It's about time!

I know, I know - it has been OVER a week since the Cap 10K and I haven't written a thing yet...shame on ME!

I actually need to write about the entire weekend because it was all so amazing! We left home on Friday night and drove to Copperas Cove and stayed in a hotel there because we wanted to go hiking at Colorado Bend State Park then next day - AND we wanted to get there early. Good thinking on our part!

We were up at 5:00 am on Sat. morning, stopped for our coffee and then on to the park. Our main goal was to get there around sunrise and get to Gorman Falls. As you can see by the

pictures we made it!

Sunrise from the trail to Gorman Falls

Our first view of the falls from the top of the trail

The view from the bottom of the trail. Love the rippling pools and small falls.

After hiking to the falls and back we drove down to the park office and paid our day use fees and checked out the park a little - we are already scheduling our next trip - there is so much to see there!

Once we got that done we were off to Austin. We found our hotel with no problem at all and got checked in. It is the same one we stayed in last year for the race, so it was all good...this year we were much more familiar with what was going on!

Then it was off to my sister's house. We always try to visit with them when we come to town - it is amazing how hard it is to get together...it isn't like we live in different states or anything, we just don't ever seem like we have the time. Anyway, she knew we were coming and prepared a WONDERFUL pasta dinner for us, and as luck would have it my niece and her husband were in town from San Angelo so we got to visit with them a bit (and play Wii with my 2 year old Great Nephew). Then my other niece came over and we got to visit with her and my 9 year old Great Niece too! It was a great evening just filled with family and lots of laughter - very relaxing...Thanks Mary!!!

After we got back to the hotel we went down to the hot tub and soaked for a (very) little bit - met some other runners doing the same and talked about this race, past races, and races that we all want to do - that was fun too! All in all - a great day!

Sunday morning was supposed to be bright and sunny - but NOOOOOOOO...we woke up to overcast and almost cold! By the time we walked down to the start line it was misting heavily - not raining, but not just cloudy either...oh well - I was going to run the thing no matter what!

The race started on time - we were in the "red" corral, so we didn't make it to the start line for about 15 minutes or so, but it is OK with the chip timing. Once we hit the start line I started up Garmin and iPod and we were off. The first mile isn't too bad as you run across the bridge and straight to the capitol, and I was pretty pleased with my 9:34 pace. The second mile is pretty close to the same, although there is a small incline as you go around the corner to the back side of the capitol building. I was still clipping along (for me) at a 10:02 pace and feeling fairly comfortable, although I was feeling the residue of the cold I had fought earlier this month... Mile 3, however, is my personal "killer" mile. Not just in this race, but in many of the races I run I seem to hit a small wall at about 2.5 miles - well this race just makes it that much harder by putting the biggest hill of the race right in the middle of this mile!!! Last year I got stuck in a group that stopped dead in front of me to walk and I couldn't get past them so I walked the entire hill - and my legs were still fried at mile 5! This year I made it 1/2 way up the hill and had to stop and walk about 1/4 of the way, then ran the last 1/4 - so it was better....but it cost me a little. My time in this mile was 10:54 (Still under 11:00!) Mile 4 was pretty uneventful - I just ran along enjoying the bands and people lining the streets cheering on the runners and stretched it out in 10:16. Now I'm in the 5th mile and I have convinced myself that I feel so much stronger this year, as I passed milestone after milestone where I had to slow down the year before - and I wasn't anywhere near feeling that bad this year. I pushed on, and this mile went by in 10:13...see - I even got FASTER! I was ready for the last full mile of the race. Last year this is where I pretty much died. There is a smaller hill right about the 1/4 mile mark and I had to walk the entire thing last year. This year I ran it with very little problem. I felt good and fairly strong. I knew I was tiring - but NOTHING like the previous year. I completed the mile at a 10:33 pace - not the best, but so much better than before! Now I was to the point where I could hear the bands at the finish line. I was determined to finish strong, so I tried to pick it up a bit. Now when you run a race like this, your Garmin distance is always a little more than race distance so on Garmin I ran the last .31 miles in 2:51 - that is a 9:20 pace for you non - runner types out there - can you say "sprint to the finish"!!!! I was ecstatic that I took almost exactly 3 minutes off my time from last year. My new time to beat for this race is 1:04:45!

Of course Rick was there waiting for me at the finish - his time was 59:33 - beating his time for last year as well and breaking the 1 hour mark for the second time!

All in all a GREAT experience again. We'll be watching for them to post the sign up for next year's race. This is a well organized race with LOTS of water available - and I am DETERMINED that I WILL make it over the hill without walking next year!!!

DRC 10K today!

***** Update *****

We got the official results. Cotton finished 7th in his age group with a clock time of 44:10:53 (a 7:06 pace). Rick finished 9th in his age group with a clock time of 59:03:36 a 9:30 pace). I finished 3rd in my age group with a clock time of 1:04:10 (a 10:19 pace) ... I was totally shocked to learn that I placed in the top 3! Another big WHOO-HOO!

****************

Well, we made it. Last night I set my goal to do better than my average 10K time of 1:06 - 1:07. I even discussed it (made it public) with Rick beforehand so he would know what I was attempting.

We got up about 5:00 AM and got ready - we drove by and picked up Cotton and we were on our way to the race. After a little confusion (the notes on where to park referenced a "new clubhouse") we determined that it was the same clubhouse we have been using for the entire year we have been members of the DRC. No problem - we got there, got our bibs and completed our pre-race "stuff" in plenty of time to relax before the start.

They called us to the start line at 7:45 and we all walked down the hill and gathered for the moment of silence, the national anthem and the start of the race. It was pretty cold - I hate standing in the cold, but I always run better in it! Once they said go we were off in no time!

The first mile felt really good - even if it WAS cold...I ran that in 9:42, and couldn't believe I had a sub 10:00 mile under my belt and could still breathe! Mile 2 was still feeling good - although when I hit the turn around for the 5K I was sure wishing I could turn around too! Finished that mile at a 9:40 pace...all I could think was whoo-hoo!!! Now I was REALLY wishing for a 5K - I think I could have broken my 30 minute barrier today!!! Oh well, there is always next time. Mile 3 is where you hit the long uphill...I still ran that one in 10:16 for a 3 mile time of 29:39, needless to say I was already happy with this run!

Now we were on the back side of the 10K...almost 1/2 way and still running uphill. I completed mile 4 with a 10:24 pace, I wasn't unhappy with this because of all the uphill running and it put me a 40:03 for 4 miles which is right at a 10:00 pace - better than I have done since the Human Race in October!

Mile 5 included the uphill of the spillway. This is a fairly steep grade and I ALMOST made it to the top...my legs gave out about 3/4 of the way to the top, so I went ahead and walked to the top and then started running again. I completed mile 5 at a 10:35 pace...wish I could say I didn't have to walk, but it is what it is....

Mile 6 I was really feeling it. I was tired, my thighs were on fire, and I wanted to just stop and walk soooooo bad! I knew I could finish this thing though - and I wasn't going to walk on a flat! So....mile 6 pace: 10:37...my slowest mile - but I ran every step!

Cotton and Rick caught me just after the 6 mile mark when I had less than 1/4 of a mile to go...it was so good to see them cheering me on! I finished the last .28 miles in 2:40 (9:39 pace) for an overall Garmin time of 1:03:58. Not a PR, but my second best time ever! (My best was the Human Race with a 1:02:21 - another unofficial Garmin time!) I feel pretty good about that time since it hasn't even been a month since our marathon. Not a bad "recovery race" at all!

We are still waiting for our official results to be posted - I will update when we know something. The main thing for me for this race was that I set the goal to beat the 1:06 - 1:07 average I have been running - and even with a slower clock time (which will be the official time) I managed to do that!

Day one, goal one - DONE!

The Human Race

Today we joined with thousands of others around the world in the Nike Human Race. Ours was held here in Allen at 7:00 AM. It was a little cool, around 47 degrees, and it was still pretty dark at start time - just the way I like it!

There weren't all that many runners here at our race in Allen - which was fine by me since the trail we were running on wasn't real wide - made for a "painful" start because if you got behind a group, even if it was a small group, you couldn't pass - you had to run at their speed until there was an opening.....this is always frustrating for me since I know I have to get my best times early in the race before I hit the wall...

It was really too dark for me to really look at my Garmin at the first part of the race, so I just went with how it felt, and it felt GREAT! There was water just before the 2 mile mark and I looked at my pace at that point and I was looking at under 30 minutes for the 5K mark...whoo hooo...well, it turns out looking and doing are two different things here. Mile 1, despite not being able to get around a few people easily, passed in 9:58. Mile 2, slightly faster at 9:52. Mile 3 was my slowest of the entire race 10:08. That put me at 29:54 for the 3 mile mark - and about 30:17 for the 5K. I'll take it - getting closer and closer to breaking that 30 minute mark!

The last half - for the first time EVER was actually better than the first half! NEGATIVE SPLIT COTTON! Mile 4 was completed in 10:02. This one I understood because I actually forgot to take my GU at the turn around and had to walk a small way to get it opened up and taken in....only a few steps - and I think mostly because my hands were so cold, and I slowed at the water stop too. Mile 5 was my fastest in the race - completed in 9:41! Mile 6 was nearly as good with a 9:44. I actually passed 2 people here in this mile...haven't passed people who were still running at this distance ever - I've passed walkers, but not runners :) I was happy!

The last .3 miles were pretty much up an incline. I chugged on up it, trying to pick up some speed and keep up with Rick. Just before I got to the finish line the girl I had passed in mile six came up on my left side. Luckily I caught a glimpse of her over my shoulder as she closed in and I thought to myself, "Oh no you don't" - I shot off like a rocket and crossed just a toenail ahead of her.

The last 3 miles were completed in about 29:29, and then of course you need to add the 2:59 for the last .3 miles, so my time for the entire 6.30 miles was 1:02:21! A NEW PR BY 5 MINUTES!
Can you tell I'm excited? Now I'm really looking forward to the 1/2 next month...hope I can PR that one too!

The Pumpkin Run

Today was one of the days I've been training for! The 22nd annual Pumpkin Run. (According to the lovely shirt I'm now wearing!) I was hoping to break my previous blazing speed of 1:07:45 from the Dublin 10-2-4K we ran last June. My training times have been in the 1:04 range in our White Rock runs. (That is real time which includes water stops). I felt pretty confident I could do it this time! I was hoping that the horrible cold I picked up from the kids at school wouldn't affect me too much - The Nyquil and Dayquil I had been taking had seemed to help my breathing some and I wasn't coughing as much as I had been over the course of the past week.

We got off to a bad start when we were driving over to Joe Pool. Who would think you would run into dead stopped traffic at 7:30 on a Saturday morning? Well, if you live in the Dallas area I suppose it SHOULD come as no surprise. Yep, there we were, STUCK! We finally decided to go around the city instead of through it and found out there had been a traffic accident where a minivan had flipped over a guard rail...I sure hope no one was seriously hurt!

We finally got to the park where the race was to be run and missed the turn because the sign was right at the turn - no warning ahead of time...so we made a U-eeee and came back. Then it was bumper to bumper from the entrance all the way to where you parked! We picked up our packets and our timing chips, got our bibs and chips situated where they belong and walked to put the stuff back into the car. Stopped at the porta-potty on our way back to the start to find out that it had been delayed for about 15 minutes, which meant we wouldn't start until 9:15...not a big deal in most places, but in Texas 15 minutes could mean an extra 10 degrees of heat!

Now this is a big run for the schools around the area - didn't know that ahead of time! The schools compete to see who can get the most runners to sign up and run. (Most enter the 5K). The winning school get $550.00. Sooooooo ... the begining of the race was a bit packed to say the least. The top 3 schools alone had over 400 runners with them! And as usual, the walkers did NOT go to the back of the starting area as requested NUMEROUS times! I don't know why they can't just do that - it isn't like their time starts before they cross the mat or anything and it is such a PAIN to go around them!

Once the gun went off Rick and I started working our way through the maze of kids, moms and dads, and strollers in front of us. I looked at my Garmin and we were going at about a 9:00 mile...oops, a little fast for me - so I slowed my pace a bit. The first mile felt great - even fighting the cold. My pace was still a little faster than I wanted at 9:30, but it felt really good. Mile two was good as well...there was a small hill, but I took it like a pro and shortened my steps, straightened my back and I was up it before I knew it was there - well, may not before I knew it was there, but it didn't pose much of a problem! Mile 3 is where I started feeling the run. We were out of the shade provided by the trees the first two miles, the temperature was rising and I looked up and saw a fairly decent hill in front of me. I was sure I could do this. It wasn't as bad as the hill at White Rock - I've hit that one at the 5 mile mark and kept my pace pretty steady, so I should be able to do this too, right? I could still see Rick up ahead of me, so I was feeling pretty good about myself, even though my pace had slowed to about 10:30 miles. At the top of the hill I thought I was going to die! I couldn't catch my breath and I felt like my legs were made of lead. I kept plodding along though watching my pace get slower and slower. Rick hit the turn-around ahead of me (of course) and I got to give him a thumbs-up as he went by going the other direction. I kept going - walked through the water stop which was the plan, and went on for the turn around. I was hoping to pick the pace back up at the hill - and I did for a very short time. Mile 4 was decent - under 11:00 - although I really wanted to keep them all below 10:30 - I've done that before! Still no trees and the temperature was still climbing. It would be in the low 80's before we were finished - which is still much better than the 90's we experienced in Dubllin!!!

I turned the corner at the bottom of the hill and figured I was headed for home and should be turning at the road we started on fairly soon...but it was not to be. When we got there we had to keep going out to the lake, around a small loop, and back in again. This was all into a headwind. Even though I felt like I had picked up the pace it sure wasn't showing! I passed Rick here again with only about a mile to go in the race (so he had about 1/2 a mile at this point). We high-fived each other as we passed and he shouted some words of encouragement to me. I just kept plodding along. After the loop I headed for the last water station. Guess what...they were out of water! I guess all the 1 mile and 5K runners wiped them out. Oh yeah...the beginning of this loop is where the 5K and 10K joined back up, so you were back dodging the walking 5K people here....it wasn't quite as bad because it was the end of the race and it wasn't as bunched up, but still a little frustrating.

I made the turn and there were a few people that had finished the races that were walking back to their cars, but they were polite and were pretty much staying out of the running lanes. I finally made it to where I could see the finish line and there was Rick, walking across the parking lot to cheer me on. He shouted for me to "kick it to the finish", so I gave it all I had. (So did the guy in front of me - but I passed him anyway....should Imention he was probably in his 70's?)!

I crossed the finish line and Rick took me to the banana and water stations to fuel up. It felt good! We waited for the results and I was happily surprised to see that I now had a new PR - 1:06:03. A great 1:42 better than my previous time - but a disappointing 2 minutes slower than my goal time of 1:04. I was also surprised to learn I had taken 2nd place in my age group - I guess I should mention here that there were only 2 runners in my age group! I had to laugh at that!!!! The first place runner only beat me by 15 seconds!

Rick had an amazing race. Despite having problems with the ball of his foot he ran a fantastic 58:42...breaking the one hour barrier. He just keeps getting better and better. Despite being that good he placed 5th in his age group...but only a couple minutes out of a medal...I'm sure it won't be long before he will be picking up some bling!

All in all it ended up being a pretty good race. I hope we get a chance to do it again next year - but without the cold and the bad foot!