours 10 minutes. Eeekkk! I'm going to have to push my comfort level.


I'm happy I was able to pick up my pace each 5k :o).

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Warrior Dash 2012

This has to be my favorite dash yet!! I almost didn't sign up for it, since I had already done the Missouri dash in 2011. I figured it would be the same route, same obstacles. Although some parts were the same, there were a lot of new obstacles. I ran with my friend Greg and he didn't think he could run a lot of it. I got him to run the majority of it, we had some walking breaks now and then, but he did a really good job keeping up. I felt really strong and happy. My time was just under 47 minutes, which is about 4 minutes slower than the 2011 dash, but whatever. It was great to have someone to talk to.