Monday, December 27, 2010

Back in the Saddle



Marathon recovery went super-well last week. I only took one day to rest from the marathon, & went out Tuesday for an easy recovery run. My legs felt great & it wound up being a super speedy 3 miles when I was expecting a death march. I felt great all week so i started thinking... I needed to shake the bad marathon heebie jeebies off of me, so I decided to race the Frostbite Series 10 miler this past weekend after some friends suggested it. It went great! Snow was on the ground, but the roads were nice & dry, & it was 22 degrees with a nice wind. My dad was in town for Christmas so he went out with me to be my cheering section. He & my friend Brent, plus Amanda from the racing team took some shots out there & I think they look cool with all the snow :)





The course was rolling hills, so that's why my splits are kinda crazy. Here they are:

Mile 1 - 7:35
Mile 2 - 7:29
Mile 3 - 7:55
Mile 4 - 7:33
Mile 5 - 7:55
Mile 6 - 7:44
Mile 7 - 7:39
Mile 8 - 7:55
Mile 9 - 7:18
Mile 10 - 7:44
.13 mile - 59.97 secs (7:39 avg pace)

Total time was 1:17:46 (per Garmin - with 7:40 avg pace) & official time was 1:17:41. Course measured slightly over (I wasn't the only one who had more than a 10th over) & so, by my watch, 10 miles was 1:16:46 & is just a few seconds slower than what the race predictor said I was in shape for. I am very happy with how this race went, especially given the weather & hills. The last bit up to the finish line was pretty icy so I should have probably run in the grass (snow) instead to bring it up to the line a little quicker, but all in all it was a good race & I feel much better ending my year with this than that terrible marathon! :)

                                         


I also went ahead & (tentatively) planned my racing schedule for 2011, which can be found ----->
Not only are we planning on a 70.3 in September, but I'm also very excited about my first timed bike ride in May, the Vino Fondo. It looks like an awesome, challenging event & I'm going to do the Midi Fondo which is 84 miles through Missouri's wine country & features plenty of climbing. From now until May I will be looking for the perfect cycling cap that I can wear at the main rest stop & at the finish. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it. I hope I look better in it than this kid.


Looking forward to just chilling through January now & just running when I want to, working on the pool, & doing some quality spins. Hopefully I can get out on the road if a nice Saturday or Sunday presents itself, but I won't hold my breath :)



4 comments:

  1. Look at you, running with the wind in your hair! You rock girl, love reading your blog!

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  2. You'll have quite a few more followers after today!!!! Found you from RLAM. I pretty much "never" "follow that mother"-- just because I read so many blogs I don't always have time to write my own! But, I'm very impressed with how far you've come. I started "running" (well, walking, then slow intervals) in January last year...got hurt and, after taking some time to heal, started back up in July. I want to be where you are (minus the injury) this time next year. I'm hoping when I go back and catch up on past entries I'll get some secret training tips!! (if not maybe that could be you're next post???). GREAT job!!! I look forward to watching you tri-ing as well! (I just started training for my first sprint.)

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  3. I followed you over here from RLAM! You sound like a runner mother I would like to follow :-)

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  4. @Getting My Words Out - I don't know about secret training tips... really. hahaha. Just enjoy yourself, & have fun. I know it's really hard in the beginning. It's frustrating when you just want to run continually & have to take walk breaks. It's hard to run hills, especially when you can't make it half way up before you have to walk. Just know that each time you go out there you will improve! It gets easier as your body gets stronger each day. Weight starts to melt off & you don't have to lug that up the hills so that gets easier. You will be rewarded for sticking it out!! Good luck to you on your road to recovery & you are gonna LOVE triathlon. :)

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