January 14, 2015 by Darlene

Half Marathon #11

January 17, 2015 6:30 am

According to the map below, it looks like there will be ocean views! YAY!

My tennis friend Georgette plans to meet me at the finish line so that will be nice. She spends 4 months in Jupiter (1/2 hour north of West Palm.)

Georgette is the redhead to my right

Here is the summary version of my previous 10 half marathons:

1. My first and BEST was the Naples Half Marathon in January of 2011. My goal was just to finish and I did in 2:28:27 (gun time, no chip timing).

2. I immediately registered for the 1st annual Lake George Half Marathon in April of that year. Unfortunately, I had to run in sleet & freezing rain for 13.1 miles & without my Garmin. My time was 2:22:39 (gun time, no chip timing) and a PR until this year.

3. Out with strained Achilles for 6 weeks during the summer of 2011 delayed my training for the Adirondack Half Marathon (so I walked the 2nd half of the race.) I finished in 2:44:59. It was still fun because I was running it with lots of friends.

4. Again impulsively, I decided to sign up for the inaugural Fall Foliage Half Marathon as a training run. This was my hilliest half but I finished in 2:32:50.

no photographers on the course

5. My goal race of that year was the Santa Clarita Half Marathon that I was running with a friend in California. This time it only poured for half the race and I finished with a disappointing 2:30:12.

6. My next Half Marathon, the First Watch Half Marathon in Sarasota, Fla came in 2013 16 months after serious ankle surgery. I was just glad to be running again. The course was beautiful, my friends were waiting at the end and I was happy with my 2:33:59 time.

7. The Mohawk-Hudson Half Marathon in the fall of 2013 was supposed to be the one where I would be seriously training and hopefully get a PR. Then I broke my foot. With a late start to my training and my weekly miles not what I would have liked, again this half marathon was just “I’ll be happy to finish.” So I did in 2:24:14. I enjoyed it since it was my first half where I slept in my own bed the night before.

Mohawk Hudson Half Marathon

8. For the Love Run Half Marathon in the Spring of 2014, I was injury-free for the whole training but I trained during an awfully cold, snowy winter. Despite running in monsoon rains, I managed to PR at 2:22:35. I made new running friends and we had fun during our weekend in “wet” Philly.

loverun

9. Last summer, after running a 10 mile race, I impulsively registered for the Saratoga Springs Half Marathon. This taught me to never run one in the summer. It was very humid & I felt sick so I struggled to a 2:26:00 finish.

sshm4b

10. Impromptu and free. I registered for the Hangover Half Marathon and ran it as a training run on a cold, windy, lonely, boring course. And it was my fastest at 2:18:33. Go figure?

hangover-059

So now it’s time for #11. Since this past fall, I PRed at the 5K, 10K, 15K and 10 mile distance, should I be going for a half marathon PR??

My 15K time was 1:33:23 and my 10 mile time was 1:38:45. In both races, I suffered from blisters (which were due to old insoles.) So logically, I should PR. Right?

I am healthy and I still lack confidence at the longer distance but yes, I will try to run my fastest half marathon. But as you all know, anything can happen on race day. (Especially when training in the cold snowy NE and running in warm, humid Florida weather.)

If I don’t PR, there is still a lot of time left in 2015 to try again.

Goals:

A. Win an Age Group Award (I can dream)
B. Finish under 2:15 (going out on a limb here)
C. PR (finish under 2:18:33)
D. Faster than my previous PR (finish under 2:22:35 )
E. Finish under 2 1/2 hours
F. Finish happy & uninjured 🙂 and wearing this medal:

Weather forecast:

just a little warmer than I am used to LOL

today

And here’s the outfit:

IMG_4762-0

My Bib # is 2081

2+0+8+1 = 11 (and it’s my 11th half marathon = lucky #)

Happy Running! Do you run Half Marathons? Do you always try to PR?

January 13, 2015 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: 2015 Race Plans Part 1

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: 2015 Race Plans

I run so many races (33 last year) that I am just listing some of the races I plan to run in the first 6 months of 2015:

West Palm Beach Half Marathon – Ocean Views and in Florida in the winter. And visiting 4 friends too!

January 17, 2015

Polar Cap 4 miler – This hilly race takes in Lake George. I have done it several times before. The best part is that I get to run with fellow blogger AJH. Afterwards, I can go to the lake George Winter Carnival also.

February 7, 2015

Shamrock 5K – I would have liked to run a longer race like I did last year but this one fit. I am so excited to be running this race with my friend Mary in CA.

shamrock5k

Runnin’ of the Green – this is a very popular local 4 miler. This year, the location will be different. Hopefully, it will be as flat as the previous Green Island course.

March 14, 2015

Delmar Dash – This is a 5 miler that is very close to where I live and it is flat!!

March 29, 2015

Bacon Hill 5k or 10k in Schuylerville, NY. I ran this for the first time last year and loved this country race.

April 11, 2015

When I didn’t get into the NYC Half Marathon, I registered for the Asbury Park Half Marathon to keep me running through the winter. I have a friend that lives an hour from this race and I will be running along the ocean!!!!!

Cherry Blossom 5k in Niskayuna, NY. Another race from last year that I enjoyed a lot.

April 26, 2015

Spring Run Off 10k in Albany, NY. This race is run along the Hudson River and is a popular local 5k and 10K race. There is a free pasta dinner the night before. I met some awesome runners last year and hope to see them again.

May 2, 2015

Mother’s Day 5K in Schenectady, NY. I ran this race in 2013 and plan to run again this year. I may be mentoring a someone from the GirlsontheRun program at this race, too. This 5k is very well-organized and has a chocolate fountain afterwards. Need I say more?

md5k15

Freihofer’s Run for Women – This is the only race that I have run every year so I want to keep my streak going. This year, I signed up to be part of a training group like I did for the Troy Turkey Trot. I am looking forward to running with others.

frw15

When I did not get into the Covered Bridges Half Marathon on June 7, I registered for the first annual Walkway Half Marathon in Poughkeepsie. The course will include the William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail and the Walkway Over the Hudson as well as Marist College and the Hudson Valley Rail Trail.

HALF MARATHON – June 13, 2015

Adirondack Distance Run – It’s a 10-miler. Rolling hills from Lake George Village to Bolton Landing (where we keep our boat.) I did it last year for the first time and can’t wait to run it again!

June 20, 2015

Happy Running! What are some of your 2015 races?

January 12, 2015 by Darlene

Monday Running Update

Last Week: (Week 11 of HM training – The Taper)

Monday – ~~walk at work~~, 5 3.5 mile run

Tuesday – walk at work, rest, tennis

Wednesday – 3 mile run, walk at work, rest, STEM celebration

dreadmill

most of the STEM group –

Thursday – ~~walk at work~~, 3 mile run, hair appt

dreadmill

Friday- party brunch, ~~walk at work~~, retirement party, 3 mile run, mah jongg

I had an omelette after this also

Saturday – rest, errands, cooking

meat loaf, broccoli quiche, beef vegetable soup – also made tuna noodle casserole

Sunday – 6.2 Mile race + 1.8 more miles

This Week: (Week 12 of HM training)

Monday – walk at work, rest
Tuesday – walk at work, 3 mile run, tennis
Wednesday – walk at work, 3 mile run, mall walk with BFF
Thursday – rest, walk at work, PACK
Friday- rest, fly to West Palm Beach, FL, pick up race packet
Saturday – RACE DAY!!! 13.1 miles!
Sunday – rest, sun, relax

I’m linking this post up with Tara at Running n’ Reading for her Weekend Update!

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any races ?

January 11, 2015 by Darlene

HMRRC Winter Series #3 (10K) Race Recap

1555427_900162123328351_8089227491931633030_n

Winter Series #1 (15K)

Hudson Mohawk Runners Club sponsors FREE races throughout the winter for its members. The course is pretty boring but free is free.

winter series #3 in 2013 (10K) – I wore the same hat & gloves today

This weekend, they offered distances of 3M, 10K and 25K.

I usually run 8 miles the week before a half marathon but I didn’t want to overdo.

So I signed up for the 10K and hoped the conditions would be good enough for running and warmer than it has been.

This would be my 8th 10K:

2014
Spring Run Off 10K -1:00:51
Camp Chingachgook 10k – 1:04:54
Troy Turkey Trot 10k – 57:03 PR

2013
HMRRC #3 – 1:08:18 -same course
Helper’s Fund 10K – 1:06:10
Monster Scramble 10K – 1:03:18 (it was SHORT)

2012
Camp Chingachgook 10k – 1:09:07

My expectations for this one was to be around 1 hour and have a course PR.

I ran a half marathon on New Year’s Day but haven’t run much since then.

I got lucky with the weather. It was no longer sub-zero but a balmy 15 degrees. Probably single digits with the wind chill.

I left early to get parking since these races are crowded and there are other events going on at UAlbany. I think I got the last spot in the parking lot and I was 45 minutes early.

What I love about this local race is that you get to see a lot of people that you know.

I immediately bumped into Bridget & Elisa, some SRMs. I also got to chat with Judy from FB and Sue from Adirondacxk Runners. I even saw some runners from the STEM group, the Turkey Trot group, my coach from that group as well as other familiar faces from races.

We stayed indoors until the last minute and then made out way outside.

I lined up with Judy who was running the 10K also.

The race is very informal – no bibs, no starting mat, no timing chips, etc.

I just told myself that this was simply a training run and just do it.

My Garmin actually found the satellite right away for a change. Judy & I lined near the back. So it was slow going for a while weaving in and out of the crowd. It took me about a 1/2 mile to get a rhythm.

Do they look cold?

And it was cold especially with the wind blowing in your face. The hands, as usual, were frozen for the first 2 miles.

The course is very boring but it also has inclines. Nothing steep, just enough to keep it interesting. This year, I have tried to be better about hills and not walk up them. And I didn’t.

There were 1 water stops (mile 4) and I stopped to take a GU and walk. This is where I actually caught up to Elisa & Bridget. They are much faster than me and I quickly lost them as I was trying eat a frozen GU and not choke on the ice in my water.

The problem with a small race of about 200 and being a middle of the packer, I usually ran almost all of the race by myself – no spectators, no scenery, no music. However this race since I was not running the longest distance, there were people running with me. I even passed a few guys.

I dressed perfectly. My hands warmed up and I wasn’t really cold.

The amazing thing was that I felt great the whole race. No aches and pains. No blisters. I actually felt stronger as the race went on.

Eventually I did catch back up to Elisa and sprinted across the finish line right behind her at 1:00:24.

I think I was 161st out of 205. This is a fast group as usual. They gave awards for the top 2 in each 10 year age group. I was 6th in my age group.

I was 6th

I was happy with the results. Though it was over 3 minutes slower than my last 10K (and PR), it was my 3rd fastest 10K and almost 6 minutes faster than my 2013 on this same course

I went inside to warm up and have some soup (red pepper & quinoa), bread, cookies, fruit, hot chocolate. Not a bad spread for a free race .

post race

Race splits:

mile 1 – 9:50 (congestion)
mile 2 – 9:41
mile 3 – 9:36
mile 4 – 10:40 (water & gu)
mile 5 – 9:32
mile 6 – 9:43 (brief walk)
.2 – 8:18

After the race, I did some errands and when I got home, I ran 1.8 miles more in my neighborhood to bring the day’s mileage up to 8.

Happy Running! How you are enduring the winter? Did you run this weekend?

January 8, 2015 by Darlene

TTT

ttt

1. It is cold. Not cold. Frigid. Like -20 with the wind chill.

1509293_10152396458377026_5265556860440395410_n

2. I still have not mastered treadmill running. I run slow. I can’t handle more than 3 miles. I ran outside Monday night and survived. I hope it warms up to 15 so I can run outside tomorrow night.

but this is really accurate:

3. I am excited and nervous about my upcoming half marathon,

I can’t wait to leave the cold weather? But will it be warm in Florida? Will my flight arrive without a delay? (I leave on Friday & my race is 6:30 am Saturday.)

How will I be on race day? Will I have a good race?

and an extra #4 & #5

4. I am racing (if it warms up) on Sunday, HMRRC Winter Series #3. It will be a 10K and my last long training run. I ran this one 2 years ago. I had finished in 1:08:18 (which was a PR at the time.) Now my 10K PR is 57:03. I hope to finish around 60 min.

5. I went to a STEM celebration dinner last night. It was for the volunteers and runners in the Domestic Violence Survivors Group. The women were so proud that they ran a 5k (in the pouring cold rain).

I can’t wait to do participate in this program again.

Happy Running! What’s new in your life? How are you dealing with the cold?

January 6, 2015 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Goals for 2015

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is:

GOALS
FOR

So here are my 15:

Do not get injured.
Run 3-4 times a week ALL YEAR.
Continue fitting in tennis and/or yoga once a week.
Do some upper body exercises.
Finish all of my races under 10 minutes per mile (except half marathons)
Run at least one race per month and at least 20 for the year.
Run a race in another state.
Run in NYC.
Get several Age Group awards.
PR in a half marathon.
PR at another distance.
Join a running group or two.
Volunteer.
Run over 900 miles.
Continue to blog almost everyday.

I think my goals are pretty conservative. I think they are ALL achievable.

The toughest will be #10 & #11. The most important will be #1. If #1 happens, then #6 and #14 can follow.

Happy Running. Happy New Year! What is your biggest goal for 2015?

January 5, 2015 by Darlene

Monday Running Update

Last Week: (Week 10 of HM training) – OFF FROM WORK

Monday – rest, DAY IN NYC (and many miles walked)

Tuesday – 4 mile run, lunch out, tennis

Wednesday – rest, car appt, gym, dinner out & movie to celebrate New Year’s Eve

pumpkin bisque, gnocchi, apple cake with cinnamon ice cream – delish

very good

Thursday – Hangover Half Marathon

even got a PR

Friday- rest, ~~gym~~, errands,mah jongg
Saturday – 3 4.5 mile run

Sunday – rest, mall walk with bff

This Week: (Week 11 of HM training – The Taper!)

Monday – walk at work, 5 mile run
Tuesday – walk at work, rest, tennis
Wednesday – 3 mile run, walk at work, rest, STEM dinner
Thursday – walk at work, hair appt
Friday- walk at work, 3 mile run, mah jongg
Saturday – rest
Sunday – 6.2 Mile race

I’m linking this post up with Tara at Running n’ Reading for her Weekend Update!

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any races ?

January 3, 2015 by Darlene

December Recap

DECEMBER GOALS:

Run 3-4 times each week (no matter how cold it gets.) YES!

3-4 miles here a few time (unfortunately)

during Christmas break

Walk once a day while at work. YES on most days!

we’re inside now. 9 1/2 loops of the building

Run with a group when possible. Nope. Not this month. But did run twice with Judy.

Complete my 5k race(s) with under 10 min/mile pace. YES!

29:02 in the RAIN

Complete a 15K race. YES!

HMRRC Winter Series #1 – 2nd fastest 15K

Do long runs on the weekend to train for half marathon on January 17. The last 2 weekends.

Run at least 80 miles. YES! 91 miles.

dec14

Go to the gym at least once a week. NOT REALLY. Lazy lazy lazy. I did a few times the last week.
Start back at yoga. Went Once!

new instructor, Maria; my former instructor Lisa has lyme disease 😦

Avoid gaining weight (while attending holiday parties). Not sure. Afraid to look at the scale!
Spend time with my mentee. YES! 3X.

celebrating Amanda’s 25th b-day

celebrating Richard’s 8th b-day

on Christmas Day

Also:

Spent 2 days in NYC!!

Dec 6 to see a Broadway show …

Dec 29 to see the Matisse exhibit

JANUARY GOALS:

Run 3-4 times each week (no matter how cold it gets.)
Walk once a day while at work.
Get some strength training or yoga done.
Run with a group when possible.
Do long runs on the weekend to train for half marathon on January 17.
Complete a 10K race.
Complete a 15K race.
Complete my10th & 11th half marathons.
Run at least 90 miles.

Happy Running! How was your December? Anything special planned for January?

January 1, 2015 by Darlene

Hangover Half Marathon recap

January 1, 2015

Every year, the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club puts on the Winter Series, a series of free races for its members ($5 for non-members). On New Year’s Day, starting at noon, they offer the Hangover Half or 3.5 Bill Hogan Run as Winter Series #2.

I had planned to run the 3.5 mile race. That was before the 15k that went surprisingly well. Since then I have run 11 mile and 12 mile long runs (which didn’t go as well.)

So I decided that 13.1 miles would not be a stretch and that it would be motivating to have people around (and food after.)

For New Year’s Eve, my hubby and I had a quiet evening – just dinner out and a movie. We usually go Lake George on New Year’s Day but my hubby didn’t want to and I was fine with it.

So when I arrived at the race on New Year’s Day, I switched my registration to the half marathon.

We had been enjoying unseasonably warm winter weather. Well, that ended. It was cold today and WINDY so back to those layers.

I arrived at UAlbany early and was surprised at how many people were running on New Year’s Day. There were over 300 running the half marathon.

I bumped into to several SRMs, some runners from the Turkey Trot training group and Judy whom I have run with recently. Judy & I hung out and chatted util the race began.

at the start

As I have previously mentioned, the course is horribly boring (and ugly) and there is no crowd support.

It is pretty much 13.1 miles of me with my own thoughts and nothing to look at besides the backs of the fast runners lapping me. Yes, three laps of the same boring loop for the whole 13.1 miles.

Sounds like torture?

And it was.

hhm

I ran without walking until the first water stop at around 4 miles. It was so tough running into the wind. There were times that I was barely moving forward. My lips were getting wind burned and I was cold.Then when the wind was at our backs (not often enough), I unzipped my jacket and took off my gloves. This was the story of the whole race.

Unfortunately after mile 5, my lower back and left arm started bothering me. My legs were fine but the wind was slowing me down and I began to walk.

As in the previous HMRRC Winter series race, I was running alone most of the time.The speedy runners kept passing me but each one seem to say “Good job or you’re doing great.” That was nice. I, however, did not pass anyone.

I just kept plugging along trying to maintain good running form and minimize my arm & back ache.

The last 4 miles were the hardest. It seemed that every runner that passed me by was on their last lap but I had to run one more grueling lap.

This is when I start counting my steps to keep up the pace.

Finally the end was near but 279 runners (out of 309) were done and when I came to the next to last turn, there was no volunteer and I went straight instead of turning left. Luckily I realized my mistake and turned around. To make mattes worse, at the last turn, I had no idea whether to turn left or go straight so I waited until the next runner (an old guy) came so I would not run the wrong way again.

I tried to make up time for my mistakes and sprinted across the finish line at 2:18:33.

Believe it or not, that was a PR!!

Although, this was a tough race for me with the wind, I was happy that I didn’t quit.

done!

Inside, I had some soup, bread, pizza and hot chocolate before I ventured out into the cold again. I knew I didn’t win a age group award. The majority of the runners finished under 2 hours and the slowest, I think finished in 2:30.

hhm

Race Splits: (my Garmin actually worked)

mile 1 – 9:54
mile 2 – 10:05
mile 3 – 9:52
mile 4 – 10:04
mile 5 – 10:54 (water & gu)
mile 6 – 10:32
mile 7 – 10:36
mile 8 – 11:28 (water & gu)
mile 9 – 10:32
mile 10 – 10:54
mile 11 – 11:03 (water)
mile 12 – 10:54
mile 13- 10:47
.23 – 8:44

If only I was strong enough to run without walking, I would have a faster finish time.

My goal was to get through the race without too much pain and boredom. A PR was a plus!

I am glad that I started the new year with a race.

Now I have to stay healthy for 16 more days!