Race Report: Taste of Athens 10K

 Taste of Athens 10K | Athens, GA | February 16, 2013

Sarah & I!

Last year, just a few weeks after my first half marathon, I ran the Taste 10K. And conveniently, just a few weeks (all of two) after my first full, Taste 10K was back. Last year, I ran the race with the tail-end of a cold. This year, I ran with the tail-end of my respiratory infection. Eerie enough, the weather was really similar to last year - albeit, we were forecasted to get snow flurries mid-morning, but both last year and this year were chilly, but broke out into a stunning morning.  Tradition in the making? I think so!

Trying to stay warm?

One of the graduate students who works in my office, Chandler, was running this as her first 10K ever. I picked her up Saturday morning bright 'n early just after 7 to get to downtown and the race start to pick up my packet since I never made it on Friday. One pleasant thing about running such great local races is easy parking, easy packet pick up - sure beats the hustle and bustle of big races sometimes! (I said ...sometimes!). We got settled, back to the car to drop off some stuff, and back to the start to get ready to roll. Once we were starting to gather around, I spotted a Facebook friend and blog reader (hiiiii Sarah!) - Sarah and I connected via her husband, who works in higher education as well. While we've been Facebook connected, she and I haven't gotten to meet in person - thanks for letting me creep up on you. ;) 

And soon enough, it was 8 am and start time. I promised HP and Cathryn that I wouldn't race - and I didn't, really. I was planning to run what I was capable of without making my lungs feel as though they were on fire, but that I would do what was manageable.

Look, there I am! [source]

Mind you, this was my first run, at all, since the full. Oops? Anyway, per usual, got caught up in the adrenaline and hustle of the race and ran the first mile in 9:09 - uh, yeah, oops. That was certainly not going to last me 5 more  miles. Just before the mile 3 marker and the series of rolling hills, I stopped to walk, take it easy, whatever. I really felt no pressure, just glad to be out enjoying my run and feeling like I could start getting back in the groove of things. 

The course is identical to last year's, and apparently the only USTA-certified 10K route in Athens. Up some more gradual hills, back down, back through some neighborhoods. Still beautiful. A quiet morning through the residential areas, but all in all, still a great race. I love that this year, the race coordinators established the Golden Fork award - given to the best cheer sections (identified by organization/business) along the race. Runners are given a plastic golden fork at the end to go vote on their favorite cheer squad. So great! 

Just after the mile 5 marker, I hit an emergency. You know the kind. Lucky for me, I still didn't really care about this race (you know that's all a lie) and ran across the street (yup) from the course and into the gas station. Yeah, it was that serious! Ha. Anyway, managed to get out in a decent amount of time, ran back across the street to the course, and came chugging along to the final hill. I knew I wasn't far enough and was super happy to cross the line at a 1:03:50. Hey, that's almost a 30-second course PR, and considering I was at the gas station for just under three minutes .. I call that a victory!

Race #3 for #13in2013!

My lungs didn't hate me, I felt surprisingly great, and am definitely happy I stuck with this even though I wasn't all that certain about my first run post-marathon being a race. Maybe this week I'll finally get my groove back and feel a sense of motivation in getting back into some kind of gym pattern. I feel no sense of motivation right now, and I suppose that's okay, but man. Training certainly holds me a lot more accountable than running just for the sake of it. Runner probs, fo sho.

Anyways. Happy race, decent time, happy lungs. Oh, and Chandler rocked her first 10K - her goal was under an hour and she killed it in 56:33! What a rockstar! Looking forward to more running adventures with this girl for sure. Way to rock, Chandler. So proud!

Did you race this weekend? How'd it go? And any post-marathon motivation tips? I'm struggling...

Surf City | Week 14

ERMAHGERD IT'S JANUARY. Four weeks. One month. Twenty-eight days. Marathon day. Let the freak out commence. It was a long week between wrapping up time at home, catching a red-eye back to Atlanta on New Year's Day, and getting in at 6:30 am and going back to work on the 2nd calling in sick, going in Thursday and Friday, but feeling sub-par, to say the least. Needless to say, I'm still tired.

I'd break every down for you, but I'll sum it up with this:

Total Week Run Miles: 0
Total XT Miles: 0
Total Week Miles: 0 

Blarrrrrrrr. I feel strong overall. My 14, 16, 17, and 15.5 mile runs have been strong and whiile I desperately wanted to do that 20-miler this weekend, I need to let this cold pass. So tapering just started early. Such is life. Training will never go perfect, right? Right.

How did your training go this week? What gets you through a sickness until you're out the door again?

When the Year Doesn't Start Out Right

If you follow me on any other source, you know I've been fighting a cold basically this entire week - I woke up last Saturday with that pre-sickness lump in my throat, went gallavanting through the snow on an amazing snowshoeing adventure, and woke up on New Year's Eve feeling like death. Since then, I've progressed and moved backwards throughout the week (no thanks to that red-eye flight back to Atlanta) and here I am... antsy as ever. 

I've got a marathon in 29 days, people!

Needless to say, I'm a little frazzled at the fact that I haven't ran since Sunday, nor have had the energy to even go hop on a bike just to go do something. I'm contemplating that tomorrow. I've been googling 'running while sick' or 'running with a chest cold' but deep down, I know the best answer is rest. You see, my colds aren't just colds - anything more than laying up on the couch for a week sends me into a downward spiral towards a bronchial infection with a side of asthmatic tendencies and basically, it sucks. 

I'm pounding myself with orange juice, taking it easy, loading up on Sudafed during the day and knocking out with NyQuil every evening. I'm just not good at resting. I never have been. (Now you can imagine what I was like after both knee surgeries!)

But here I am. Losing a full week of training. Antsy. Nerves are kicking in after all this marathon talk with my family at home. And I just want to run. Help convince me that I should be resting - I know I should be, but please... words of encouragement, support? Tell me that missing a week won't kill me in three weeks? I don't want to look like this come Surf City day:

What's your mantra while sick - are you on the couch, or are you out pounding pavement anyway? 

Sickness & Running

You know, it's funny -- last Tuesday (just over a week ago), I started sliding off the wagon that I felt like I was finally making progress on. Regular runs, regularly pushed myself to run out the door when I really didn't want to. Finally, progress!

And then I fell off the wagon on Tuesday. And Thursday. And Friday. And then sickness hit. Related? Maybe. I was supposed to be doing a 15K this Saturday, that I had actually felt semi-ready for. And now all I can think is "There's no way I can do that!" Good thing I hadn't registered.

And now that I'm a little better, though not feeling 100%, all I want to do is run. What a mind game!

In brighter news, I'm looking forward to registering for this race on pay day!

YAY!