Thursday, November 26, 2015

Kirkwood-Webster Turkey Day Run

Today I ran two separate races: a 3 mile and a 6 mile. The 3 mile race started at 7:30 am. The weather was perfect. I dressed a bit warm, but was able to take off some layers. I originally told myself to take the 3 mile race easy, since I had another 6 miles after this one. But, I had fast legs and just went with it. I've ran the 6 mile race a couple times, so there were no surprises. This 3 mile race was sooooo crowded. The start was pretty hectic, but I was able to pass several people. Love this course since it's rather hilly. Also, I had negative splits:

Mile 1 - 9:12
Mile 2 - 9:01
Mile 3 - 8:58

I finished with a time of 27:06, placing 32 out of 226 in the female 30-34 age group. Woot!

I finished with 10 minutes to spare until the next race.

3 Mile Finish.
The 6 mile race was so much more chill. I really had no expectations since this really isn't my long run for the week. I wanted to take it slower, but ended up being more speedy. This is not a course PR, but I'm super proud of myself since I did the 3 miles prior. My friends live at mile 1.5ish of the race course, and caught a photo of me being awesome, ha:


The hills finally got me in the last mile. But I finished with a time of 57:53. My course PR is 57:26, so I think I kicked butt. Temps were in the low 60s, which is just crazy considering it's November 26th!!!!

Dopey training is still ongoing. I'm just trying to stay strong and positive, but it sucks. I would like to do yoga more as well... I'm still working on my headstand and side planks (which are SO HARD). I'm feeling rather strong in my headstand though:

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Skippo 20k

Another year, another Skippo. I think I signed up for this race last year, but DNS for whatever reason. (I was probably just being lazy, or hungover). We had beautiful weather this year, started out a bit cold but warmed up pretty fast.

My legs were super heavy and it took forever for them to warm up. These back-to-back training runs are exhausting, and I didn't even get in my full mileage this weekend. I'm having super negative thoughts about the Dopey Challenge.

Creek crossing, mile 3.6
Anyways, the first loop was super crowded like always, and the second loop I was getting lapped by the 30k'ers. The stairs were exhausting both times, and Cardiac Hill sucked big time. Besides all that, the race was pretty good. The trail was in really good condition, I didn't trip so that was a bonus. I finished in 2:33:49. About 3 minutes slower than my last Skippo.

Skippo finish.

Monday, November 2, 2015

St. Louis Half Marathon

Running 9ish miles and going to a concert the day before a half marathon is something new for me. I was tired. But I showed up and ran. I caught up to the 2:10 pace group around the 3rd mile and thought I could pass them up or stay with them. I stayed with them until mile 10. The legs were heavy at the start, but felt super good until 10 when I just couldn't lift them. I fell apart on the hill on Forsyth, which wasn't a surprise. I started to walk and watched my pace crew keep going. That sucked, but I had to do what was best for me. The race is very hilly, but it's fun. It's also a pretty small race, so there aren't people running you over. I finished in 02:12:40. Pretty typical time for me. These back to back runs are pretty hard!!!

Quivering Quads II - October 31, 2015

I couldn't think of anything more exhilarating than running in the woods for 2 hours on Halloween day, in the rain with no music. Therefore, I had to listen to my heavy breathing the entire time, and that was scary.

When I woke up Saturday morning, it was raining and I told myself that I could sit this one out. Plus, it's an hour drive away from my house, so that part sucks as well. At the last minute, I decide to just do it. If anything, it could be a fun mud run.

It wasn't raining too heavy at the race start. The trails seemed to be in good condition, so that was a relief. If the trails were like QQ 2013, I probably would have went straight back to the car. The weather was perfect. I started out a bit fast, and the first hill killed me. Then I thought this was going to be a long 8 miles. But, I slowed it down and things got better. I even started to warm up.

The trail was pretty slippery, so I was very cautious. The last thing I want is an injury. Some people fly down those hills and I just don't see how they do it. So therefore, I got passed a ton. The rain also got heavier during the last 4 miles.

I really enjoyed this race!!! I've changed my mind about the trails at Cuivre River State Park. I have yet to see them dry though.

I finished the race in 02:03:58. My garmin had 8.85 miles. No photos to share yet... I didn't take any since it was raining.

I love this photo... I look so scared.