The Great Race 10k version 2.0

I ran The Great Race again this year. Now last year when I ran it, it was the first time I had ever run more than five miles. This year, I had another 10k, several other 5ks, and a half marathon under my belt. I felt good.

I didn't do as well as I felt, though. I know I'm not eating right at the moment. It's tough to make food choices based on what I need in my diet and what I can afford. I hate making those choices.

Anyway, it took me three extra minutes to finish this year, 1:11:43 is what I ran. (Last year I was around 1:08, so you see my disappointment.)

I'm glad I ran it though. I need a wake-up call like that every once in awhile, I suppose. I'm trying to keep going as a runner while trying to keep going as a human being and neither is an easy course of action.

Here's my least favorite stretch of The Great Race...
Almost all the people I talked to about the race said it was their least favorite part too. It's like you've already run five miles and you have a little left to go, but it seems much longer on this stretch of road. The view isn't that great (unless you look to the left... and risk running into people) and it's really sunny.

So I'm glad I ran the race. My music helped me keep up a decent pace. Too bad I didn't beat the time from last year. Guess I have to wait for 2014 now.

Karissa's 2012 Race Recap

This was my first year as a runner. I started running in earnest in November 2011, hitting a trail near my home every day that I could. I loved it. When it got cold, though, my lungs didn’t love it and I was stuck indoors with no real way to keep going. After Christmas I decided to join the Anytime Fitness in my neighborhood. I know, I know: this is the New Year’s resolution of New Year’s resolutions… a gym membership. But my real resolution was to run a 5k. A few days into January I signed up for a race in April with a friend. The date was on the calendar and I now had a goal to work towards. 

I signed up to work with a personal trainer for a few sessions at a special introductory price and learned how to use the machines and free weights, and she also taught me some things about nutrition and what muscle groups to work in what order. I couldn’t afford to continue with personal training, but I took what I learned from those sessions and did my best to apply it as the months wore on.

I ran as much as possible. 

 

All is not lost

I finally got my race stats from Saturday's less-than-spectacular run to sync with Nike+. (I had been experiencing technical difficulties.) I am pleasantly surprised to learn that Saturday's race DID set a few personal records for me. They weren't the ones I was expecting, but they are PRs nonetheless.

The challenge of perceived failure

I've been lucky with running so far. I've had good races, finishing in the middle of my age group, the middle of my gender, the middle of the pack of runners. It was nice to feel average especially since I only started running a year ago. Average felt like a real accomplishment. I've never kidded myself into thinking that I could win any of these races--I'm not an elite runner, like these awesome people who have wheels for legs and have been running since they were potty trained. My goal with every race is, as I've said before, to finish.

Well, it seems that just finishing races was enough for me until I started falling towards the back of the pack. Last Saturday's trail race put me in the last 5% of runners. I was happy to finish, but I was feeling bad about my performance. I bucked up and told myself that I was going to run that course two more times and that now I had a time to beat. Yeah. And I am going to beat it... But this Saturday I think I mentally put myself behind the eight ball before I got to the start line and I held myself there throughout the race.

I felt like the race could've been better organized. I'm not usually one to complain about venues or parking for races, but this was a little inconvenient. My boyfriend and I arrived at the park, parked the car where we were told to, and started walking towards the ice rink. When I realized it was about 15 minutes until the race started, I started jogging. I caught up with a few other runners who were having the same problem. We realized as we got closer to the ice rink that we had just jogged about two miles from where we parked.

Here I am as Fitness Barbie.

I got inside, picked up my bib and packet, and hurriedly prepped for the race--pin the bib, tie on the chip, secure the iPod, tie the shoes comfortably. My boyfriend handed me my water bottle, snapped a picture of me in my costume, and I rushed to the start line. I was already tired and feeling a little defeated. I kept wondering what I had missed in the race information about parking and the race start. I felt like it was my fault, even though there were others with the same problem.

The gun went off and we began to climb the first hill. The tagline for this race is "The first hill's a killer." They aren't kidding. I've never run up such a steep incline. Chalk it up to inexperience. I trotted up as long as I could handle and then walked. And walked. The hill just kept going. It felt like it should've been half of the race, for as much effort as it took to scale. I joked with one of the other runners that I had forgotten my rappelling gear.

After that hill, a brief reprieve, then another. And another. Even though these subsequent hills were smaller, they felt gratuitous and cruel. By this point, the pack had thinned out quite a bit and I knew I was in the back 10% without a question. I felt even more defeated.

I trudged along. When I saw the mile markers, they felt like lies. Surely I had run farther than that. I thought about quitting. I was having trouble breathing, my asthma inhaler felt completely useless, and it seemed like my chest couldn't expand enough to take in the air that I craved.

I'm pretty easy to spot in all that pink... I also appear to
dwarf everyone else in the photo.

I wasn't having fun anymore. I was plodding along for the sake of keeping up with other people, trying not to be last, feeling bad for myself because I felt so unqualified to run this race. I was embarrassed when, in the last mile and a half, the police officer at the barricade told me I could to it and I asked where the finish line was. He pointed and I swore aloud. I stopped running and walked till the finish line was a straight shot and pushed myself to jog across the finish line. My boyfriend was there and took a few pictures. I look angry.

Now that it's been a few days since that race, I've had some time to reflect. I'm not going to get all Pollyanna and say that I've learned so much from this experience, blah, blah, blah, but I have learned a few things.

1. Plan the pre-race stuff better. Parking, bib pickup, and start line location should not be something I'm figuring out on race day. I *thought* I had this figured out for this race, but I should've confirmed this with a map or a phone call to the race organizers. Getting to the start line should not be a gauntlet in itself.
2. If possible, run the course before the race. This probably wouldn't have been possible for this race, but the second best option would've been to talk to others who have run it and find out what it's like from them so I am a little better prepared for its challenges.
3. Get out of my head. This is something I'm getting better at elsewhere in my life, but until this point I had felt like coaching myself through a run was helpful... not this time. My inner coach took on a menacing tone and basically berated me for most of the race. That is not helpful. Instead, I need to be mindful of my surroundings, my body, and my goal.
4. Finish. Just finish. I keep telling myself that my goal is always to just finish, but that wasn't true on Saturday. I did finish, but that wasn't enough. IT IS enough. I did it. I am becoming okay with that. It wasn't my best race (in fact, it was my worst to date), but I still finished. I did NOT give up and quit, even though I felt like quitting several times throughout the race.

That is one ticked off Barbie. 1:15 was only 7 minutes on to
my first 10K time (1:08), but I was really upset.

I also need to work on my asthma maintenance, nutrition, performance apparel selection, and hydration (since I was praying for water stops that simply weren't there). But those will take more time and research. The list above is stuff I can and should do immediately.

The mental run is just as challenging, if not more so, than the physical run. To this point, I have been training my body. Now, I've found, it's time to begin training my mind to match.

Any suggestions? How do you stay focused or positive during a race? How do you avoid feeling defeated?

My dream race, and other potential future races

It's never too soon to think about my next race. I've realized that if I want to run a race every month that I need to plan wisely. Many of my races will need to be local (within 50-100 miles; daytripping!), but I'm okay with planning a few excursions to selected locations. If I have friends to visit nearby who can also house me, so much the better.

I'm also thinking that planning ahead more will help me keep the financial factor under control. Earlier this year when I just started signing up for races, I did so without thinking much about the costs. I'm tallying what I've spent on registration fees (not including fuel/tolls/other transportation costs), and I'm convinced I can budget better than this!

I've decided to set my sights on a dream race. With all the news about the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, I got interested in the half to be held in DC this spring. It's the weekend before the Pittsburgh Half... so I don't think I'll get to do it this year. But I went to San Francisco last summer with my very best friend and loved it. I would LOVE to work hard, train hard, and run hard to get to the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. It looks like an amazing event.  

• Pittsburgh Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon, August 4, 2013
• Hot Chocolate 15K, Albuquerque, NM; TBD (September?)
• Nike Women's Half Marathon, San Francisco, CA; TBD (October?)

I know that realistically I won't be able to make both races that involve travel... My dream race may have to wait until 2014.

Do you have a dream race? Do you have any other suggestions for awesome races that I should check out? Do tell!!

Addicted to running

It's now a tradition: on New Year's Eve my boyfriend and I sit down to reflect on the year we're leaving behind and the year we're taking head-on. We each write a list of accomplishments or just general "awesome things" about the year past and, usually after some reminiscing, we turn toward the coming year and write resolutions or goals.

On December 31, 2011, my New Year's resolutions included "Run a 5K." I had started running in November and was beginning to enjoy it (after a few weeks of soreness from using muscles I had long forgotten about), so I thought I would challenge myself.

In January 2012, I joined a gym. The Anytime Fitness near me was a great choice, especially as my work situation changed drastically in March. My new job left me coming and going at odd hours, so the 24-hour possibility of a workout was a relief. Then my company gave me a membership to LA Fitness down the street from the office. 

I couldn't have known what this would turn out to be. I couldn't have predicted that I would become addicted to running. 

I registered for my first 5K in February with a friend. She knew about my goal and was getting back into running too, so we vowed to go together. The race was in April, so we had time to get ready. With zeal and energy, I ran and ran. An outsider not privy to my 5K goal might have thought I was preparing for a marathon. In my mind, this was such an important goal. 

By the time the April 21st race rolled around, I was already registered for my next race--the Pittsburgh Marathon 5K--and knew that running was something I wanted to keep in my life.

I ran my first 5K for a fallen Pennsylvania State Trooper, Trooper Iwaniac, in Latrobe, PA. My time? 32:04. I was beyond thrilled. An average of just over 10 minutes per mile delighted me... and ignited me. I started signing up for more races and by the time I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon 5K on May 5th, I had races planned for June and July.

I've raised money for charity for a few races. I chose only those dearest to my heart--the Animal Rescue League of Pittsburgh in honor of my own rescue mutt (May 5th) and the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Pennsylvania in honor of my sister who has dealt with epilepsy her whole life (July 21st). Those races were meaningful in a different way. Sure, I was meeting my goal of running the race, but I meditated on the reason for the race and that provided a little something extra that I struggle to describe. It's a holistic, peaceful vibe that the world can be good if good people make it so. That's the best I can do with words, without making you come with me to feel it for yourself.

At this point, I've run a race every month since April: April, May, June, July, August, and September. I ran my first 10K in September, which was another milestone I couldn't have predicted. I've also now scheduled more races for October, November, and December that, combined, total more than I ran in the prior six months! Running everything from a 5K to a 5 miler and an 8K to a 10K, the remainder of the year looks bright and fast.

And, for what it's worth, my finishing times are decent. For a novice, for someone who has only trained by running (not lifting or cross training much, if at all), for someone who just put on some shoes and strode for the road, my times are decent. I might not be winning races (yet??), but I am winning in my heart by meeting my goals. I battled my asthma for much of the summer, what with northeastern humidity and heat as it is, and my times were slower, but I am pleased nonetheless because I persevered. 

When December 31, 2012 rolls around (sooner than we realize), I will set my goals and make resolutions once more. This coming year I am registered for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon--the big 13.1 miles--so I will train for that through May 5th. The goal setting is what revs my engine. The achievement is what pushes me onward, covered in sweat, exhausted, and hungry, to run to the next goal. Yes, friends, it is safe to say I am addicted to running.

Completed:**2012**
April  21- Trooper Iwaniac 5k, Latrobe, PA; 32:04 (with Jenny)
May 5 - Pittsburgh Marathon 5k, Pittsburgh, PA; 31:03 (with Jenny)
June 30 - Fearless 5k, Allison Park, PA; 35:17 (solo)
July 21 - Epilepsy Foundation 5k, Pittsburgh, PA; 31:50 (with Caleb, for Katrina)
August 25 - Run Around the Square, Pittsburgh, PA; 34:50 (solo; a respectable time for the asthma problems I had.)
September 30 - The Great Race 10k, Pittsburgh, PA; 1:08:57 (solo; a new PR for my first 10K!)

Scheduled:
October 20 - Ohio Outside Trail Series #1 Five Miler, Kent, OH; www.ohiooutside.com/trail-series/index.html; with Eleanor
October 27- Terrifying 10K Costume Run, Allison Park, PA; www.pittsburghmarathon.com/Freaky5K.asp; solo
November 3 - New York Road Runners Dash to the Finish 5k, New York City; www.nyrr.org; with Amanda
November 11 - Marshall Mangler 8K, Allison Park, PA; http://race360.com/15303; solo
November 17 - Ohio Outside Trail Series #2 Five Miler, Kent, OH; www.ohiooutside.com/trail-series/index.html; with Eleanor
December 1 - Ohio Outside Trail Series #3 Five Miler, Kent, OH; www.ohiooutside.com/trail-series/index.html; with Eleanor
December 15 - Doomsday Dash 5K, Columbus, OH; www.doomsdaydash.com; with Eleanor

Traversing Pittsburgh: The Great Race 10K

I started running a year ago. After trying yoga, Pilates, and other “calmer” forms of exercise, I found the adrenaline rush in running to be just what I needed. And what did I need? A sport pushing me to stay active, motivated, competitive: a challenge. 

Most days I run alone. It’s me and the trail, me and the treadmill, me and the pavement. But on September 30, it was me, 6.2 miles of Pittsburgh pavement, and 10,074 other runners. 

On the last Sunday in September, runners take to the streets of Pittsburgh for what has become the largest 10K in Pennsylvania. This year, in its 35^th running, 10,075 people ran The Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race 10K. Add to that the 4,925 registrants for the 5K, and the grand total is 15,000 people, the largest crowd to date.

This was my first Great Race and my first 10K. To this point, my New Year’s resolution motivated me to run a 5K in April, May, June, July, and August. This was my September race. Many people told me that it is the best first 10K for a new runner. I felt welcome, albeit a little intimidated. 

My anxiety fueled my workouts. I would run that 10K and run it well, I told myself. I trained a little harder, diligently hitting the gym at least two days a week and running at least two more. I noticed I was feeling stronger as my distances grew. My legs no longer yielded to an incline.  By race day, I was ready for those hills.

I arrived at the start line much earlier than I needed to, but it was fun to chat with other runners about the course. And their shoes. Oh, the shoes! Brilliant, daring colors combinations with punchy laces forced me to greet people while staring at their shoes. But runners always talk about shoes. Any gear, really, but shoes are a big topic.

The gun went off and suddenly I felt like I was in a cattle drive—we all wanted to move, but we couldn’t until everyone in front of us began to move. After a few seconds of hesitant steps and running in place, we were off. Establishing my pace was relatively easy; I conquered that first incline through Squirrel Hill, hitting the first mile marker at just over nine minutes. 

People in the neighborhoods en route gathered on sidewalks to cheer as we ran past. Some cheered for family or friends; others were indiscriminate with their cheering and heartened the whole of us, telling us to keep going. Music faded in and out as we pushed onward; we were greeted by sound systems blasting “Eye of the Tiger” and collections of instrumentalists playing everything from college fight songs to the Rocky theme song. 

Going down Forbes Avenue into the Carnegie Mellon campus is when the rain began. By the time I was halfway down Fifth Avenue in the Pitt campus, I was soaked. It wasn’t a downpour, but it was steady enough and cold enough to affect me. My hands were numb by the time I passed Carlow University and reached the aid station on the Boulevard of the Allies; I couldn’t grip the cup of water to drink it.

I had been warned about the last hill. It was waiting for me at mile five in the Duquesne University campus. A bystander held a sign: “It’s just a hill: GET OVER IT!” I laughed and pushed forward.

The course literally is downhill from there. I ran cautiously not only because I was tired, but also because the sharp grade of that last hill, leading me down into Point State Park, could hurt me if I let it. With my feet slapping the wet pavement, I cruised down that final hill and reached the festivities in the park. (I have never seen so many umbrellas in one place!) Once I sensed that I was back on semi-level ground, I recognized the urge to run faster and sprinted for the finish line.

There is nothing like finishing a race. Finishing a race—crossing the finish line after enduring the trials of the course—is always my goal. I cross that line in my mind a hundred times because visualizing myself there, doing what I want to do, is what helps me make it a reality. When I crossed the finish line in Point State Park at the 2012 Great Race 10K, I smiled. I was drenched, exhausted, sore, hungry, cold, and desperately in need of a dry pair of socks, but I smiled.

MIA to 10K

The end of the fiscal year is a time when my personal life seems to come to a halt. No, I'm not in finance; I have contracts coming to an end... At work.

I've meant to write about the beautiful autumn we are having here, how I've enjoyed running in the briskness of the setting sun, or the brilliance of the new stretches I learned. Instead, I'll post a picture and promise to provide at least a synopsis of my first 10K, coming this Sunday.

It's the largest one in PA and the 12th largest in the nation. I'm excited, but a little nervous. I'm wishing that I didn't have slight pain in my shins. (Possibly from the brisk trail running I did. :-/)

I'll finish. I know I won't let myself quit. I don't know how to quit. :-)

Anyway, the photo here is a white-breasted nuthatch. I was especially thrilled when I discovered him at my feeder because I've never been visited by this particular bird in the past. It's the small things, you know?

Back in action

Wow, so I hadn’t planned to take off this much time from blogging. I went on vacation and ended up getting slammed in both my professional and personal lives…

It’s been a struggle to get back into the swing of things. It’s so easy to break up the everydaying of life with something exciting, but I find that it’s more difficult to transition back to the same ol’, same ol’ afterwards. Isn’t that strange? I thought that humans were creatures of habit. I like consistency and planning things out. I thrive on knowing my next step in whatever it is that I’m doing. I just can’t seem to get myself back on schedule.

Anyway, the good news is that fall is here and the temperatures have dropped along with the humidity, leaving me free to run outside again. I’m looking forward to the races I have in the coming weeks. I ran outside a few days last week and felt great, so I am hoping the races will go well too. I’ve got a 10k at the end of this month so I’m trying to build my stamina right now—longer runs with a consistent pace. I’m not worrying about speed right now. My first goal, as always, is to finish the race. Other goals come to mind on race day, usually: don’t finish last, finish before some other person I’m pacing myself with… things like that.

My asthma is a little more under control, even though I still struggle with some breathlessness. I’m planning to meet with an allergist, though, to see if there are any triggers I should look out for. Evidently ragweed is really bad right now. I did not know that…