Keep On Running Till The World Ends (Aka Race Recap)

   I had to use that in the title because Britney's "Till The World Ends" was the only song I listened to for my whole 5k this morning.  I had lots of great running songs on my playlist but I got into a groove with that one and didn't want to mess with it :D  I love how Nikki Minaj says, "Friiieeddd."


On to the deets:
    I decided a few days ago that I was itching to do a 5k, my last one was at the beginning of March and I didn't want to wait till my June 5th to do another.    I was using today's race mostly as a tempo workout since I've pushed myself really hard this week and I did workouts on Friday (stairs and bodyrock) that I would not normally do 2 days before a race. Being that I have high hopes for my race in 3 weeks,  I didn't want to skimp on my training just to run a decent time today, more of use today's race to help me get a sick time on June 5th :D

   Anywayss when I decided I wanted to run a 5k this weekend I hoped on Long Island Running and searched for the nearest 5k.  Score! Found a race 10 minutes from my house :)  I had no idea how big the race was going to be, but the fact that it had no online registration kinda tipped me off that it wouldn't be a huge race.

   I woke up this morning to rain and had a few second thoughts, especially since I hadn't registered yet, but I kinda enjoy running in the rain and the low 60's temp was perfect for racing.  So off I went, of course I had some nerves because even though I didn't put pressure on myself for a certain time, I knew I would be disappointed if I didn't run close to 21 flat.

   I arrived and quickly realized this race was going to be small.  I was a little early (wanted to make sure I could register), but this was not the typical race atmosphere, there was maybe 20 people scattered around and half of them were volunteers.   While registering I found out there were no bibs, no chips, they just handed you a card at the end of the race which you then brought to a table with your time.

  As I warmed up people started to file in, still not a large amount, but I was kind of enjoying the low key-ness of this race.  The race was held to raise money for Sarcoma and before the start a High Schooler who had survived sarcoma spoke and honored another woman in their community who was battling a relapse.  I got all teary eyed.

  On to the start (a few cones), we lined up, the director said go, and we were off :D  Two college runner boys took off straight to the front, I think the lead truck wasn't even moving fast enough for them.  I started out in around 6th place behind a few other guys.  And then, within 400 meters of the start, I was in 3rd.  I felt strong and had a great pace going, one that I felt I could hold without dying right at the start of the 2nd mile.  There were HS volunteers out on the roads directing, but I was still nervous about making a wrong turn as the lead truck and 2 lead boys were out of sight and I was leading the rest of the race.  I was pretty much on my own, although up until around the 3rd mile I had a guy hanging right behind me.

     Running truly is half mental because I've found that when I've got a strong lead in a race it just feels easier.  I'm not one to give a lot of details from each mile during the race, I am in my own world while racing and have difficulty recalling specific aspects of each mile.  What I do know is I felt strong and in control the whole race, my legs felt amazing and never tired (although my calves are feeling it now).  I didn't have a point (which I often do in 5ks) when I slowed up in the middle just to make it through (the fact that I was being chased by the pack 1 minute back may have helped :D) .  I would say it even felt easier than some of my past slower races.

  I wasn't sure of my mile splits, I figured it was right around the water tables and my stopwatch (I'm still afraid to wear my Garmin in a 5k, actually I think it would be a really bad idea for me) had me at around 6:40 miles.  Someone told me after that they had people reading mile splits but they weren't very noticeable or very loud (and I had music.)

Soooo the good stuff:
  3rd Overall (out of ?), 1st Female. . . 20:35 (6:37 pace) :D  25 second PR!
                                 and the best part

Winners got cookies and cash!

For a small race they sure didn't skimp on the awards ;)

Actually I'm happiest about my time and how amazing it felt, but the money is nice too :)

One of the best parts of today's race was that it helped me realize that, yes, 19:xx IS within my reach.

   Thank You all who have expressed this sentiment in recent comments, now I need to believe in myself, bust my boot-ay the next 2.5 weeks and get 'er done!

This was from last post, but it didn't post to most blog link lists, so repost of the race attiyah:

Two Weeks! Two Weeks! Two Weeks!

   Until Memorial Day Weekend and my first day back at the beach :D  Yaayyyy. 

   MDW is a very significant date to this little bloggy :)  I started Run For the B! in September when I had just finished my last weekend at the beach and was already planning for next (this) summer.

My reasons for starting this blog were:
 1) To keep my self accountable over the winter months so that I was in the best shape possible come MDW '11. 
 2) Accomplish lots of the things that I always said I was going to do.
     
     So how did I do so far with #1, well I had made big goals for this summer because last summer I didn't think I was at my peak physically and it kinda impacted my self-esteem.  After drinking/partying a bit too much  I ended the summer at 128 lbs which for me is no bueno :/   I've worked hard for the past 8 months and I am at 121 right now. I also think that I gained some muscle, so besides a 7lb loss I'm pretty sure there was some body composition changes :D  I measured my waist this morning and it was 24.75. I've never seen my waist below 25 inches despite weighing under 120  in the past so that's a thumbs up for the less fat, more muscle theory.

    I don't start working everyday till end of June (the beginning is just weekends) so I have over a month to keep hitting it hard and lean up a bit more.  I've been bodyrocking even more lately and I've noticed some changes in the mirror :D

#2 Things I've said I was going to do:  I've said I was going to do the Tobay triathlon for about 8 (or more?) years now.  At the end of the summer I decided that next summer I was definitely going to do it. Well I am registered, I've got a brand new road bike and have been getting used to riding it now that it is nice out (haven't done any serious training yet, just getting used to the feel and switching gears and stuff) and I cannot wait to start swimming at work!  The tri is a definite go!  I can't wait to swim, bike, run all summer :D

  I also said that I was going to do the Long Island Half (this was discussed with 2 other female guards, one being my sister) and I did it!  But they didn't :(  Next year girls!!

I'm also going to do a Tough Mudder (in Novemeber) with these clowns (my co-workers):

This is from Tough Mudder '10.  More pics of them here

    I've wanted to be a personal trainer since HS and that is in the works.  Cert test in a few weeks :D

And I've wanted to break 20 in the 5k since HS and that will be done (I'm kinda sad my speedwork post is gone, I greatly appreciated all your comments expressing confidence in my ability to do this.)

  I honestly don't think I would have made this much progress or accomplished some of these goals without this blog and the amazing blogging community.  I really had now idea how rededicated to racing I was going to become.  I am really happy to be entering the summer in such good physical shape so that I can hop into any races that come up and be competitive in them (my co-workers are always doing various races throughout the summer, there is a run-swim-run on the beach in particular, that I've always wanted to do and this summer it's on!)  I usually always find out about these races like 2 weeks in advance and then don't feel like I am in good enough shape to compete to my standards.

   As of right now I am racing on Sunday, but I'm not setting any expectations.  Of course I'd love to PR, but I've been working really hard this week and wearing myself down a bit.  I was going to rest today, then thought about the fact that Sunday is not meant to be a peak race, more of a tempo workout and if I've got a PR in me, awesome :D   So today I ran 15 minutes of stairs (I did cut it a little shorter than usual due to overall fatigue) and I did Zuz's Killer 4 minute interval workout (before the stairs which explains why my quads where kinda dead on them).  Tomorrow I will rest.

Some outfit pics for Sunday:

Yes I think I am ready to strut it on the beach ;)

Boo-tayy a product of countless: squats, lunges, hill sprints, stair running, jump squats, burpees and on and on. . .

Psyching Myself Out Over Speedwork

   Yesterday I decided that today HAD to be a speed work day.  I was actually gonna do it yesterday but then I did a 20 min bodyrock workout that was all sumo squats, KB swings, and one leg squats and could barely hobble through 2 miles after.  So I knew my legs where going to be a little sore today, but I should be able to handle some intervals, plus it would make me feel that much faster when running on fresh legs in a race.  June 5th is fast approaching and I need to get some good workouts in if I want to even think about sub-20.  


  My plan was 3x1600's and of course I started psyching myself out about it the moment I made the decision.

  I freak out about not being able to hit the times I want, my goal was 6:20 pace for each mile.  If I can't hit 6:20 pace for 1 mile how can I expect to run 6:26 pace for a full 5k? Total mind trip.


  I think especially because I'm in unknown territory (I've run 21 min 5ks [a few sub 21] in H.S.& college, but never Sub 20)  I am questioning whether it is even possible for me to do this.  What if a 19 min 5k is just not in me? Then again I have run 2 miles at 6 min pace, so logic would say that yes I can hold 6:27 pace for one more mile.  In fact I just put it into the Macmillan Calc and it spit out a 19:35 5k, now that 12 min- 2 mile was back in the day, but I did do it once upon a time.  And I dreaded speed workouts back then too.


  This morning I was mildly sore but definitely able to handle some fast running, albeit still having some major anxiety about it.

I finally got out there and decided to just get it done.

The result was half fail, half quality speed work.


Warmed up with an easy 8:10 mile


I started the first mile repeat; saw my Garmin start at 6:20 pace and drop to 5:58 nearing the half mile.

And I changed the game plan.


800's


I stopped at the half mile: 2:59 


Jog/walked the remaining .35 around to get to my start point (my driveway)


#2 This time, knowing it was going to be an 800, I started out too fast.  Started at 5:58 pace ended at 6:06 pace: 3:03


   And then things got a little shaky.  I was really feeling the first 2 reps, but knew 2- 800's didn't make for much of a interval workout.  I started another one and then quit .15 in.  Tried to recollect myself, gave myself a little more rest and decided to try the next 800 in a different direction, maybe a change of scenery would help? No :(   Cut it short at .20

Was I really gonna call it a day at 2?


Determined to gut one more out (and I seriously mean gut, why is my stomach the thing that holds me back the most, like it feels ready to burst)  I lined up next to my driveway and was off.

#3 3:10


  And I'm spent, it would have been nice to get one more in, 4x 800's sounds a lot nicer than 3X800's, but I gave my all and hit some decent times.


I didn't look at the Macmillan Calc times before my workout, but looking at it now I was in the range for 800 repeat times if aiming for a 19:50 ish 5k.

I'm thinking about jumping in a 5k this Sunday and if I do my goal is anything below 21 :)

I'm also gonna jump into What I Ate Wednesday:

With the beach starting in just over 2 weeks this salad is on the lunch menu everyday :)

It is so awesome that I'm 100% okay with that.

Hiding under the chicken are some green olives and cucs and those red peppers are sweet peppers from a jar, love them!

And of course some avocado.

But the best part of this salad may be the dressing, it is only 10 calories and I could drink it (actually I DO drink what is left at the bottom of the bowl) :D 

Dressing= Rice Vinegar and Fresh Squeezed Lemon

Linking up here:

Come join the fun and check out some amazing food!

Race Photos that Don't Make Me Want to Become a Hermit

Confession: I almost did not look at my Half Marathon race proofs.

I got the email saying they were online on Thursday and my first thought was, "Helllllllll No!"   I did not see the value in crushing my fragile self-esteem; I was still riding the confidence boost from some dude asking me out 10 minutes post race, why ruin it?  I think 98% of  my race photos have made me want to hide away for the rest of my life so as not to subject anyone to my hideousness (not even exaggerating a tiny little bit.)

I got another email this morning saying that they would only be available for a limited time.

"Maybe I should just take a peek"

"NO don't do it!"

"I can't not know what they look like"

"Ignorance is Bliss"

" I have to. . . for blog's sake"

"You were wearing itty bitty spandex shorts that creeped into bikini briefs" = unflattering leg photos

"But. . . but. . . but, I've been working out."

Also I am challenging myself to do one thing that scares me everyday, and yup, scared.

So with much anxiety (yes I have issues), I clicked on the link, took a deep breath, said a prayer. . . 

hmmm these aren't soo bad.

But I am gonna pretend like didn't see that one.

Here they are, they're no glamour shots but I think I'll allow myself to leave the house today.

I don't think I'll ever be one to have an awesome smiling finish line photo.

And I think I'm okay with that.

     *After going through Penn Station on my way upstate this past week  I decide I'm going to take a trip to the city and do a little gym research.  It will be nice to wander around the city now that it is nice out and I thought I would accomplish something at the same time by stopping into some gyms and inquiring about what they look for in trainers.  I figured I could ask what qualifications they are looking for (I'm getting ACE certified right now, but I can work on some other certs over the summer as well) and other things I can work on to make myself more marketable.  I think it will also be good experience for me to communicate with prospective employers, because hey, there's another thing I'm scared of.

  So I'm requesting any suggestions you may have on what to ask while I am there. The plan is to venture in sometime this week, I'm going to figure out which gyms I want to hit up today :D

     Plus you should all check out my old college XC teammate Steph's brand new blog!  She got into the NYC Marathon and it'll be her first Full Mary :D 

Impromptu Hill Sprints

      On Wednesday I took a little trip  upstate (NY) to see my best friend for some Cino De Mayo celebrations.  She works at a Mexican restaurant and they were having a big DJ'ed party, plus I desperately needed some time w/ her (even though she is moving down to me in 2 weeks!).  So I hoped on the LIRR to Penn Sta. and from Penn I took the Amtrack, first time using Amtrack and I loved it!

   I did plan to run while I was there since she had to work during the day and I would need to occupy myself.  But the plan was just to run for enjoyment and stress relief, I didn't take my Garmin because I didn't want to worry about time or distance.  I didn't even take a stopwatch.  

And then on the drive from the station to her apt. I saw. . . HILLS!

Duhh it is Upstate NY, I should have realized there would be hills beforehand.  

I could not, NOT take this opportunity from some kick ass hill training :D

My bf Dales pointed me in the direction of the steepest hill and I was off.

6 x Sprints up this baby!!

     I, of course, regretted not having my Garmin to get the distance and even more importantly the elevation.  I couldn't even time it, but I estimated from my music that it took me about a minute each time.  I just focused on giving max effort each time and I felt completely DONE at the top of every one. So regardless of knowing time, speed, and elevation, I know I gave it my all and it felt great!

  When I got home I Map My Run-ed the distance and it is about .15 mi long, sounds about right with my 1 minute up estimate.  I'd love to know the elevation but Cest La Vie.

  On the way down I slow jogged the top half and then walked the steeper bottom half.

  The view on the way down wasn't too shabby:

Post workout high might be an understatement for how I felt afterwards.

I celebrated later with short shorts, high heels and tri-colored frozen margaritas :D

  I was trying to run out of the picture frame which is why I look completely awkward, I should really start embracing the candid shots instead of getting caught in my, "OMG, no pictures!" pose.

Bikini Body Moves # 9 & 10~ Ab Busters

   You're getting a two-fer today since these are both Ab moves that I learned from BodyRock and am obsessed with.  Plus summer is so close, everyone wants to get their abs bikini (or speedo :D) ready, right ;)

   I've been doing these two moves along with my planks, push-ups, and whatever other moves I'm feeling each night.  I even bust them out throughout the day :)

  This first move is one I showed a pic of Zuz doing a few posts ago and then a few people asked me to demo.  You could go to her site to see it, but sometimes it is nice to see an average human being performing it, this way you know that it is doable and not just a move for superhumans :D

Thus I present #9~ Crab Toe Touches


   Pretty self-explanitory (from the video) I think?  If you're more flexible than me (pretty much everybody :/)  your legs will probably be straighter than mine.  Do your best to push your hips up each time.  The hardest part of this exercise for me is keeping my balance, I probably should have included a blooper of me falling over. . . cause it definitely happens. Often.  But the trying to keep your balance also makes it fun (to me at least, I am a little crazy though :D)

   I'm really challenging your coordination giving you these two moves at the same time because this next one takes even more balance. Muahahaha :)

#10 Knee Tuck w/ Push Up (on exercise ball)


    If you can't do push-ups off the exercise ball you can skip that part, the knee tucks themselves are still really super good for the abs.  The push-ups do help to bring more muscles into the move, so if you can do them try it out!

   Don't worry if you fall over during these moves, I do all the time :D  Maybe if enough of you promise to try them out I'll post a blooper reel of me falling repeatedly ;)  Also it's really fun to do these with friends cause you can just laugh at each other the whole time and laughing is a great Ab workout too. 


      Ohhh I have a great video to share with you about that too, but I think 2 videos is enough for one post so I will save that one for a Funny Friday (anybody else know the laughing ab workout video I'm talking about :D)  If you really want to see it NOW, it is here, I think her look at the end is the best part.

  If you have any questions about these moves feel free to ask below and thank you all for your wonderful comments on my race report :)


   And let me know if you try them and how you liked them.   You can send pics of your amazing abs at the end of May after you've been doing these everyday (paired with a healthy diet of course, because great Abs are made in the kitchen ;)  Don't forget your planks!

LI Half Marathon Race Report :)

  Ugghh just typed half this up and then lost it :(  Here we go again.

   Let me preface my report with this: I was not in the best emotional state this weekend, I had some personal issues (which I would love to get out on here, but I realize some things should stay personal.)  I cried off and on all day Saturday and almost started bawling at the starting line (a few tears may have escaped).  Saturday night I kept telling my self just to use the race as an emotional release and that maybe my feelings would help me dig deeper during it.  Whether or not any of this effected my race, I have no clue, but I had to mention it because this stuff was on my mind through out the run and I couldn't imagine completely ignoring it in my write up.

   Saturday night I barely slept, par for the course I suppose. Up at 4:30, english muffin w/ PB and coffee for breakfast, out the door by 6, my dad drove.

   Originally my sister was supposed to run this with me, but she had a lot going on for work this weekend so she withdrew.

Goal going in: 1:45.
Game plan going in: Start out at 8 minute pace and [hopefully] finish strong with a few sub 8's at the end.
This all went out the window once the race started.


   I have a really hard time slowing myself down when a certain pace feels "easy."  And even though I knew I would most likely not be able to hold it, I couldn't help milking those first few miles when they were coming so easy to me.

Here are my splits, yea I crashed and burned at the end ;)

Official chip time: 1:43:40 7:56 pace

467/ 4065 oa   87/ 1892 sex   19/ 323 div

 I have mixed feelings about my time/performance:

  ~ On the one hand I beat my goal time, on the other hand during the race I had thoughts that maybe I could go sub 1:40.  

  ~ Going into the race and even now, I know that I did not specifically train to run my best half.  I got in a few long runs so that I knew I could finish and wouldn't die, but overall my mileage was low and a few longer tempo runs would have been helpful.  Being extra cautious when I was having knee pain stalled my training a bit.  On the brightside, the knee issue seems to have subsided :D

 ~ At 8 miles I was at almost exactly 1 hour.  At this point I knew that as long as I wasn't doing close to 9 min miles I had my 1:45.  I also thought if I could do 8 or just below I'd be right near 1:40, but in the end I just wanted to get those last few miles done and didn't care so much about pace.

 ~  During the last few miles and for a while after I was swearing that I would stick to 5/10ks and that these longer races were not my thing.  Of course now I am thinking about how I could improve my time and when my next half will be.  Definitely no thoughts of a full mary though!

Some other issues during the race:

~  I always make myself so nervous before races and I was freaking out before this one.  I tried to tell myself just finishing would be great, but in my heart I knew I wouldn't be happy with that.  I had so much anxiety that I caused my stomach to be very acidic and was burping up acid during the first few miles, fun.

~ I didn't drink or eat anything during the race.  I am used to skipping all the water stops in 5ks and I did the same in this race.  I did take a cup at one stop and had maybe a drop or 2 of water and then just threw it aside.  I also grabbed a GU at, actually I don't even remember what mile, held it for a while, finally decided to try it, struggled to open it, finally did, squeezed a drop into my mouth, threw the rest aside.  I'm not sure I was too fond of the taste it left in my mouth for the rest of the race either.

  After the race I hung out for a little, it was a gorgeous sunny day, drank a michelob, talked to some people I've met at recent races.  There was one booth that set up a TRX, but I was to tired to do anything other then plop myself in the shade.

   And then I had my cousins baby shower where I refueled with an amazing Italian buffet.  Roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, tomato and mozz, eggplant, wine, it was amazing.


Now it is time to focus my training on that sub 20 in June :D and begin some tri training too!


  I don't have any pictures from the race yet.  Here is a family pic from my dad's retirement party Thursday night instead:

Ooopps almost forgot, thanks to all new followers who helped me get above and beyond 300 :) As  I said I'm not so concerned with getting more and more followers, just that I write stuff that is at least semi interesting/ sometimes informative lol.   But seeing 299 and then 298, and then 299 again. . . well it drove me a little crazy, sooo Thank You :D