Three Things Thursday

1. Running Diva Mom's Virtual 10k
I woke at 430am a little tired but knew that if I didn't get this virtual 10K done this morning I probably wouldn't get it in tomorrow - especially since I have plans to swim tomorrow morning!

So, I flew out of bed, changed, and was to the gym and on the treadmill by 445am. It's nice to live so close to the gym and now have 24-hour access to the cardio and weight machines. Before 24-hour access was available, I wouldn't be able to get on the treadmill until after 5 and there was no way I would be able to run this distance and get ready in time for work.

I will admit, doing long runs on the treadmill is not ideal and I do not recommend it to anyone. I know that I run faster on the treadmill then I do outside, so I crank up the incline to "try" to give myself a more similar workout to running outside. Today I had it set on between 1.5 and 2.0 for the entire run. This also helps with my knees.

Breaking the run down - The treadmills are set to shut down after 30 minutes, so I broke my run down into 2 30 minute sessions, and then completed the rest of the 10K. (Unlike some of you, I need more than an hour to run a 10K.) Here's how it looks:

First 30 min = 2.56 mi(11:42 pace)
Second 30 min = 2.64 mi(11:21 pace)
+ 11:34 min = 1.1 mi (10:30 pace)
Total = 6.3 miles

For some reason, I always have this habit of adding a .1 or .2 to my runs. Don't ask. I just do it.

Overall, it was a good run and faster than I expected. My last long run left my right groin feeling a bit twinged, but today all was good. My left knee was a little tight, but I know that with a little extra stretching throughout the day and using the foam roller tonight, I will be golden.

Love, love, LOVE, these virtual races! Did you participate?


2. Brad Paisley Concert
This past Saturday, the BF and I and another couple, went to the Brad Paisley Concert at the Ralph Englestad Arena (Fighting Sioux Hockey arena) as part of the BF's birthday celebration. Even though we were up pretty high, our seats were perfect - just off the corner of the stage.

Justin Moore was the first opening act and even though I didn't know many of his songs, he did a wonderful job and I really enjoyed his music. Then Darius Rucker (Hootie) performed and did an AWESOME job. I would love to see that man in concert if he started his own tour. What an amazing musician he is! Brad Paisely did awesome as well. The music was a little loud for his concert and all of his mad-guitar skills, but overall it was a wonderful show! We definitely got our moneys worth with 3+ hours of music!


3. A Well-Needed Break
Next week we have Thursday and Friday off for NDEA conference. It used to be required that teachers go, or stay back and work in their classrooms, but now it's not part of our contract hours, so many don't go. Sometimes I miss how it was my first couple years of teaching and choosing to stay back to do grades, progress reports, prepare lessons, etc. However, I look forward to having these two days off. It will make for a nice long weekend ... to get some grad school homework done.

Virtual Non-Race 10K

Yesterday I participated in James' Virtual non-race. As part of this virtual non-race, you could choose from a 5K, 10K, or 10-miler. I chose to do the 10K.

He called this a non-race just for that reason. There was no racing and no worries about time. The goal was to just get out there and run, remembering why it is we enjoy running in the first place.

When: Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 @ 5pm

This non-race couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me. I haven't done this kind of distance since the 10K in May and didn't know what I would be capable of accomplishing but looking forward to going the distance!

Where: I chose to do it on the treadmill for a few reasons:
1. I wanted to distract myself with some good Sunday football,
2. I wanted to focus on a good run/walk method, and
3. Even though it was 64 degrees outside, it was extremely windy and the wind hurts my ears.

Goals:
1. To enjoy the run and listen to my body.
2. Stay true to the run/walk method and increase my speed as the run goes on and my body feels strong.

Results:
I started this run with a nice 5 minute warm-up walk to get the legs moving. From there, I did a run 3ish/walk 1 minute method at a pretty slow pace (around 12:00 miles). The first 5K of this 10K was done in approximately 37:30 - averaging around 12:05/mile. I was feeling pretty strong when going into the second 5K and decided to pick up the pace a bit. I was able to finish the 2nd 5K in about 34:00 - averaging my pace right around 10:58/mile.

After reaching 6.2 miles, I walked a quarter of a mile to finish off my distance for the day at 6.45 miles.

After Thoughts:
My right groin muscles was starting to feel a bit tight and I knew it was from my form and the fact that my body was not used to lifting my legs for that long. I focused on changing my form a bit and the tightness in the groin subsided a bit.

I thought about goals for the coming year and what I might accomplish come 2011. Obviously these thoughts will be left for a later post.

This was a great run and I am not really sore this morning. It did wipe me out completely and I was able to sleep like a baby last night.

It's a run like this that makes me keep coming back for more... looking forward to my next long run!

I will leave you with a quote that I got in my email this weekend and absolutely loved:

"I think I get used to, even addicted to, the feelings associated with the end of a long training run. I love feeling empty, clean, worn out, starving, and sweat-purged. I love the good ache of muscles that have done me proud. I love the way a cold beer tastes later that afternoon. I love the way my body feels light and sinewy."

~ Kristin Armstrong, Author and runner

GoFar Challenge Recap - 5K/10K

If you missed it, I posted about the Fargo Youth Run HERE. Go check it out!

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run."
~John Bingham, running writer and speaker~

GoFar Challenge!



This was the first year that the race director decided to move the 5K from Saturday morning to Friday night. With that idea, they added the GoFar Challenge. To participate in this challenge, one would have to do the 5K Friday night, and then another event on Saturday morning, whether it was the 10K, 1/2 marathon, or full-marathon! So, not only would one receive a finisher medal for the Friday 5K, but also for the race of choice on Saturday morning; including two t-shirts, two swag bags, and the GoFar Challenge Finisher medal! That's 3 medals!!


I thought this was a great idea and knew that it was something I just had to do! Initially, I was hoping to do the 5K/Half Marathon GoFar Challenge, but decided to scale back a bit and do the 10K instead of the Half Marathon. Looking back now, that was a good choice on my part.


So, without further a-do, here's the low-down on how both the 5K and 10K went down.


Friday, May 21st, 2010
Fargo 5K


This race started at 6:30pm. The temperature was about 78 degrees with high humidity. The high humidity was a huge concern for the weekend and the talked about pulling out the black flags, just in case they needed to put a halt to the marathon the next day.

I struggle with running in the heat, especially when you add in the nasty humidity and no breeze in sight. I usually end up overheating and have a hard time cooling down after a run in such conditions. So I went out there with a plan to run this race with ease and not push myself too hard. I reminded myself I had a 10K to do in approximately 12 hours and didn't want to overdue it.


A friend's fiance and his sister were also running this race and I planned to run with them as long as I could. We kept a pretty good pace for the first mile and then I lost them when I couldn't get around all the walkers and strollers. I refused to jump into people's yards and run on the uneven grass, so I let them go ahead.


About 2 miles in, I was started to get pretty warm and there was no water on the course. Coming back in for the last mile or so, I was running directly into the sun and wanted nothing more than to finish this race and finish it STRONG.


The last quarter of a mile I kicked into high gear, passing runner after runner on my way to the finish line. It felt great. The finish line was so congested when I crossed it that there wasn't a single good photo of me finishing.


There were 5197 people participated in this 5K. I finished right about in the middle of the pack, 2523 out of 5197 people. I crossed the finish mat at 37:52, a 12:12 min/mile pace. I am not particularly thrilled with my finish time, but I was starting to feel overheated and new I need to save something in the tank for the 10K the next day.


Pros:

• All the people participating in the race
• Nice weather - even though it was pretty warm
• All the people cheering along the course
• I like that they moved the 5K to Friday night so people can participate in that and any other event if they would like!

Cons:

• All the people participating in the race (yes, also a pro)
• No water on the course - very disappointing

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
Fargo 10K

This is the first year that they added the 10K distance to the marathon weekend. Prior to this year, the only way one could do a distance similar was if they were participating in the 4-person marathon relay; and even then, some were running less than 6 miles and some were running well over 7 miles, depending on which leg of the relay you would be.


My alarm went off at 445am. The 10K was to start at 7am and they advised people to be at the Fargodome an hour before. Jill met me at my house shortly before 530 and we planned to pick up another friend at 545. Traffic wasn't as heavy as I thought it was going to be. I pointed out the fact that we got to watch the sun come up on this beautiful Saturday morning... but I think I was the only one that enjoyed it and found it to be very calming.


We stood around for almost an hour, just waiting. I couldn't believe how many people were there; either doing the 10K, half marathon, marathon, or marathon relay. I had picked up my cousin's 10K packet and was afraid that I wasn't going to find him. I had told him to meet me on the west entrance of the dome, but forgot that it was going to be filled to the brim with runners. With only a few minutes to spare before heading out to the starting line, I found him. Phew.


A few minutes before 7am we ventured our way out the starting line on the street. At this point, the clouds had rolled in and there was a light mist. I think it was about 55 degrees. To many, this would be miserable running conditions, but I was looking forward to be cool. There was a combination of rain and mist the entire 10K, but I enjoyed it.

The route for the 10K was a bit different the the route for the half marathon or marathon and I was worried there wasn't going to be as many people out watching and cheering with the wet weather, but boy was I wrong!

I finished somewhere in the middle of the back half; 2165 out of 2668. My finish time was a very slow 1:22:39 with a 13:19/mile average. However, I ran the entire 6.2 miles and finished strong with a sprint through the finish chute! This was my first 10K evah, and I look forward to breaking this PR in the near future!

Pros:

• Cooler temps
• a little moisture in the air to cool one off
• enough water/powerade stations
• Route with many spectators

Cons:

• There were some dead spots along the way, where one could have really used a cheering section.
• The rain made me wet from head to toe - and my cell phone was sliding around in my sports bra towards the end... very uncomfortable.

Here's a collage of the weekend's festivities:

I know I have said it before, and I am going to say it again... If you are looking for a friendly, fun, and flat race course, you HAVE to check out the Fargo Marathon. Did you know that it is a Boston Qualifier?!

Have a great weekend, y'all. I look forward to catching up with you all, soon!