Detroit Runner - I Just Felt Like Running Virtual 5K Report

Jeff over at Detroit Runner decided to host a Virtual 5K.  One of his goals was to get participants from all 50 states and he actually did a pretty good job.  I think he had around 35-40 states represented.  The official race date is Saturday, March 5th but Jeff allowed you to complete your race up to one week before or after the official day. 

I have a busy weekend coming up so I decided to use my speed workout as my Virtual 5K race.  The workout tonight was a pretty good option since it covered almost 4 miles.  Our speed workout was to start on the far side of the track. As my running partner and I were shuffling over, we both realized we needed to go potty.  Our options were to head back to the parking lot and use the porta-potty or to head to Arby's a few blocks away.  We determined that the jaunt to Arby's would be about the right distance for the first interval so we incorporated Arby's into the workout as a continuation of our warm-up. 

The official workout was:
1000m at 5K pace, 30 sec. rest.
1 mile at 1/2 marathon pace, 30 sec. rest.
1000m at 5K pace, 30 sec. rest
1 mile at 1/2 marathon pace, 30 sec. rest
1000 m at ALL OUT pace

Our potty stop constituted our first 1000 m interval.  We finished up at the start line and took our rest time.  While we waited, I reset my watch so that I could count the remainder of the workout as my race. We started off and were grooving along at about 10:15 pace for our mile repeat.  As we hit the final turn of the first lap I realized that I never started my watch.  BOOOO, now my distance was going to be off for the 5K.  I had to add just under a 200m interval at the end to get to the official 3.1 miles for the 5K race. 

I checked my total time before the last 200 and realized I was super close to a race time below 30 minutes.  I made that my goal to do my last 200 in less than 42 seconds.   Below are my stats which had an awesome fastest pace of 6:10 per mile for maybe 1 second of that last 200m repeat!  It was hard to do that 200m and I was watching the distance on my Garmin very closely and basically stopped as soon as it hit 3.1.  My finishing time was 29:54!!!! Not bad since almost 2 miles of the race were at half marathon pace.   It was also good to see that we picked up the pace as we went through the workout (race) versus getting fatigued and slower. That is never a good sign so this is just something else to be happy about! It was extra motivating to know that I was counting this as my virtual race and it held me accountable to staying on pace.




My total distance for the night was 6 miles between the warm-up, missed lap, workout, and cooldown.  Thanks to Jeff for hosting this race. 

A Note About the Workout: Most of our running group are training for our local half marathon in early April so the workout had longer intervals that are geared towards building capacity for that distance.  The mile repeats at half marathon pace seem easy but end up being more difficult when they are following 5K pace with short rest intervals. 

I Get by With a Little Help From My Friends!

Well, the text above is what I sent this morning to my running partner.  We didn't have plans made to run together this morning since she had to work for a little while in the morning.  I wanted to do an 11 mile long run but this morning I just had no desire to change out of my jammies and go out for a run.  I think I sent Anne a text because I had a feeling she would be running after work and that maybe if I could join her I would get it done. Sometimes my subconscious works with me because Anne offered to wait 15 minutes for me to change fast and meet up with her. 

Anne is working through some IT band issues so we took things slow and just chatted along the way.  We had to make a stop at one of the churches for a potty stop for me and water stop for Anne.  There must have been a music practice going on but we just quietly snuck in and headed back out quickly.  We were past our halfway point so things went quickly from there.  There was one long steady incline that wasn't too fun but with a friend by my side it was 100 times better than it would have been alone.

I was so thankful that Anne delayed her start because I really would not have run today without her.  Anne is a great running partner and a wonderful friend. 

Frost Bike Race Recap

I headed to Carthage, Missouri this afternoon for a 20 mile time trial style bike race.  The race is part of the Rufus Racing Ruthless Series, however, Mother Nature did not cooperate with the race founders.  The race was intended to be done in the dead of winter and earn the name Frost Bike.  Mind you, I would not have done the race under those circumstances! We have had a beautiful week with temps ranging in the mid-60's so with a little prodding via Facebook announcements I decided to do the race.  I'm a total race swag fan and the cool keychain swag had me sold (once I knew the weather would be warm, that is!)

So much better than a t-shirt!

The race was set up with a time trial start. Racers started every 10 second from a complete stop with one foot on the ground.  Some friends of mine (Brent and Cole - a father/son duo) also participated in the race.  I was rider number 25 and they were 63 and 64 so I got quite the head start on them. 

Cole and I before the race...check out his bike with star rims!

The start was straight into a headwind for a short distance.  Honestly since I wasn't from the area the race course was a complete mystery to me.  It was very pretty for the most part with the course going on country roads with little traffic.  The downside to country roads are rolling hills.  I found out the course elevation chart on Map My Ride was not accurate.   

Race start

 The race was uneventful for the most part.  I spent a lot of the ride wondering when Brent and Cole would catch up to me.  I kept ahead of them until around mile 10 and 12 respectively.  They had a little competition going between them.  Cole, the son, was riding a single speed bike that he has just finished restoring.  His dad was riding his regular road bike with gears and it sounded like some trash talking had been going on between the two! Brent was rider 63 and caught up to me first.  He told me I should tell Cole that he was way ahead of me:) Unfortunately we were on an out-and-back section of the course so I couldn't mislead Cole. Also of note, Cole was racing in jean shorts or jorts over his bike shorts and had Vans shoes on!

While the temperatures weren't as frosty as the race organizers would have hoped, the wind was out of this world.  The wind was steady at probably 10-15mph with gusts up to 30-40mph.  There were sections of the course that were directly into the wind and you could just feel your bike slowing.  The cross wind was also a little tough but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Cole, Me, and Brent after the race

 I finished up the race in 1 hour 11 minutes 7 seconds.  This calculated out to a 16.87mph average pace and 8 out of 17 for females.  I was pretty pleased with my performance given the rolling hills on the course and the stiff wind.  For the family competition, Brent ended up with the win and a 20.8mph average to Cole's 20.2mph average.

Going into this race, I was worried that I wouldn't remember how to ride outside since I haven't had my bike off the trainer since November.  I guess it's true...you never forget how to ride a bike!

What a difference one week makes in the South!

This morning I headed out for my long run and the temps were already nearing 60 degrees out. Whoo hoo that means Spring is on the way.  Last week we had a mega snow storm on Wednesday and the snow was basically all melted by this Wednesday.  It is crazy how fast the weather can change here.

Due to the two weeks of consecutive snows, I had 2 or 3 very low mileage weeks.  This week has been all about returning to my normal mileage.  I had a rough speed workout on Monday with toes that kept falling asleep while I was running. I modified the workout slightly but was able to finish it up even with the discomfort in my feet.  My Wednesday run also had some toe pain but for the most part my pace wasn't too bad.  I was a little nervous that my toes would bug me again today for my long run.  Luckily they decided to cooperate and I was able to finish up a 10 mile long run.  I have longer second toes than my big toes so sometimes I have neuroma pain while I run. It is usually after I have worn less supportive work shoes and my feet are fatigued going into the run. Nothing to worry about, just something that I have to work through!

The weather today was perfect...slightly cloudy, not too windy, and perfect temps.  I think it helped me make it through with a faster pace because I felt like I was running much slower than I did.  It was fun to see everyone out running and walking around town.  I guess I'm not the only one who finds this nice weather motivating.

 In a moment of weakness after my run Wednesday in the glorious evening temps, I might have signed up for a 20 mile bike time trial race on Sunday.  I haven't had my bike outdoors in a few months so I'm anxious to see what kind of shape my trainer workouts have kept me in.  Wish me luck!

Run Happy - Giveaway Winner

This morning I drew to determine the winner of the Run Happy t-shirt giveaway.  I wanted a fun way to draw so I listed all the comment names on small slips of paper and placed them into my Shark Sprint pint glass.  The Shark Sprint was my first ever triathlon in 2009 and thinking of that accomplishment always makes me happy.

There were 31 entries into the giveaway. 

The lucky winner was from comment #2 made by Heather.

Heather wins the Run Happy t-shirt as well as some samples from SBR's TriSwim product line.  While Brooks helps me Run Happy...TriSwim helps me Swim Happy! Congratulations to Heather!!!

Heather please email me at runningwhit at hotmail dot com with your mailing information so that I can get your prize in the mail to you. 

Shuttered In

You won't believe it but Northwest Arkansas received about 18" of snow this morning.  That's right another 18" on top of the 8" we got last Tuesday and the 5" we got last Friday.  That's a lot of snow for Arkansas! I believe today was a record breaker for the most snow in one day in the state of Arkansas.  Some areas just to the south of me got 24".

Needless to say, I did not make it outdoors for a workout today. I had some conference calls during the day which kept me busy but I did get out to shovel the driveway.  The sun came out and I have found that the faster I clear the driveway the better.  Not that I'm driving anywhere soon but it just feels good to know that I could at least drive down my driveway since the street hasn't been cleared yet.

Hershey hanging in the driveway

My best workout option was again the trainer.  I was due to receive some Netflix movies by mail today but the snow actually stopped the mail.  That's okay because I was able to watch Netflix On Demand through my Wii.  I went with Shutter Island for today's selection and talked myself into a long bike workout to make up  for all the junk food I snacked on during the day.  I actually went for 90 minutes on the trainer.  That's the longest I have ever ridden on the trainer for and I don't know how some of you do it! Whoo, that's a long time.  The movie was good and I have to admit that after watching the end (from the comfort of the couch!) I'm confused.  Was he crazy or not?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Brooks Run Happy t-shirt, here.

My Own Version of Ironman

I have a secret...I'm not a huge fan of NFL football.  While the majority of the country was watching the Super Bowl I watched some HGTV until I talked myself into a little workout.  I had a movie from Netflix so I decided I would watch part of the movie while doing some bike trainer intervals.

I got on the bike at 8:02 and decided a 58 minute workout would be optimal (I'm a little behind on my time goal for the month so thought I could pick up some extra minutes!)  While spinning in an easy gear I came up with my workout.  Lesson learned...never trust your math while working out! I decided on a ladder that I thought would get me to 40 minutes of intervals and then my warm up and cool down time.  It wasn't until after my second ladder that I realized my intervals were going to be short.  My interval set was a decreasing time ladder with increasing resistance.  Between each rung of the ladder I did a 1 minute standing run in my big chain ring.  I started at 10 minutes and worked my way down by 2 minutes each ladder rung with a bonus extra 2 minutes at the end too. 

You are probably wondering where my title post comes in? Well, the movie of choice for my ride tonight was Ironman 2.  I know the movie came out a while ago but I'm a little slow sometimes.  It was a good distraction for while I was on the bike. It didn't require any thought to follow the plot and I was able to stay interested and get the full workout in. 

Don't forget some great giveaways going on this week:
Tanita Body Composition Scale
Gu Giveaway Pack
My AWESOME Run Happy T-shirt and Prize Pack