10k

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2012 Recap (in Photos)

And it wasn’t all bad…

Here it is month by month in photos. ENJOY!

JANUARY

Jimmy Buffet-themed birthday party for one of my Lake George friends

FEBRUARY

I knit my first sock

MARCH

I started biking

APRIL

I started walking at lunch

MAY

I celebrated my birthday in Florida

JUNE

I started running again

JULY

I started playing tennis again

AUGUST

I cooled off every weekend in the lake

SEPTEMBER

I had a 2nd visit from Anna from Russia

OCTOBER

I spent time with my 2 fav little guys

NOVEMBER

I had a surprise visit from a friend who moved to Florida

DECEMBER

I got to go to Orlando with friends

Happy Running! Hope you had a good year! What was the highlight?

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2012 – Thank God It’s Over

dm-2012

322 miles in 2012

Broken tibia & fibula & surgery to repair in my left ankle and then a stress fracture in my right foot= NOT A GOOD RUNNING YEAR

Jan 2012

Oct 2012

I had running goals for the year and then I re-wrote them after my first injury. Then I was doing better than expected so I re-wrote them again. When I had my second injury of the year, I gave up on running goals and left them as they were at the time:

  1. Run 3-4 times a week ALL YEAR (use the treadmill when it is too cold or slippery or raining outside) Follow doctor’s orders and stay off ankle until allowed, go to PT and do the recommended exercises, and start to run when & as often as recommended. 5 MONTHS of PT and then STARTED RUNNING in JUNE.
  2. Continue fitting in tennis and yoga at least once a week (as cross-training) Same as above, start tennis & yoga when allowed, join a gym to do crosstraining/machines to stay fit. STARTED TENNIS IN AUGUST BUT DID NOT JOIN A GYM OR CROSS-TRAIN. GOT RE-INJURED BEFORE STARTING UP YOGA.
  3. Finish my 5K races under 30 minutes and not stress about a PR (though getting one would be super!) Run a 5k race before the end of the year, if I am able to run several, get faster with each one. RAN 9 5K RACES AFTER MY ANKLE INJURY (GOT FASTER) AND THEN RAN 1 AFTER MY FOOT INJURY.
  4. Get an Age Group award – NO
  5. Run a 10K race – YES.
  6. Run a 10 mile race. NO
  7. Run at least one half marathonNO4. Start to train for a half marathon in 2013. DELAYED START BUT STARTED LAST WEEK.
  8. Run at least 12 races (one per month, if possible) (DID NOT RUN ANY IN JAN-MAY and NOVEMBER)
  9. Run a race in another stateYES in PA.
  10. 5. Run a NEW race. YES – RAN 8 NEW RACES!!
  11. 6. Listen to my body and slow down when necessary (In other words, do not get re-injured…) UH OH…TOTAL FAIL.
  12. 7. Continue blogging regularly (to keep track of miles, as a motivator, to meet new runners…) YES, YES.
  13. 8. Volunteer at a race. NO 😦
  14. 9. Bring a cell phone whenever I go running alone. YES!

10. Run a 10 K race. YES! in August.

11. Finish a 5K race under 30 minutes. YES! 1 in Sept.

12. Run 12 races. YES!

So it wasn’t the year that I had planned but I guess it could have been worse. Here are the highlights:

ran a 5K in June – earlier than expected!

met Joan Benoit Samuelson!

ran my 1st 10k

crossed under 30 minutes in a 5K (1st time since 2011)

ran a new race in a new state (& with a stress fracture)

waiting inside before the race

race #12

Stay tuned for my 2013 Goals!

Happy Running! Did you have goals for 2012? If so, how did you do?

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2013 Bucket List of Races

bucketlist1

January

  • maybe a free HMRRC race (Albany)

February

  • Polar Cap 4 mi (Lake George)

March

  • First Watch Half Marathon (Sarasota, Fla.)

April

  • Delmar Dash 5 mi Race

May

  • Sean’s 5k Run (Chatham)
  • Mother’s Day Race (Schenectady)

June

  • Freihofer Run for Women (Albany)
  • Kinderhook Bank OK 5K
  • Adirondack Distance Challenge (Lake George-Bolton Landing)

July

  • Jingle Bell 5k (Lake George)
  • Silks & Satins 5K (Saratoga)

August

  • Camp Chingachgook 10k (Lake George)
  • Jailhouse Rock 5k (Ballston Spa)

September

  • 5 for fiVe (Saratoga)
  • MBPK 5k (Malta)
  • Helper’s Fund  5K (Chestertown)

October

  • Susan Komen Race for the Cure (Albany)
  • Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon  (Ponce Inlet, Fla.)

November

  • Fall Frun 10K (Clifton Park)
  • Stockade-athon 15K (Schenectady)
  • Bethlehem Towne Turkey Trot 5k (Delmar)

December

  • Albany Last Run  5K

Most of these races I’ve run before but there are a few news ones (in BOLD).

Of course, I hope to have a healthy year.

It’s good to have goals.   It keeps you motivated.  For me this year, it’s to cross the finish line and have fun!!!

Happy Running!  What races are on your bucket list for 2013?

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13 in 2013

Screen-Shot-2012-12-04-at-11_30_36-AM

I can do this, right?

Here is my racing history:

2008—–2009—–2010—2011—-2012

  • Jan – 0——0——-0——1——-0
  • Feb – 0——0—— 0——1——-0
  • Mar – 0 ——0——1——2——0
  • Apr – 1——-0—––1——2——0
  • May – 2——4——4——4——-0
  • Jun – 1——–1——-3——2——-2
  • July – 2——-0—–1——0——-1
  • Aug – 1——–3——2—–0——-2
  • Sept – 3——-3——3—–1——-4
  • Oct – 3——–4——2——2——2
  • Nov – 0——-1——2——5——-0
  • Dec – 0——-1——-2—–2——-1

2008 – 13 races (did not run in the winter)
2009 – 17 races (did not run in the winter)
2010 – 21 races 
2011 –  22 races (strained achilles)
2012 – 12 races  (broken ankle, foot stress fracture)

So I am hoping that without any major injuries, I can race at least 13!!!

Happy Running!  What about you…how many races do you plan to run in 2013?

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The Race That Wasn’t

The City of New York and New York Road Runners announced late Friday that the 2012 ING NYC Marathon had been canceled.

According to the mayor:

While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division. We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event — even one as meaningful as this — to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to help New York City recover from the storm.

This was definitely a no win situation.  Yes, this race brings a lot of money into NYC.  But it is hard to justify spending money for generators and water for runners in a race when so many residents are still without water and power.

Now if I had been training for 6 mos or more for my first or maybe only NYC marathon, I would have been so disappointed.  It is hard training for 13.1 miles never mind 26.2.  However, it would not have been a good experience with all the negative publicity surrounding the mayor’s call to hold the race.

So it was cancelled.  Unfortunately, many runners had already arrived to run the race.  They had already spent money on trains, gas, flights, hotels, etc.  Too bad, the mayor has not cancelled the race immediately!!


Now on to my own personal misery.

Today’s race was going to be my 2nd 10K but my first real one. The lst 10k race that I ran was  in August when I had not been running more than 3 miles.  For this one, I would have been training and running at least 6 or more miles on the weekend. A 10K PR for sure!

So I showed up to the race in my boot and collected my race packet.  At least I got a long sleeve tech shirt.

Happy Running! How did you feel about the NYC Marathon decision?

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DNSing

I have never DNFed a race. (Knock on wood!)

I have DNSed several times. The first time in Oct 2008, I was too sick to go. The 2nd time in Oct 2009 because it was raining and the 3rd time in 2010, I arrived at the race and was too sick to run. All were for the Great Pumpkin Challenge in Saratoga. (This race was last weekend so I may have had a 4th DNS.)

I have since then become tougher. Or maybe more stubborn. Or maybe I have a higher pain threshold. Or just plain stupid!

When I broke my left ankle last December, I had only registered for one future race – the Freihofer’s and I DID IT (against the advice of all drs, pts & friends).

Freihofer’s – 1st run 5 mos after broken ankle

When my right foot started hurting, I had already registered for FIVE races. I have run two of them (Susan Komen and the Runners World 5ks). Both took place before the actual diagnosis.

5k finisher with a stress fracture

So I have three left that I have already registered for:

  • Fall FRUN 10K on November 4

  • Albany Last Run 5K on December 15

  • First Watch Half Marathon in Sarasota, Fla on March 17

Obviously, my boot will make me DNS for the Fall FRUN 10k (but I will show up to grab my $25 shirt.)

I was planning on the Stockade-athon 15K but since I didn’t sign up, I think I will volunteer.

I am really hoping that I can run/walk the Last Run (that’s 10 wks post injury) and I am really really really hoping that I can run/walk the First Watch Half.

I HATE TO DNS!!

Happy Running! How did you feel about DNSing? Have you done it much?

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Wordless Wednesday

at the finish line of the Camp Chingachgook Challenge

Yup, the photographer, Greg Wolcott, captured my feet!  How cool (in light of my ankle injury.)

Happy Running!  Have you ever had a race photo of your feet?

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Camp Chingachgook Challenge 10k Race Report

The tee shirt (I didn’t get one cuz they ran out)

(Note to self: don’t eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s the night before a race.  It kept me up most of the night with an upset stomach.)

Anyway, I got up at 6am hoping not to see rain.  It was overcast, 70 degrees with 97% humidity but at least it wasn’t raining.

I ate my usual breakfast (coffee & oatmeal) and headed out.  It was about 1 hour 15 minute ride up to Lake George.  The Camp Chingachgook Challenge was held on the eastern side of the lake.  My boat is on the western side so this was a new view of the lake for me.  The Half Marathon starts in town and ends at the camp.  The 10k is an out and back route starting and ending at the camp.

the 10K route

I arrived early (and it still wasn’t raining but it looked like it had rained) and immediately bumped into Christine, a law professor whom I work with.  It’s nice to see a familiar face at a race. 

The course is beautiful (nice views of the lake) but it is HILLY… rolling hills and at some points they resembled mountains.  This was definitely the hardest course I have ever run.

No flat parts!

I started running up the hills during mile 1.  Then I got worried that I would die so I walked up several of the steeps during the first half.  There were 2 water stops each way & I walked through those as well.

Though it wasn’t a big race, you got to see the fast half marathoners go by and run along side the slower ones. 

hills and more hills

The second half, I walked up 2 of the hills but tried to run more.  My ankle didn’t really start to hurt until mile 5 and I didn’t feel as tired as I thought I would (considering my injury and my lack of long runs).

It never rained (though everyone looked drenched from the humidity). The sun never came out either.

I crossed the finish line at 1:09:07.  A PR!! (Of course, it was my first 10K.)

everyone got a medal.

Christine was waiting for me and we headed to the food line…a barbecue with hotdogs, chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, pasta salad, watermelon.  YUM!!

We waited for the awards.  We both came in 2nd in our age group (but they only gave out prizes for 1st).

My hubby was on our boat.  I debated going up but it looked like rain so I stopped at the outlets instead.  I was right because the skies opened up and it rained on and off for the rest of the afternoon and then the sun came out.

I never posted my goals because I wasn’t even sure that I would run this race.  But here they are:

  • Not finish last
  • Beat my practice 10k time (1:16:00)
  • Beat half my PR half marathon time (1:11:18)
  • Finish wanting to do another 10K

Woo Hoo!  I met all my goals. I’m pretty pleased! (I left my camera home…hopefully the photographer got a picture of me.)

splits

Happy Running!  Did you race this weekend?

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Impromptu 10K

My favorite quote of the moment:

“The most powerful time to persist is when you don’t feel like it.  Keep going, and the persistence itself will make you feel better.” – Ralph Marston.

So I had been feeling guilty about not running Tuesday or Wednesday am but it was 93 degrees when I left work on Wednesday.

I put on my running clothes and went to the Corning Bike Trail.  I wanted to run 3 miles at least.  I decided to run 3 miles out because the farther you run, the shadier it gets and then walk back.

I ran 3.1 miles slowly in 35 minutes and then turned around and headed back.  Then I saw a very old lady running VERY VERY slowly but running (without walking). I felt guilty walking so I started to run and passed her. Then I walked and she passed me.  We played leap-frog for a while until I tired and walked more (and she turned and headed back to where she started her run – the opposite direction as me).  I was impressed with how slow she was running.  I can’t run that slow and how she kept that consistent pace (even in the heat).

I ended up finishing my 2nd 5k in 41 minutes. Total time for the 10K was 1 hour 16 min.

Last year, I would have been discouraged in finishing in over ONE hour.  Last week, I would only have attempted 3 miles.

But now, I realize that I can push myself through the pain. And yes, I did feel better afterwards.

Will I run the 10K on Saturday?

Yes (unless it is raining/thunderstorms)!

13.1 miles in the pouring rain…never again!

Happy Running!

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Weather Wimp

Check out the humdity!

Still on the fence about Saturday’s 10K.

Tuesday, I skipped my morning run because I would be playing tennis after work.

Tennis went poorly.  I was tired, hungry, thirsty, my foot hurt, whine, whine, whine.  So I bought new tennis sneakers as a motivator.

Wednesday, I was too tired to run before work. A mistake since it was cool and 90 degrees after work.

Today, I had an very early meeting at work and a hair appt after work…NO time for RUNNING!!

I have Friday off so I could run but don’t want to run the day before a 10K. Besides, the weather does not look great…if it isn’t raining, it will be very humid! (If I were a REAL runner, it won’t matter, right?)

I’m not there yet!

Happy Running!  Are you a weather wimp?