Kiss Me I'm Irish 10K Race Recap

Bentonville hosted a fun themed 5K/10K race event a few weeks ago to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  The race was part of the Bentonville Racing Series and was new this year.

One of the race sponsors was Junk Brands which is a local company that makes fun sports headbands.  For this race, Junk had a special offer for race participants which was a custom Junk brands kilt and headband.  The kilt was a performance fabric kilt and the design was different than a lot of other skirts on the market.  It was a wrap around skirt with slits for movement.  I paired my kilt with a bright green shirt and a fun giant green bow headband.  I love a good theme race!

Me with co-workers Jenni and Chris

The race course was a little confusing when looking at the map.  It doubled back on itself a couple of times in order to stay within the vicinity of Memorial / Orchard Park and in order to offer both a 5K and 10K distance.  I elected to do the 10K and almost didn't make it to the starting line.  I was leaving the bathroom by the soccer fields and nearly wiped out on a patch of ice.  The roads were clear there was just this big patch of ice between the parking lot and bathroom entrance.

The race started with the 10K first and then the 5K group followed us a little later.  It was fun to cheer on the super fast 5K runners as they moved through the 10K field around the 1 mile mark.  I ran with a co-worker friend who is training in the half marathon group.  We had fun chatting with each other and those around us.

My favorite part of the race was one of the water stops.  It was located at a spot on the course that we visited three times and my niece's school was staffing it so I got to see my family three times during the race!  It was awesome to have a personal cheer squad during the race.

As soon as I finished the race I got super cold.  The temps were chilly and it had sprinkled a little during the race.  The wind was what killed me once we stopped moving.  I couldn't wait to get to the car and put on a fleece jacket.  We followed the race with a trip to Table Mesa for breakfast and it felt so good to get some hot food in me.

Run Bentonville Goblin Run 5K Race Recap

Saturday was the Run Bentonville Goblin Run 5K race in downtown Bentonville.  I was late registering for this race and only signed up the day before.  Registration closed at 4:30 and I was there at 2:30 signing up.  I was too late to get a shirt with my registration but I was okay with that since my running shirt drawer is kind of close to exploding.

Later that night friends and I headed to the local haunted house.  It was awesome! We were definitely scared and had a great time.  I left the haunted house and realized it was time to figure out a costume.  I headed to Walmart to see what options I could find.  I already had some components to work with but needed to try and pull it all together as an outfit.

I had purchased a black tutu at the end of summer in anticipation of Halloween and a headband with a fun spider on it.  I ran into a fellow Rush Runner in the costume aisle and together we tried to piece together some costumes.  I picked out a gauzy cape that I thought I could work with and then made a last minute decision to check out the regular clothing section for some fun leggings.  I found a pair of neon green capris and I was sold! Once I got home I pieced it all together and it worked and would be warm enough which was important since temps would be mid-40's for the race start.

Race morning dawned and I decided to skip the cape...it just wasn't necessary and didn't really add anything to my costume.  I put some regular running shorts on over top the tights and then layered the tutu on over top of that.  On top I just wore a black long sleeve top and then my fun spider headband.  It wasn't the most creative costume but it was easy to run in!

My friend and race photographer Chuck Cates captured me pre-race ready for the fun! 

The race began at the Bentonville Downtown Activity Center which was really nice to have a warm spot to be before the race and real bathrooms.  However....there were only 3 bathrooms per gender and the line before the race for the ladies room was quite long! I was glad I had gone early!

The race started right on time at 8AM and we headed out for a tour of the town.

Up first was a run by the city cemetery.  As were running along, a terrifying site passed me and I recognized my friend Coach Moe in his Ink and Burn get up! He and his family all had buffs from Ink n Burn that were like monster faces.  They were super cool! I wished him a good run and he went on along the way!

Ink n Burn tech tube

From there we went along to pass by one of the city fire stations where they were blasting some fun music and had a water stop.  Then we went by the old fairgrounds and it was time to head back to the activity center.  I was starting to overheat a little in my smartwool shirt but other than that my costume was working quite well for the run.  I worried that my head band wouldn't stay in place but it didn't move a bit.

The last few minutes of the race were tough as I was trying my best to pick up the pace and have a strong finish.  I was happy to turn the corner and see the race clock was under 30 minutes.  I worked hard to finish strong and the race photos showed that...my face showed the effort for sure.

Finish line photo by PodiumImages.com

My chip time was 29:08 for 12th in my age group out of 34.  Not bad for my limited run training since Redman in September.  It got me excited to get back to training and put together a race schedule for the next few months!

The Mystery Race Recap

It was a dark and stormy night...perfect for a mystery! Just kidding...It was actually a Thursday night when about 100 runners gathered for a Mystery race.  A Rush Running buddy, Jeff Genova, had put together a fun race format for the night.  He promoted the race as the Mystery Race...the distance would be anywhere from 4-8 miles and racers would have up to 4 hours to complete.

When we checked in we all received an even number race bib.  This was a critical piece of the race!  We received our bib inside a Ziploc bag which also contained a list of 10 clues.  The fastest to cover the ground between all 10 clues would be the winner.  One clue included a 5 minute time bonus and was optional but had to be done to receive the bonus.

Most of the crowd took off in one of two directions from the square heading to some of the easier clues.  There was Bogle Park and The Hare which seemed to be the two popular ones.  The Hare is a sculpture on the paved trail to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  It is actually just one half of the sculpture...The Tortoise and The Hare.  There was quite a backlog at the stop as people searched for their page number within the book there.  Remember how we all had even number bibs?  That allowed us to tear out our page from a book so we could confirm we had been at the stop.

The complete list of a Mystery Locations was the list of clues below. We were given boundaries for the search area so that we knew at most how far a place could be.  The boundaries included three trail systems...the Slaughter Pen single track trails, Crystal Bridges art trails, and the city's paved multi-use trail.  We also had other resources like cell phones and people we might encounter which we had to use a couple of times.

THE CLUES:
5. Rock
The Place Where They Cry
Angus Chute 10
Base of the Bush Push
The Track
The Hare
Safety Point 16
Bogle Park
Park Springs Spring
Safety Point 14

The hardest places to find were the 5 Rock and Angus Chute 10.  The 5 Rock is one of the numbered rock sculptures along the Crystal Bridges art trails.  There is just a small problem...they aren't placed in numeric order.  We finally ran to the front of the museum and asked the shuttle driver where the rock was and he pointed us in the right direction.  There was no one searching for this particular clue so we felt like even though it took us a while to find it we were ahead in the long run.

Rock 5 and getting our sheets out.

The other challenging location was Angus Chute 10.  We knew that this was a checkpoint on one of the trails called Angus Chute.  We just couldn't figure out the best way to get to that point on the trail so we got some extra trail time in and we even bushwhacked our own path to connect to the Angus Chute trail from the Urban Trail.

Finally found it! 

Running the single track

The Safety Points were two safety entrances to the Slaughter Pen trail system...both of which were well hidden by the spring foliage   Also on the trail system was the Base of the Bush Push.  This is a notorious hill that was ridden by former President George W. Bush when he visited the area and rode mountain bikes along the trails.  The Slaughter Pen trail system is something that we are so lucky to have just a short 1 1/2 miles from the town square.

Off the trails, there were a couple clue spots including the local Track where the book was hidden near the PortaPotty.  Park Springs Park is a park near the track and Bogle Park is about 3/4 mile away closer to the downtown square.

One clue that could have gone two different ways was The Place Where They Cry.  The options were either the Crystal Bridges Hill or the local Cemetery.  Both were within the boundaries of the race course.  We were closest to the Crystal Bridges hill after doing our jaunt through the art trails so we went ahead and checked that location and sure enough that's where it was at!  The book was on the other side of a small creek so we nominated one of our crew to get all of our pages!

Rock 5 helped us out for a group self portrait. 

Our race crew was Mandy, Jody, Mark and Pauline, and me.  We stuck together pretty well through the first half of the race.  We split up around the half way mark so that a couple could walk out some leg cramps thinking that by the time they walked to the next clue we would catch up to them.  We did not estimate how long it would take us to find Angus Chute 10!  We regrouped at the last clue and ran it in to finish together.

Joining me on the run was my dog Sidney...I was expecting to run about 4 miles which is the perfect distance for Sidney.  Surprisingly we went over 7 1/2 miles for the night.  It was Sidney's longest run ever and she was a total champ.  I took some walk breaks with her over the last mile.  The race was a lot like doing intervals.  We would race to get to a clue spot and then have a little time to breathe while getting our pages torn out and figuring out where to head to next.  Sidney won the dog division...she was the only dog tough enough to enter!

Overall, it was a fun race event.  It was similar to the Hash House Harrier runs that I did when I lived in DC. It's not really a race but rather a scavenger hunt for grown-ups!  We came in within the top 25 and our mileage was right in the middle.  The shortest distance was somewhere around 5 1/2 miles and the longest distance people traveled was over 13 miles.

2013 Bentonville Half Marathon Race Recap

The last two months have been rough for my running as I have navigated recovery from a foot injury.  I injured my foot on January 26th after a 13.1 training run leading up to what was supposed to be my first 25K.  I couldn't identify anything in the training run that would have resulted in the injury and my x-rays came back clear so the official diagnosis was Peroneal Tendinitis.  If you remember, I took off just shy of 2 weeks and then raced an 8K and was in pain from the start of that race. I scrapped the 25K and took another 3 weeks off and then eased back into running with some easy runs.  In mid-March I tackled an 8 miler and my foot was tender afterwards.  Yep, another 2 weeks of rest just to be safe!  Last weekend I did a sprint triathlon to test things out. (Race report to come this week!)

All week I debated on what to do for the Bentonville Half Marathon.  I have done this race every year and I didn't want to miss a year.  The race had posted photos of the race medal and it was huge...and you know I love bling!  Around Wednesday I decided that I was doing the race for sure.  I talked it over with friends and debated on what strategy to use for the race.  One 8-miler in the 8 weeks leading up to a half marathon isn't exactly the best training plan.

Race morning dawned and the temps were perfect for running in the mid-50's.  I got a text during the night from my friend Mike Rush who was the race director requesting tutu assistance.  My first order of business on race morning was delivering a tutu to him at the finish line.

I'm lucky to call this crazy man my friend and running coach! 

This task threw off my plans for meeting with my friends.  I headed to the porta potty line and then set about trying to find them.  I wandered around the start line looking for them and should have known that they would be running late! I ran into my sister and her running group and wished them good luck.  Finally I found my friends and we had just a few minutes to snap a picture before the crowd started moving forward with the starting gun.

Cathy, me, Rhonda, and Maja

We wished each other luck and split up based on our paces.  Rhonda and I were together and talking about our friend Renee who we couldn't find before the start.  All of sudden she ran up behind us and found us, said hi and then dropped back to her pace!  The first 1/2 mile of the course is a sight to see...the crowd of runners is just amazing for our small town.  There were over 2500 runners signed up for the race!

Before we knew it we had passed the first mile marker.  My foot was feeling fine and we were just taking things easy.  Near the church between mile 1 and 2 we watched the crowd ahead part and move to the side.  One of the runners had fallen and was having a seizure.  It was a very scary sight but the runners around were providing him with emergency assistance as best they could.  (The runner was taken to the hospital and ended up okay just really scraped up from the fall.)  One runner was on her phone calling 911 as we passed and I was thankful that I was running with my phone too.  You just never know what will happen in a race and I will be ordering a new RoadID after this.

Rhonda and I talked about the incident for a minute and then began a set of rolling hills over the next 1/2 mile.  We talked with some other runners around us and encouraged them that soon we would be in the flat section of the course.  At this point in the race, everyone was in good spirits! The next few miles were very uneventful and we just kept trucking along until just before mile 5.  We were passing by our office building and it was a flat section of road and I naturally picked up the pace.  Rhonda called me out on my little giddy up moment!  We were expecting to see her boyfriend around mile 5 and our race partnership split up there.  We thought we saw his car pulling into a lot that we had just passed so she wanted to stop and let him know we were passed that point.  Turns out it wasn't him and he was in a different spot from the previous year.

I was sad to be without my running buddy so I started to make new friends along the route.  I became that super annoying girl in the race talking to everyone.  I was so nervous that my legs would fall apart on me so talking to other people helped me focus outward and not on myself and lack of training.  I talked to several first timers, complimented another runner on their Balega socks, chatted with a fellow Rush Runner's mom, high fived the race volunteer coordinator Mark, and just had fun running along.  I didn't pay much attention to my watch or my pace.  I was running by feel and running strong for as long as I could.

Around mile 7 we passed by the local cemetery and I swear they were playing Thriller.  They also had some funny signs up advertising plots available...yes runners have a sick sense of humor! I kept chatting with those around me and before I knew it was near mile 8.  I got the biggest blast from my friend Kyla who was working a water stop there.  It was so much fun to have my own personal cheerleader! It was just the thing I needed since I was entering uncharted territory from mile 8 on.  It had been over 2 months since I had run more than 8 miles and I had to trust my heart to make it through the next 5 miles.

I called out to Mark before he realized it was me so this was a very fast response photo! \
I was still smiling even though this was near mile 9.5.  

I reminded myself several times to Run with Heart...that was my motto over the last few miles.  This race was about heart for me...I knew it wouldn't be fast but I knew I could do it.  My goal was to go as far as I could before exploding and then trust my stubbornness to carry me over the finish line. I passed by mile 9 and I still felt good.  I ran through the PowerBar zone and mile 10 and still felt good.  The inclines started and  my pace slowed slightly but I still felt okay.  I told myself that I had to run to see my friends at mile 11 and 11.8 water stops.  I cheered for the band along the trail and joked with some of the other runners near me about who was whose rabbit.  I got a huge kick running through the F5 water stop and kept telling myself to run with heart.

Photo by Podium Images

I hit the base of Crystal Bridges hill and my pace slowed considerably BUT I kept running.  I'm going to own that hill this year...it's my goal for 2013!  I took my only walk break after that hill and walked about .15 until I got my head back into the game.  Other than walking through water stops this was my only walk break on the course.  I caught up to a co-worker running her first half marathon and chatted with her for a bit.  There is a second sneaky hill at the top of the trail system and I put my head down and tackled it before making the turn to finish the race.

In these photos, I had no clue that Mark was at the finish taking them. And he couldn't get a clear shot because this lady  in front of me thought he was an official photographer for the race. 

I couldn't believe that I had made it through the race without exploding.  Bentonville knows how to put on a finish.  I felt like a Tour de France cyclist as I was running through a tunnel of people cheering in the street.  Mike Rush was yelling out my name and I was running as fast as I could to pass those last few people possible.  It hurt but it was worth it!  My finish time was 2:24:23 which turned out to be my best time on the Bentonville Half course.

I walked back down the finish chute to watch for Rhonda to finish.  As soon as I stopped moving and stopped to cheer my legs seized up and my calves got really cramped.  It was painful and had me worried.  I drank some Gatorade recovery shake and did some toe touches and that seemed to help.  After all my friends had finished, we grouped up for a photo and then enjoyed the rest of the race festivities.  Everyone had great runs and did really well.

Photos from Rhonda's sweety Mark Frentz and PodiumImages.com

Having Fun When You Can't Run

We left off with my foot in massive pain following the Valentine's Day 8K... since then I've been taking a lot of rest for my foot and focusing on swimming and even some aqua-jogging to keep up my fitness.

On Friday, there was a call put out on Facebook to help staff the water stop for the Half Marathon training group.  I had been joining the group on the weekly long runs until my injury and have missed seeing all the newbies.  There is something so energizing to see people who are running that distance for the first time ever.

It's fun to chat with them on the run too.  They are soaking up knowledge and so eager to complete their first half marathons.  It is a very unique group and I'm so very lucky to help volunteer with them.

Our water stop was set up on the trail where they got to pass by us twice.  It was a very cold morning on Saturday...so cold that the water we spilled froze on the trail sidewalks!  We had a good group of people working the water stop and cheering on the runners.  Check out this video that Chuck from Podium Images made of the run.  He is a great athlete and artist...the editing he did is amazing! You'll spot me in the video in my red jacket handing out the cups of water. I swear I was having a lot more fun than it looks like in that particular pic!

If you are in the area, don't forget you still have time to sign up for the Bentonville Running Festival Half Marathon on April 6th! Sign up at www.runbentonville.com.

Valentine's 8K Race Recap

The City of Bentonville recently launched a race series and last weekend was the kickoff event, the Valentine's 8K.  There will be seven races in the series and will cover a variety of distances up to the half marathon.  I'm really excited to see our running and race community growing!

I hadn't done an 8K in over 10 years so I went into the race with very little expectations.  If you remember, I injured my foot at the end of January and had been resting a lot for the two weeks prior to the race.  I ran on Monday for a short easy test run so that I could know how my foot was doing for my follow up appointment on Tuesday.  My doctor okay'd me to run and we even discussed what distance would be appropriate given my 25K planned for the next weekend.

Sunrise on a beautiful race morning! 

 Race morning dawned cold and chilly with temps in the low 30's.  Wouldn't you know that the majority of the Rush team picked the same outfit to wear in the chilly temps.  I guess none of us were willing to race in singlets in that cold!

Jody, Kim, and Me

I was aiming for some extra mileage so I got to the race site about 30 minutes early to allow for a warm up run.  I was careful to time my warm up because I didn't want to finish and stand around and get cold before the start.  The race started from the downtown square and covered a new course route.  There were two options either a 4K or 8K distance.

The 4K race started about 5 minutes before the 8K.  It was confusing since the split start was a last minute decision that the race organizers hadn't communicated.  They definitely needed a better sound system with over 650 runners...there was some confusion for sure.  One thing that the change provided was the chance to watch the 4K group head out...it is so awesome to see the street full of enthusiastic runners.  I never stop loving that sight at the start of a race.

I didn't have a race plan for this race.  I ran along with friends for the first mile or so and then we turned into the wind.  I felt my pace slow and watched my friends pull away.  It was okay though because I had my own demons to tackle that day.  My foot was not happy and it soon let me know that.  As we entered Memorial Park I had thoughts of ditching the race.  I could tell that my foot hurt but I was able to keep up my pace and not alter my stride so I kept going.  Around that time Caleb from the Rush team caught up to me.  He has recently recovered from a stress fracture in his foot so we talked a little about the pain that I was feeling.  It felt good to hear some of his experience with recovery even though I was praying that I wasn't going to be in the same boat.

My friend Mandy was running so fast I completely missed her in this pic! 

We came out of the park and ran around the round-about and then headed towards the highlight of the race route...a trip to Crystal Bridges.  Crystal Bridges is a beautiful art museum right in our backyard.  It is a true gem and this race was the first to ever cover the main drive as part of the race.  The museum has a lot of art in the outdoor spaces including sculptures along both paved and natural trails.  The driveway however doesn't contain that much art...but the one piece it does contain is spectacular.   I was looking forward to it so much that I carried my phone with me during the race to take it's picture.

This sculpture is called Yield and always amazes me when I arrive at the museum.

What I didn't realize was that it was a downhill jaunt down the driveway.  I was surprised by the return trip up the driveway but had fun cheering for others as they passed on their way down.  One women near me asked how I knew everyone in the race.  I told her about the Rush team and told her my theory that if you put out positive energy for others you'll get it in return.  It has taken me a long time to realize that a smile truly can change your mental picture in the middle of a race!

Cheering on Kayle! 

We returned to 2nd street for the race finish and I knew that I was in for another hill treat.  Yes, this is another Bentonville race course that managed to finish on a hill.  I tried my best to push for the finish and I didn't even pay attention to the clock.  I actually never even saw the clock!  I stopped my watch but in the post race blur of tired body and foot pain didn't pay much attention.  After removing my race chip, I was given a carnation flower by one of the volunteers.  It was a great touch for a Valentine's race.  I hung out with some of my Rush friends and cheered others in to the finish.  My foot was now in serious pain and not happy with me at all.  Eventually I decided to check out the race results which were posted near the finish.  My chip time came in at 48:00 flat or a 6:00 min/k pace.  Yep, per K pace which meant nothing to me.  I just limped away happy with my overall time.

Rush teammates and awesome friends! (clockwise from lower left)
Kayle, Mandy, Jody, Shannon, Matt, Mark, Pauline, Me, and Cord

  Later at breakfast I checked my Garmin to get the minutes per mile conversion and was really happy with my performance.  My group of friends had breakfast together at one of the coffee shops off the square.  They have a simple selection of healthy breakfast dishes and its one of our post-run hangouts.

Overall, I thought the city did a great job putting on the race.  They had the streets virtually closed to all vehicle traffic.  The city crews were out at all the intersections and it was great to see them being so supportive of all the runners.  There was one water station that we passed by twice which was perfect for a cool day.  We also got a 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover instead of a t-shirt.  It will be nice to have another light weight long sleeve to run in.  The only change that I would make is to start the race closer to the Downtown Activity Center so that runners could have had a warm building to stay in until the race start.

About my time...it was a huge PR by over 6 minutes! I hit the Interwebs to find my previous time from the Potomac Valley Track Club's Go Fourth 8K in 2002.  That race was in the heat of July just outside Washington, DC along the Potomac River trail system.  It was the only race when I have ever stripped off my t-shirt and ran in just my sports bra...until just before the finish line when I put my shirt back on.  My friend Mary and I ran the race and after I think we went outlet shopping with her parents.  Below is my 2002 performance...hard to believe that my bum foot 34 year old self kicked my 23 year old's self so big!!!

I'm seriously very proud of myself for staying in the race and dealing with the pain in a healthy way during the race.  Mental strength during races is something that I have been working on.  I didn't pay much attention to my pace during the race but focused on staying strong, not walking, and sharing positive energy with others.  My foot is slowly getting back to normal and the race was probably too much too soon after the injury.  I'll go back to rest and plan a smarter comeback and try to prevent any more setbacks like this one.  It did mean that I had to take a DNS on my 25K planned for yesterday.  I was bummed out but knew that my foot could not handle it.