2014 Caldwell Classic 5K - Race Report

On Saturday, my family and I ran the Caldwell Classic 5K, a race at our kids' school.  This is the third year we have run this race.  It is not chip-timed, and it has the most varied terrain of any race I've ever run.  We start in the school parking lot and run two loops around the campus across grass, big gravel, sand, mud/dirt, the track, and eventually finish on the football field.  

Cold weather has come early to our area, so the race started with temperatures around 28 degrees, with a pretty cold wind.  At least the sun was out, and the race didn't begin until 9am, so it was a few degrees warmer than it would have been if the race started earlier.

Unlike last year, I did not warm up at all.  We lined up at the start, shared a prayer, and began the race.  This event draws speedy runners from the cross country team, recreational runners, students who don't typically run (so they do a sprint/walk thing), and walkers.  I didn't go into this race expecting a PR.  I didn't look up my Garmin time from last year, but I imagined I ran the race in about 35 minutes last year, and figured I would be about 37 minutes this year, based on my diminished training, and the few extra pounds I'm carrying around.

I didn't look at my Garmin at all during the race (as it was buried under my layers), but I put forth what felt like a decent effort.  I don't think I could have gone much faster, and thought I might be pushing it a little faster than my original goal.

I crossed the finish line, found my Garmin, and stopped it - 37:54.  Still under 38 minutes, but slower than I thought, based on how I felt.   I was even more disappointed when I got home and looked up my time from last year for this race:  34:20, which is only 13 seconds over my 5K PR.  This race showed me that I have really lost fitness this past year, and I need to work on getting it back, and losing weight as well.

On the plus side, my husband was the fastest adult (the school gives awards to the fastest middle school student, high school student, and adult, for both males and females).  He won a $50 Home Depot gift card, and enjoyed telling everyone he was the "fastest geezer."  The race had free pizza and ice cream afterwards.  The kids enjoyed some pizza, and even though it smelled great, I didn't have any.  I abstained from the free ice cream as well, though that wasn't as big of a temptation, given the temperature.

On another note, I recevied an email from Marathon Photo with a pretty good deal on downloads from the Women's Half that Megan and I ran in September.  Since it was her first half, and we had a few good pictures, I wanted to get some of them.  My favorite is this one in front of the Parthenon.

This one was near the end when i was really struggling and just happy to be able to walk.  I even managed a smile.

Finish line!  So proud of my girl!!

Now I'm off to hit the treadmill for this week's long run.  I'm avoiding the cold and sleet outside this morning!

Have a great Sunday!

Race Recaps September-October 2014

During my blogging hiatus, I ran 4 races, 3 of them half marathons.  I thought I'd do a quick recap on each race, and share what I've got coming up:

September 27:  Nashville Women's Half Marathon

This was Megan's first half, and she was amazing.  She wanted us to dress like our favorite superheroes, so she was Captain America, and I was Wonder Woman.  It was a warm day, and I thought that I was fueling okay, but apparently the few sips of water I took at each water stop was not enough.  At mile 11, I think I hit "the wall" that I've always heard about.  I was dizzy, sick to my stomach, and just felt downright miserable.  I told Megan to leave me and finish the race strong.  I literally wanted to lay down on the road and didn't care about finishing, nor did I ever want to run again.

But my amazing daughter held my hand and led me the final two miles to the finish line.  I was crying, partly out of pride for my daughter, and partly out of shame that I had ruined her first half.  Our time was by far the slowest time I have ever had - 3:32:25.  But my daughter didn't care.  She was so happy to finish and as soon as we crossed the finish line she asked when we could run another one.  

October 11:  The Middle Half

This race was two weeks after the Women's half, and I was really worried about not repeating that catastrophe.  I really paid attention to my hydration and fueling before and during the race.  It was cool and rainy, and was a fun race.  I was happy to have a much better performance than two weeks earlier, and finished in 3:01:52.  The picture above was the one free download that each runner received from the race, which was really cool.  Will obviously finished much quicker than me, but then came back to meet me near the end of the race, which is how we got this picture.

October 18:  Hank Thompson Trek & Treat 5K

We usually make this race an annual event, and last year's race is actually my current 5K PR (34:07).  Given my lack of actually training, I wasn't expecting to beat that this year, but was happy to get out and run with my family on this beautiful morning.  My time was 37:15, but I was really happy to have run a good race with a strong finish.  I am confident that with a return to actually training, I can and will PR again.

A few extra pictures from this race:

Megan loves her superheroes, and couldn't resist getting a picture with this guy, dressed as Ironman.  He actually did the 5K in these stilts.  

This is Will finishing the 10K (he's in the blue shirt).  We saw him turn the corner and were cheering him on to beat this guy.  He did beat him at the finish.

October 19:  Music City Half Marathon

This was somewhat a last minute race decision.  Will and I signed up about 2 weeks out.  I didn't know if it was a smart decision to run halves on back to back weekends, but finally decided I wanted to run this because it would make my 8th half in less than a year, and I would "moon up" to Uranus for my Half Fanatics status.  It was a beautiful day, a great race, and if I had actually been paying attention to my watch, I would have finished in under 3 hours.  Instead, my time was 3:00:13.  I'm still happy with that time, the fastest of the three halves, and with minimal training.

What's next for me?

Races:  We are running several local annual races that we always do.  One is a 5K at the kids' school on November 15.  Then on Thanksgiving Day, a 5-mile race that has become a family tradition.  On December 6, Megan is getting her wish for a second half marathon.  We will be running the inaugural Mt. Juliet Holiday Half.  On New Year's Day, we will be running the Frostbite 5K.  Then Will is running his second 100-mile race, and I'll be volunteering at that race.

Training:  I need to put together a training plan, instead of just running when I can find the time.  I know that I have faster races in me, but I have to work for them, and lately, I have not been putting in the work.

Weight Loss:  I have been holding my own with my weight, but I really need to lose these last 30 pounds.  I know I will feel better about myself, and I will run better with the pounds gone.  I'm turning 42 in April, and I want to publicly commit to #Project42:  losing the weight and reaching my weight loss goal by my birthday.  In order to do that, I have to consistently lose 1.5 pounds a week.  I will be keeping you posted on Weigh In Wednesday each week.

Thanks for reading!!