Frosty 5K recap and other fun

Yesterday I ran the Frosty 5K.  This race was for a child welfare agency that I used to work for.  In fact my first job out of college was as a caseworker for that agency.  I feel I learned a lot working there and wanted to give back.  On Friday I went to a local running store and picked up my packet.  I was in need of new shoes so got a pair as well.  They are probably the least costly pair I have bought since they were on clearance and the store has a program that allows you to earn store credit.  Between my husband and I we had earned $25 in credit which I put towards the shoes. 

It was going to be a cold morning for a run.  I got to the starting area about half an hour before race time.  This was going to be a pretty small race compared to others I have been in so wasn't to concerned about finding a place to park.  As I sat in my car with the heater going I saw some of the other participants warming up.  Immediately I felt out of place.  There appeared to be quite a few "elite" runners signed up.  Which made sense because who else signs up to do a race in 14 degree temperatures. My goal for every race I do is to finish, improve my time and not get last.  This time I thought I might get 2 out of 3 due to the other runners I saw.  I am also still trying to figure out what to wear on cold run days.  Today I decided on a long sleeve tech shirt, short sleeve tech shirt, leggings, a pair of sweat pants, fleece jackets and my tiara bondi band.  At the start I saw people in shorts, t-shirts, those are usually the "serious"runners who are only going to be outside for 15 minutes or so and won't feel the cold. 

The gun went off and away we went.  I felt good and the crowd really helped to push me even as several people passed me.  At the first mile my run app told me I was going at a 10:37 pace which is fast for me.  This was also the time when I saw the first group of runners heading back towards the finish line.  Anyway the course was nice, fairly level and ran along the riverfront.  I finished the race with a time of 34:38, I was happy with this as it gave me a new personal record and I wanted to finish in less than 35 minutes.  The company that did the registration even put it on my facebook page so my friends and family could see.  My husband knew my average place before I did.  However, I was not finished running for the day.  On my half marathon training schedule I was supposed to do a 10 k race.  I had decided after I finished the race I would go to the post race party for a little bit and then go back out and finish 3 miles.  Only thing I didn't count on was how sore I would feel after pushing it for the real race.  I did manage to squeak out the last 3 but not without pain and suffering.  I spent a lot of time limping when I got home and sitting with my feet on a bag of frozen vegetables. 

River Trail Classic recap

Okay so it's been awhile but now the holidays are over and I can get back to my blog.  I thought I would do my first race re-cap blog.  On the Saturday after Thanksgiving I ran the FOLEPI River Trail Classic in my hometown of East Peoria, IL.  This is a four mile (downhill) race on a paved trail starting at one end of town and ending at the park district building.  It so happened that the start of the race was practically in my parents backyard.  In fact when I was a kid I used to bike, walk and rollerblade on this trail.  I never ran on it because I didn't start running until this year.  The way it was set up is people would park at the finish line and take a bus to the start.  I on the other hand parked at my parents house and walked over to the start and had my husband pick me up at the finish line.  Originally my parents were going to pick us both up at the finish but my husband was nursing an injury and decided to sit this one out.  So he my mom and I headed over to the gear check area which was in my old grade school which is now a church building.  I wanted to look around and find my old classrooms but it was crowded and they started having people go to the start right after we got in the building.  We walked over to the start where we saw a friend of my husbands and a friend of my mom's.  I recognized some faces from previous races and my gym but no one I knew well.  This was going to be my first solo race.  In my 2 previous 5k's and one 10k I had run with either my husband or a friend. Eventhough my husband usually passes me up after the first mile or two.  Did I mention this was my first cold weather race. I ended up wearing leggings, long sleeve shirt, workout pants over the leggings, pullover and my cool new tiara headband.  Now the start of the race was a little confusing it just seemed that people started running, no gun or start line.  So I turned on the nike plus and away I went.  It was so funny being on a trail I haven't been on in years but seemed like it hadn't been that long.  I remember as a kid not noticing that the trail went downhill because it's such a gradual slope, unless you were riding your bike back up the hill.  I had set a goal of doing the race in 45 minutes which would have been an average pace of 11:15 a mile.  After the first mile nike plus told me my pace was 10:53, WHAT!  Okay I can do this I crossed the finish line at 43:51 according to the offical race time.  My husband was waiting for me and took some pictures.  I have to say I am proud of my race pictures but hate how I look.  Anyway we went inside where there was Avanti's pizza and gondolas, yum.  I have to say this race had the best food and got my first race hoodie instead of t-shirt.  I will certainly do this race again and hopefully husband will be able to join me.