Monday – 5 miles walking in Van Nuys, Ca
Tuesday – many miles walking in Santa Monica, Ca
Wednesday – REST
Thursday – 4 mile run (day off from work)
Friday – 3 mile run after work
Saturday – REST
Sunday – 9.4 miles – Stockeade-athon 15K
Happy Running!
I was planning on volunteering at this race as I did last year. But the weather forecast looked good and many of my friends were running in it. I’ve never run a 15K so there would be no pressure to PR because it would of course be a PR.
So I went to the expo yesterday and registered!!
It was chilly (in the 40s) when I left my house. I planned as usual to dress in layers and take them off before the start of the race. I have been disappointed in my pace since I came back from my injury so I decided to wear my old running shoes — the ones I wore last January for my 1st half. They’re not too light and not too heavy (but they are worn!)
I arrived pretty early and found Amanda & Tami by the fireplace.
trying to stay warm
As it got close to race time, some of the “Strong Running Mamas” posed for a photo.
me, Suzy, Amanda, Tami, Janis, Bridget (Elisa taking the pic)
I decided to take off my sweats & jacket but to leave on my gloves. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and capris under my running skirt (which got so many compliments!!). I’m glad I did because when the sun came out I was fine — even rolled up my sleeves and took off my gloves.
This was the first race that energy-wise I felt good the whole race. I’m not sure why. I was running at a faster pace tha usual and was waiting to crash and burn but did not.
The 1st 5 miles were easy but I was warned about the hills. Compared to Rhinebeck, they were nothing. I did walk during all 3 hills to conserve energy but in hindsight, I think I could have run up them.
My skirt got a lot of attention (I wish it hadn’t shrunk in the dryer). Someone yelled my name during the race. It turned out to be a former student of mine.
Laura, race cheerleader
I stopped to tie my shoe around mile 2.5, took one GU at mile 5 & had water during several of the later miles, but still I was surprised at my pace.
This was so much faster than my last 3 halfs.
My biggest problem was my feet (as usual). I got MY FIRST BLISTER!!! Ouch! So miles 6-9 were painful!
According to my Garmin, this 15K was 9.4 miles!!! My time registered as 1:35:31.
Official Time – 1:36:08 (10K time = 1:03:32)
I really liked the course. It was quite varied – you started in the park, ran through city and the Stockade-athon district, up State St past Proctors Theatre, through the cemetary and then back through the park.
It was pretty crowded getting refreshments after the race. But it was worth the line – besides the usual cookies, bagels, fruit, there was hot cider, hot chocolate, coffee, choc milk, soup, pizza, pudding, candy and more…
love the pink tech shirt
So I’ve got my racing mojo back!! WooHoo!
Happy Running! Did you race this weekend?
Well, this was my first volunteer experience. The Stockade-athon is a big event – the oldest 15k in the country!
It was a chilly morning and since I wouldn’t be running, I dressed warmly. I arrived about 15 min. before the start of the race, and Schenectady’s Central Park was packed. I had to park quite a distance away.
I immediately ran into my friend Mary and gave her a good luck hug. I then walked around looking for information on what to do as a volunteer. I bumped into another finish volunteer and we chatted and waited together.
After the race started, we finally were given a free tee shirt (long sleeve coolmax 🙂 ), our clipper, collection bin and instructions.
And we just waited… We were able to see the runners at mile 1 and I spotted Mary:
Mary & others at mile 1
Finally the elite runners came into view! The winner ran it at a 5 minute mile pace WOW! It was fun to see him cross as well as all the others.
The Winner
I even got to cut the chip off of the winning female!
I never realized how important a volunteer is until now. These runners were drained at the end of the race and I can’t count how many said “Thank you for volunteering!”
One guy said to me: “This is my 1st long race & my 70th birthday.”
Finally I saw Mary and she ran to me to cut off her chip & then I took her photo:
Mary & Kelly after the race
I met Mary in June when she was struggling to finish a 5k. We have run 5 5ks together since then. She used to call me her “inspiration” because I was faster & could finish in under 30 min. She finally did that too in Oct. Since then, she has run several 10ks, a half marathon and a 15k!!!! Now she’s my inspiration.
After all the runners had crossed the finish line, we left and were invited to the Fireside Pizzeria for free pizza, wings & drinks!
I highly recommend volunteering! It is so rewarding! It does make you wish you were a runner in the race. For me, the decision was easy: I haven’t run this distance before and the times were fast. However, next year, I may run it but I will definitely volunteer again at some race!
Since today was World Run Day and I signed up for it & got a tee shirt. My REST day turned into a 1 mile neighborhood loop:
before my 1 mile "World" run
The day ended with a dinner to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of my Mah Jongg group:
dinner celebration at PF Chang's
Happy Running! Congratulations to all those NYC Marathoners!
This is a week of firsts:
Yep, I will be volunteering at the 15k Stockadeathon in Schenectady on Nov. 7. If you are racing, I will be at the finish line pulling off those chips!
As much as I would like to be running in this race, I still have not raced in a 10K so I don’t think it would be wise to try a 15K – at least not yet!!
My blood pressure has been normal, my headache is gone but I still have a stiff neck. I played tennis last evening and felt fine. I plan to run after work today!! The weather has been crazy. Today it’s supposed to be 70 degrees!
I’m still contemplating my racing future….there’s are a few 5ks coming up on Saturdays (Oct 30, Nov 6, Dec 4). I could sign up for them. But then again, I’m trying to run short distances during the week and a longer run on Saturday just in case…you know what?!
For now, I’m a volunteer!!
Happy Running!
My First 5K and More... 
