Buffalo Half-Marathon Race Report and.. GOALS!

 On Sunday, I ran the Buffalo Half-Marathon. Originally, I was supposed to run a spring marathon (Pittsburgh) - that was my plan for quite a while. This shifted around a bit due to scheduling and eventually turned into the Buffalo Marathon. However, we had a very long and terrible winter where people who were less than motivated to train (i.e. me) ended up not doing a whole lot of consistent running. I ended up registering for the half because I thought it was more realistic. I'm glad that's what I decided to do. Even after dropping to the half, my training was sporadic. Between work, my class, my personal life, and general busyness, I was missing at least 1 run per week. I missed a few long runs in there too (missed my last one due to a wedding in NJ - I SWORE I was going to run but a hangover dictated that I should not). LifeWine happens! The wedding was fun and I love seeing my beautiful friend Jessie so happy! I also surprisingly loved being in NJ (in Brigantine which is the island in Atlantic City) near the beach - the weather was so beautiful on Saturday and Sunday - I wish I could have stayed for a little bit longer.

Rehearsal Dinner AKA why I missed my long run Sat. morning

studying before the wedding: see I am a serious student!

some of the bridesmaids and the MotB after the ceremony!

I was a bridesmaid!!! :)

Race day rolled around after a stretch of 6 days where I did not run due to time management issues regarding preparing for the wedding and studying for my final exam (wedding was Saturday in NJ, I was in NJ Fri-Sun, final was Monday evening). Maybe a more dedicated person (or someone who is better at getting up in the mornings) could have managed this - but I could not. I did not run from Wed-Sun. I did start back up running on Monday before taking my final, and ran every day leading up to the race except for Saturday. I'm not sure if this really affected my race (probably missing the long run that weekend DID) but it's what happened and I can't undo it. I had a few late nights (Thursday I was up incredibly late, and Friday night I had friends staying with me who came to Rochester for the Color Run). Saturday night I was in bed fairly early for my 4 am wakeup call on Sunday.

Kerry and I at the Genesee Brewhouse on Friday night

after the Color Run, we took the convertible to Hogan's Hideaway for lunch!

 The trip to Buffalo was uneventful - I left at 4:30, got there at about 5:45, got my packet, got lost trying to find the parking garage that my car was in, but made it to the start line on time after some shady parking garage activities (peeing where I shouldn't have peed) because I was running a bit late. Up until this point I wasn't sure how fast I was going to try to run the race. Based on my 5K a few weeks ago, McMillan predicted a 1:44 finish time. My current half PR is 1:40:something. Could I PR? I wasn't sure if I could do it but I also wasn't sure if I wanted to give up on the idea of at least trying. Then I realized I forgot to look up what paces I needed to run for either of these finish times (sometimes I can be a little unorganized). When I got into the start area, I saw the 1:40 pace leader and said "f-it" and decided to go for it. If I couldn't run a 1:39 I was going to find out the hard way!

She started us off easy at 8 min/mile pace for the first 2 miles and then picked it up. I was generally feeling pretty good for the first half of the race. I wasn't comfortable but I was surviving. I had a shot block every 2 miles and had a sip of water at every aid station. Pace was definitely quicker than I am used to - generally I run everything at endurance pace and I need to stop doing this because it's a huge shock to go faster. Once we hit 9 miles, I started to fall apart a little. The pace group started to get a little farther ahead of me.. maybe 20 feet. I tried to keep up the best I could. I would say miles 1-9 flew by and I enjoyed them, but 9-13 dragged on and on and ON and were fairly horrible. I knew if I could stick with the pace group I could PR, but I just couldn't hang on. The last 2 miles I felt pretty bad - couldn't focus on anything, had some cold chills going on - not fun. Anyways, I finished out of sight of the pace group in 1:41:24 (7:46 pace).

finishing! (love that Saucony top btw)

yes, I suck, I stole copyrighted photos

I am pretty ok with this result. I need to work harder to see improved results. I know this and I need to follow through with it. But I ran my ass off on Sunday and I am proud of that. I didn't try to run conservatively. I went for it, and failed, but I still went for it! The fitness was just not there. My splits look halfway decent up until mile 11. The HR data is a mess; I think my monitor is shitting out on me so that information is essentially useless.

It is still very obvious two days later that I "over-ran" my fitness level as I still am hobbling around and my quads are sore to the touch. It probably didn't help that yesterday I went on a 2.5 hour trail ride which made my legs feel worse I am sure. (But it was such a beautiful day to enjoy on horseback!).

Cherry and I on a Memorial Day trail ride

 Once I recover it is onto the next goals: the Adirondack Marathon in September (goal time TBD) and hopefully a half-marathon in August. I think I can run a 1:35 half if I focus. I have been trying to break the 1:40 threshold for several years and haven't been able to do it. I KNOW I can if I take it seriously. Obviously I can run a 1:40-ish half-marathon without too much trouble (this is the 3rd time I've done it out of 6 total half-marathons) so I need to up my game if I want to run it faster than that.

Weekend success

As promised in my blog post last week, I ran a 5K on Saturday! After skimming through my results on Athlinks post-race, I realized it was my first 5K since Johnny's Run Like Hell in October of 2011, where I ran a 22:57.

My results from Saturday? 22:32. 4th OA female, 1st in my age group (which is 30-39 now btw, ew). You won't find me in the results because there was a bit of a mix up at registration.

that girl passed me but I passed her back

I like this shot

I am fairly happy with that. In general, I run between 22 and 23 minutes for a 5K. When I am in really good shape, I can run a 21:xx, and when I am super out of shape, I run a 23:xx. So I am feeling pretty good considering it's May and I was pretty inconsistent until this month with my running and had NO idea what would happen. Plugging that into McMillan gives me a 1:44 half marathon and a 3:39 full marathon.

I don't really operate in a "goal-time" setting universe. The "A" races I have done have always been so long (Ironman, half-Ironman) and so dependent on everything going perfectly that I never had splits to aim for and more or less just wanted to finish (usually sub 13 was my safety zone). My first Ironman I finished in 12:18 and then my next 2 were slower. My fastest half-IM was 5:16 and again, the next 3 were slower. I have ALWAYS been sub 13 for the full and sub 6 for the half but those are times I set for myself when things go wrong. The 5:16 I did was when everything went really, really right. I have always wanted to tackle the half-IM goal but the season following that one great race, I did 2 Ironmans and no halves, and the one following that I was burned the f- out from racing and had 2 really slow races.

I have a hard time with goals.. but I think that with a shorter race I can control more of it and be closer to nailing my time. Part of me wants to see if I can pace for the 1:44 half. But the other part of me is dying to run sub-1:40 because I've never done it. I don't know if I CAN do it right now, so: Do I try for it and risk blowing up? Or do I play it safe and go by McMillan? These are things that I am inexperienced in - I don't know myself well enough as a runner to know what I can and cannot do. There is a 25 sec/mile difference between those two finish times which is a lot!

Anyways, I will be pondering that for the next two weeks.


After the 5K, I drove to the Lima Gun Club and participated in the RXCSF (Rochester XC Ski Foundation) Summer Biathlon Clinic. I AM a member of RXCSF and have done a few summer biathlons, so I am happy that we are bringing them to Rochester! I got there about an hour late but was still able to practice a little bit of shooting and then go through an informal practice race. I shot ok, but not great. Hopefully I will be able to get a rental gun and maybe actually improve!

getting some practice shots in the standing position

for the race we all shot prone (easier to hit targets)

Then on Sunday, I got up early, met K-Dub at his house in Mendon, where we proceeded to run 12 miles, mostly on trails, through the park! It was great to have someone to run with. I am not a great trail runner (I trip/fall down) therefore I avoid them and mostly stick to the road, but I do think it's a) good to get out of your comfort zone sometimes and b) easier on your joints for long runs like that.

It was a really good weekend running and otherwise. I got some yard work done, got some homework done, did some socializing, got a sunburn. Now unfortunately I am back to real life where I have to work, study for my final, and get ready to go out of town this weekend for my dear friend Jessie's wedding!

Oh hey.. running

My energies lately have been dedicated to a few things: finishing out the Spring semester at RIT, stressing about doing work to my house (read: stressing about it but not actually doing it), getting ready for my best friend's wedding which is in 8 days, and RUNNING!

I have decided to get back on board with racing this year. In the past 2 years, I have done *no* solid racing. I have done 2 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green races - both at minimal effort with my friend Richard. I have done 2 Seneca7 relays (my first year I had NO fitness, this year I ran much better) but I don't really consider them to be a "race" because of the whole group effort thing. I did 1 Johnny's Run Like Hell as a member of a "6 pack" which meant I was attached to 5 other people for the entire race and wearing a ball gown, and basically 4 of them weren't really runners. I ran a Turkey Trot in 2013 wearing way too many clothes because it was too cold to take off my warmup layer.

Seneca7 2013

Seneca7 2014

Cinderalla 6-Pack @Johnny's Run Like Hell

I did 1 summer biathlon last summer. Running and shooting. I won it but there were like 3 other women. I also did 1 ski race which I placed in. Again. I suck at skiing, there was just barely anyone else registered.

Summer Biathlon

I have run (not raced) 1 marathon. Wineglass Marathon last year. I PRed.. but my previous PR was terrible. I was happy with how that race went because it was based on 9 weeks of training during a terrible, time-consuming class, but it wasn't a "race." I was there to survive.

post-Wineglass Marathon

I HAVE raced cyclocross, but it's a totally different type of race/approach. So while I count it.. I also don't count it. I could have been better at it if I had trained or stayed in shape. But I did get my CAT3 upgrade which was a BIG deal to me!

Cyclocross at Ellison park

 So this year.. I am doing it. I am going to race to race. I am going to train hard. I am going to stop being lazy, stop skipping workouts, start paying attention to things. I am buying new race outfits (because I am a girl after all). I am going to get up and run in the morning when I don't have time after work. I am going to run in the rain and when it's super hot out.

I have a 5K this weekend, followed by a long run the next day. I have a half-marathon in 3 weeks. I am registered for the Adirondack Marathon in September.

Let's do this! Time to shake things up!

Seneca7 2014 Recap

The Seneca7 was this past Sunday. After enjoying the shit out of this race last year, I was all in favor of doing it again in 2014. Our team was slightly different - Mary, Greg, Amanda, and myself were "Inside Voices" veterans from our 2013 team, but we lost Don, Chris, and Jill from last year and instead had Ken, Curt, and Solveig. We also had to rent a minivan since no one had a big enough car to fit everyone.

Our name was "Fellowship of the Run!" for all of those LOTR nerds out there.

Not much to say about the race except that the normal relay ridiculousness ensued. Peeing in the woods, stupid inside jokes, stress trying to get from one checkpoint to the next ahead of the on-course runner, massive porta-potty lines, getting into a *small* fender-bender with another rental van. All of which are normal things (maybe not the fender-bender). The shirts they gave were nicer this year than last year (no belly-shirts - yay!) and were green! (my favorite color). We finished in 10:43 which I think is respectable. We were about 10 minutes slower than last year, but who really cares. We were just there to have fun and hang out with each other anyways!

It was also Solveig's last full day in Rochester, as she moved back to Madison, WI on Monday to embark on a new life as a graduate student! So that was bitter sweet. My Rochester family keeps getting smaller and smaller.

It's fun seeing everyone out there running and loving it. It also reminded me of how much I love and miss racing! I felt like I ran pretty strong for all 3 of my legs so that gives me some confidence going into the Buffalo Half Marathon 1 month from now.

It definitely took me an entire day to recover from the race. I like spending time with my friends, and I like running, and I even like driving around, but 12 hours in a van is a lot. The whole time was fun and no one got tense or angry with anyone else, but when that race is over, you (or at least I) just want to be DONE. I can only handle so much time being overstimulated by running/racing/people EVERYWHERE. But.. because Solveig was responsible for the van and she was staying with me, it was the two of us that had to return it to the airport. We didn't finish up with that until 9:45 pm, made it to Chipotle at 9:55 pm to get some food, and I wasn't in bed until at least 10:30. It's safe to say that I was ridiculously grumpy on Monday! I am pretty weird in that I need some *me* time basically every single day (at least, I think this makes me weird, as more normal people seem to appreciate socialization a bit more than I do). Even if I am on vacation, or staying with someone, I need to be able to retreat somewhere for at least an hour. That's why I had so much trouble staying in hostels in Europe, and why having house guests is sometimes problematic for me. I can survive, but I am not very relaxed. So the Seneca7 is like WHOA PEOPLE ALL DAY and then I wasn't able to come down from that feeling until Monday after work where I drank a beer on my couch and watched a silly girl movie all by myself (and Fiona). And it was GLORIOUS.

Anyways..

Some photos for your viewing pleasure!

7 am in the Canandaigua Walmart parking lot behind the wheel of a minivan

in the Smith Opera House before the race

Mary and I taking a "Jelfie" - selfie with Jeff

ran into Mark O.!

(most of) the team in the van!

towards the end of the day it gets a little crazy in the van!

finished in 10:43!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel

..and I can see it! (Not to be too cliche).

I have 4 more weeks of class and then one week of "finals" which I assume will be the week I hand in the final project. I just handed in project #2 on Monday at 5:30. Project #2 was much better than #1. I am feeling more confident and in control with this class than I was a mere 5 weeks ago. Our quiz grades are also being adjusted, so that means my grade will go up, AND the 2nd quiz has been eliminated altogether! Things are definitely looking up for my grade. I can't say that I have enjoyed this particular class, but it has earned my respect and I am so happy to be back in school again and in a challenging, learning environment. It brings out the best in me.

Because I am nearing the end of this hell course, I have started getting excited about all of the other things I can do with my free time once it's over! I have a big to-do list involving my house. (I know you ALL are dying to pitch in and help me with these projects). :) Also, a pile of books to read! And Christmas to get ready for! (Maybe it's a bit too early for that).

I'm going to get Hedwig set up on the trainer in the basement and get that party started. I am SO excited to start training in earnest again! I hope to start back up with coaching with MARY in January! Also, once it snows - XC skiing!

Also, I finally got my CAT3 upgrade in cyclocross after winning the CAT4 race at Ellison Park a few weeks ago. It took a while for the upgrade to go through but it finally did! I am not sure how much I will get to race for the rest of this season (I am thinking maybe once more) but it will be nice to start out next year as a legit Open rider.

There are so many good things to look forward to!

Happy Thursday!

October is my favorite month for a reason!

Two great weekends in a row? How is this happening? Things are looking up!!

Saturday I actually had time to go see Cherry in the morning, since I no longer have that whole "training for the marathon" commitment thing.. which means I don't have to squeeze 3+ hour runs in on Saturday mornings. I've taken 2 easy weeks of recovery from the marathon (first week I ran 0 miles, last week I ran 10) and now I am ready to get back into it, but it will be nice knowing that I don't HAVE to do these long runs on the weekend and can go see (and even ride) my poor neglected horse instead! However, I really don't want to lose my run fitness so I am going to try to keep my mileage steady. Maybe no 20 mile runs for a while but I would like to keep my long runs at about 2 hours on the weekends when I can.

After visiting with Cherry on Saturday and doing a bit of homework, I donned my ballgown, pinned on my race number, laced up my running sneakers, and walked the half-mile to Johnny's Irish Pub where the annual Johnny's Run Like Hell Halloween race is held. I love this race and I do it every year if possible! Usually I race it as a typical 5K but this year I was asked to be in a 6-pack (6 people dress up in a theme and have to run together, attached together) by my friend Rich. Our theme was Cinderella, and 6 of us ran together, with Rich pushing his daughter, Chloe, who was dressed as Cinderella, in a stroller that was paper mached to be a giant pumpkin (aka, Cinderella's pumpkin carriage). Rich was the stagecoach driver, we had a Prince Charming, a fairy godmother, 2 ugly stepsisters (I was one of them) and... the horse pulling the pumpkin carriage. It was pretty ridiculous but we ended up winning the costume originality contest!

a dress with puffy sleeves - not the easiest ensemble to run in

with medals and celebratory beers!

 I spent the rest of Saturday working on my homework, which I made a lot of progress on which left me feeling good for Sunday - Ellison Park Cyclocross day! This is a 2 day race but I had skipped Saturday's race so that I could do all of the things that I just talked about. I love cyclocross but it is definitely time consuming and sometimes I need to do other things instead. Anyways, waking up and dragging myself to the race on Sunday morning was a chore. I was tired, it was FREEZING in my house, I couldn't find any of

my gear (since I was too lazy to pack it up the night before) and I almost bailed. This seems like the story of every cyclocross race that I have done this year.

I am soooooooo glad I went.

  I got there, rode the course once to get a feel for the hills and the rhythm. It wasn't very muddy which was good, although there were some sketchy sections and a muddy run-up called "the ladder" plus the famous section going up the hill that they love referring to as the Alpe d'Huez. I raced Saturday last year (as my first cyclocross race ever), which is ridden in the reverse direction. I've heard that Saturday is harder than Sunday.. which, after yesterday, I can agree with. Either way, it's still hard in both directions and it has the most climbing out of any of the cross races I've ever done. There were 5 women in the CAT4 race and I needed to either get 1st or 2nd to get my points for my upgrade to CAT3. I really didn't care which place I got going in.. but then we started racing and I was right on the tail of the leader, Leah, for the whole first lap, and the other 3 women had fallen behind. So I am thinking "don't do anything stupid, and you'll get 2nd" fully knowing that ANYTHING can happen in a cyclocross race. She wasn't able to pull away from me in the first lap, and she was riding more conservatively than I was on the downhills. I was following her up the switchbacks and the last turn at the top of the Alpe d'Huez was muddy, and she jumped off and ran it while I was able to ride it, so once we rounded out the top of the hill and started going down, I made my pass going around a corner. And that was it.. I led for the remaining 2 laps, although she was not very far behind me. I had the world's best cheerleader there - Emily - who also took some great photos. I managed to not mess up at all except when I caught one of the CAT4 men that had started 1 min before us. He had some trouble at the muddy, squirrel corner at the top of the hill and slid out right in front of me, which caused me to stop, and I had to hop off my bike (on the wrong side), run around him, get on the left side of my bike, get back on and get going again, still while going up the hill. Not happy. Then he passed me going back down the hill. Seriously, just make up your mind and get away!! Ugh.

down the hill

the barriers, where the race announcer complimented me on my technique :)

the ladder.. I need spikes in my shoes!

pushing it into the finish (that's my game face for the entire 40 mins)

 Anyways, I won! It was awesome and I loved being referred to as "the women's leader" by the announcer (yes, at these pro races they actually have an announcer!). I got a sweet medal and (I think) my upgrade points! The 2nd place woman, Leah, also got her upgrade points so YAY for more women in the open races that are around my speed! I stuck around for a bit to eat some food, drink some Rohrbach's delicious root beer, and spectate the female pro race.

women's CAT4 podium! sadly missing 2nd place

Emily, Ken, me, Solveig cheering for pro women

I then had to head home and finish the rest of my homework, which took much longer than expected - oh well. Also, I finally had to turn on my heat last evening. I was wearing a coat while trying to do my homework which is just ridiculous. My AC units are still in my windows (that is a whole different story) so I haven't wanted to turn on the heat because it will just go right out through those vents and talk about throwing your money away! But I had to because it was 62 degrees in my house! I NEED to get those things out this week!

I'm trying to tone down the next few weekends. I need a break. It's been fun but there is always a "homework panic" on Sunday night and it really stressed me out!

Also, for some other (much more interesting) blog reading, check out Jennie's Kona race report here!

You're gonna hear me ROAR

I had the most fantastic weekend at one of my closest friend's bachelorette party. Even though Jessie lives in New Jersey and most of her friends are from the Philadelphia area, she wanted her bachelorette party to be a wine tour in the Finger Lakes! (Lucky for me). We rented a huge house in Geneva on Seneca Lake, got a limo for the day on Saturday, and went to ~5 wineries (plus 3 other wineries on Friday night). Everyone else had a 6+ hour drive but mine was only 1!

this was my first time in a limo!

No details ;) .. but it was awesome. I was apprehensive going in because I had never met any of the other girls and being in a house with 9 other people is not my ideal situation. It was amazing how much fun we all had and how it didn't even matter that I had never met any of them! I kept saying "I was so worried about this, I am an introvert" and they kept telling me that there was no way that I am an introvert. (True story - I am totally an introvert though). We even jumped in Seneca Lake in freakin' October!

there was a lot of screaming going on here

good thing I am used to freezing cold lakes

This is my first time being a bridesmaid and I am very excited. Jessie has been a very close friend since college. Even though we don't see each other very often, when I do see her it's like no time has passed at all! I am sooooooo excited for her wedding which is next spring!

me and Jessie!!

Anyways, the weekend was exactly what I needed. I have been so stressed and bogged down with lots of things lately.. going away for 2 whole days and not thinking or worrying about anything was perfect. I came home with a clearer head (plus a hangover and 3 misc. bottles of wine) and with a new attitude. Mostly just to do what I need to do in order to be happy.

I have a bunch of new friends :)

And, I am over halfway through my class! As of right now, the class average on the one quiz was a 55 (which I got a 60 on) and the professor already said that he would do something about that grade (either adjust it or make it worth less). I have gotten at least a 9/10 on every homework assignment (except perhaps this last one that I handed in on Tuesday - oh well). And the project that I spent 20 hours working on before and after the marathon (which I definitely handed in with parts incomplete because I ran out of time/patience).. I got an 89% on.. and with the class average at about an 80, means I got an A on it. It also turns out he "intended" the project to take 7-ish hours and it took everyone WAY more than that, so he is going to cut the following two projects in half in terms of size! Which means that I won't have to kill myself two more times. So it will be manageable, and I am certain I will pass (barring any disasters).. just whether or not I will get the A or B that I need to be reimbursed remains to be seen.

If there is anything to be learned from this class (other than the obvious which is programming in SAS and R) is that I am incredibly tenacious. Sometimes I will get really upset - there are rumpled, tear-stained pages of my textbooks to prove that - and I am terrified of failing and want to quit, but I don't. I will fight on, and on, and on for what I want and think that I deserve. Sometimes it gets me into trouble, but most of the time it enables me to do things like Ironman, grad. school, etc.

I think I am going to keep writing. I took a loooong break and most of my blogger friends have also ceased writing, but it's very therapeutic for me. I can spew my thoughts into the world without anyone having to actually be on the opposite end of the complaining (unless they choose to click the link).

ROAR!