Interclub Relay Race

So much has happened since my last entry, some of it good and some of it pretty heartbreaking, but somehow I came out the other side walking and yep, running again.

After the accident, I found I wanted to try running since my knee was only holding up to so much climbing on the bike, so I signed myself up for Run for Regis in January and hit the trails.  Somewhere, somehow and God willing I love them now, on the bike or on foot, muddy and full of bugs bring 'em on (I just keep baby wipes and clean clothes in the car now for after - HA!).

So our unofficial team leader, Daisy talked 6 of us from Team Bicycle Hub into signing up for the Northeast Running Clubs: Interclub Relay Race and still unable to say "No Daisy, that's a bad idea for me."  I replied "IN."  I was thankfully given the 3 mile leg.  My other teammates (MarSassy and Ghost) would run the 5 and 8 mile legs (no sense in leaving the slowpoke out there any longer than need be).  Team: Felonious Jogger Floggers was born.

It was low 30's and sunny.  I ended up changing into capris and road shoes after I pre-ran part of the bridle trail and started cooking during my warm-up and saw it was fairly dry.   It had been a few weeks since I had hungout with my teammates but we picked up right where we left off taking silly pics and joking around before sufferfest began. 

Ghost took off at 9am with the 8 mile group and then MarSassy left 3 minutes later for the 5 mile route and then I would leave 3 minutes after that with the 3 milers.  I started with B-Dizzle who was talking trash about the OSU vs. WI game and how he was gonna beat me, just like my Badgers had gotten beat.  I had nothing good to say to his truths so I just wrapped my arms around him and hugged him until the race started so I could stay warm. 

I detest 3 mile races.  It's always balls out from the start, blow-up around the 1.5-2 mile mark and then curse my way to the finish for the last mile or so.  I was in the second row and true to form the race started like there was a hole shot, ugh!  I ripped through the first half mile before I finally convinced myself to back off.  I was running comfortable not sure how much climbing I would have to do.  I even felt good enough to yell at B-Dizzle as I passed him to quit goofing around because he had stopped to tie his shoe.  He was up and past me before the first mile.  The course was rolling and mile 1 clipped off at 8:20.

E-Gad!!!  That was the slowest first mile in a race I had probably run in 4 years, not counting a marathon or half iron.  Well, my pride was damaged and I started picking it up.  I dropped a few people and passed a few more.  Mile 2 was pretty flat and maybe a little more downhill.  Downhills on a mountain bike or on foot --- SOLD!!!  Mile 2 - 7:49. 

The last mile was rolling (upish) and had 2 steep, albeit short climbs.  I walked both briskly since hills tend to make my knee swell and I was moving as fast as the guy in front of me was jogging, hahaha!  E-speed had once told me "walking uphill with a purpose is just as fast as running sometimes."  The walking also allowed me a little bit of recovery so I started closing on the downhills on the guy in front of me and eventually got him before the finish.  Mile 3 - 8:05. 

Time: 24:14. 

Thank goodness for the guys, they ran fast enough to put us in 5th place overall for the co-ed teams, with MarSassy running a 42:03 for 5 miles and Ghost ripping off 1:00:13 for 8 miles. 

Total Time: 2:06:13

Our other Team: Two Roses and a Thorn (very fitting if you know Cash) finished 3rd overall for the co-ed teams even with Crash taking a wrong turn and ending up with a 5 minute detour.  They still got him his wood after all.

Natatorium 5K 2012 - A Family Affair

It was that time again.  It was my dad's birthday and the annual Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium 5k, for the family was upon us.  I was super excited for this day and ready to retain my title, as family champ.  I had even given my family a handicap by doing a full distance triathlon (or ironman for those who don't give a sh*t who owns the name rights) the weekend before.

Those over 50+ years of age had a great shot at PRing, but those of us under, well not so much.

A-train was about as nervous as I had ever seen him.  He was dreading the race as he was pretty much doing the abbrevitated couch potato to 5k training program, completing it in less than 24 hours.  I had celebrated too much throughout the week and felt a wee bit heavier than normal and sluggish.  God, this was going to be fun.

After getting our numbers and schwag, one of which is a really nice dri-fit shirt (score!)  We opted to run backwards to the 2 mile marker and back for a warm-up.   We partook in some family friendly trash talking and teasing  while we lined up at the start.  The temp was 50-60's and sunny.  It was a perfect day, just like last year.  A-train and I are way through the 500+ participants, but not quite far enough as we had to run around people for the first 1/2 mile. 

A-train pulled ahead of me about 5-10 seconds and although I wanted to push the pace to catch up to him, I felt it a much wiser choice to stay where I was at.  The first mile I split 7:38.  I was hoping for 7:40-7:50 pace on the day, so that was good.  The course is set-up so your first mile should be the fastest and last the slowest with the uphills or inclines, whatever you want to call them.

I spent a large part of the race trying to get my intensity up without blowing up.  All summer, I had trained to go long and under control, only doing a few hard paced runs.  I felt "off" and out of sorts.  I kept remining myself  "You've got a lot of endurance.  You aren't gonna get tired in 3.1 miles, just go with it."  It didn't matter.  I still backed off on mile 2, complacently settling into a pace that felt a little hard, but nothing pressing.  I was rewarded with and 8:00/mile.  Damn!!  I got what I deserved though.   Although some runners were still coming back to me, probably just as many had passed me.

I tried to surge like last year and push myselft that last mile and it worked.  A-train turned left at the corner and looked back.  I thought he saw me so I waved (afterwards, he said he didn't).  I made the turn too and started pushing.  One-by-one people I started to pass people.  I even made up ground going up the hills.  Training for Rev had made me stronger than I realized.  And then it happened....

On the last climb, I caught A-train.  He was tired and when I pulled up along side him I encouraged him to pick it up and come with me.  He waved me on.  I didn't want to make it any worse, so I pushed up the climb to the top.  At the top, I forced myself to keep the pressure on  to the 3 mile marker and split 7:56. 

As I made the final right turn to the finish, it occurred to me that A-train may come back on me and run me down at the line.  I was okay with that.  He was doing this for me, because I had asked him and it took a lot for him to swallow his pride and suffer through a 5k when your so far from the runner you used to be.  I continued to push the pace all the way to the line, but one girl came SCREAMING by like a fighter plane and I was not going to fight her.  The last thing I needed to do was let my ego take over and hurt myself by being dumb.  The last 0.1 was :54 seconds. 

Finished in 24:27, avg.  7:53/mile.  I just eeked out A-train by a few seconds.

I saw J.R., owner of Ritchies Sporting Goods at the finish, gave him a big hug and said "hi," before
A-train and I went back to look for my mom.  We saw her at the top of the last climb.  She looked too good.  I jogged in with her while A-train went back for my dad.  The RD M.R. of Northcoast Multisports was nice enough to make an announcement "here come the Heier women" which was awesome.  Mom actually, ended up with a PR and went sub-13 min/mile -- FINALLY!  I am so proud of her. 

I ran over to the car and grabbed A-train's camera phone (and I would post pics if he would send the darn things to me!!) and snapped pics while he was finishing.  T.S. and a few of the ladies at the final turn started singing happy birthday to my dad as he came around the last turn.  Dad finished with a PR and without getting hurt on his birthday -- Whoo Hoo!!

In the end, I retained my title as family champ.  Next year, I am gonna 3-peat baby!! 

Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium 5k

I had a strange request for my 34th birthday.  I wanted my family to run/walk a 5k.  Everyone was game, even my sister-in-law who was 4 months pregnant and who would be pushing my 18 month old niece.  Whoo Hoo!! 

It seemed after lots of trash talking amongst certain family members, only my little brother and I would be running.  My little brother is by far the best runner in the family (he ran a marathon when he was 15, because he is nuts), but after dislocating his knee cap a few times over the past 10+ years his leg just doesn't handle the repetitive pounding that running provides.

My legs were trashed from the 17+ miles I had run after work on Thursday.  It had been such a nice evening when I had gotten home from work the scheduled 8 miles, somehow transformed into 17.  I thought maybe a 3 mile warm-up would help workout some of the stiffness, but all throughout the warm-up, I felt fatigued and tight.  I stretched and did a few dynamic exercises along with some striders -- nothing seemed to help. 

My brother and I started somewhere in the middle, which was still too far back.  We had to run around people and it took us a few seconds to just cross the starting line.  My brother's plan was to try and run with me (and then probably move in for the kill at the end) for as long as possible.  My plan was to run steady effort throughout and not fade, like last time. 

The course was not flat.  It was rolling, but shaded.  There were a lot more women in front of me than I had hoped.  I hoped some of them would start coming back to me as the miles wore on and to my delight a few did by the first mile.  I felt good and on cruise control.  Mile 1 was 7:20 and although I felt good, it was slower than the last race and knowing there were more rollers coming I had low expectations. 

Mile 2 seemed to take forever and I was able to get a few more girls, so I think I passed about 6 at this point.  I had lost my brother almost immediately and hoped he was just a few steps behind me.  I was breathing well, but my legs were dead.  I split 7:27.

At the start of the last mile, I had been focused on this brunette in a long sleeve white tee and black capris.  I had worked my way up to her over the last two miles.  She had faded pretty hard, but I had the feeling that if I passed her she would be one of those that will fight you to the end, even if she has to sprint, back-off, sprint and back-off -- you know the kind I'm talking about.  I don't usually strategize in a foot race.  I am too slow.  I just run my best to the finish, but for some reason with her, I felt if I passed her I would have to pick-it up and give her the impression that I had started off slow and was now just getting up to a pace that she shouldn't even bother trying to hang on to.

Apparently, I am a bad actress.  I opened my stride up and took off as I passed her.  I know I gapped her, I could feel it as I ran hard for about 200 meters.  I had also managed to close the gap on two women up ahead of me.  I tried to focus on catching them, but I had the feeling that the girl behind me was more of a threat than the two in front of me.  I surged again as I caught and passed each girl.  I was definitely beat at this point and with 500 meters to go I hit the last hill before the finish and then it happened.  The girl I had passed and suspected would be a threat at the finish passed me!   Crap!!  I picked up the pace and stayed with her to the 3rd mile marker and split 7:29. 

As always, when you hit that 3 mile marker in a race the last .1 feels infinitely longer than when you run it in a warm-up.  I was gassed.  She picked it up and started pulling away.  I half-ass tried, but my body and my heart had nothing.  I couldn't get my legs moving faster than a 6:55/mile pace.  I hit the line in 23:13 (garmin).  I  don't know the official results, the website is "under construction." 

My garmin said 3.14 and avg pace was 7:25/mile, which was about the same as the last 5k.  Uuugghhh!!  I am so not progressing as fast as I would like to. 

My little brother finished in 24:37 (7:55/mile).  He said could see me up until the last mile and then I "took off."  We laughed about that, because he admittedly faded pretty hard that last mile and ran 8:45. 

My parents finished holding hands (my dad was listed first in the results, so of course he razzed my mom, who will probably never finish a race with him again, haha!).  My preggo sister finished by running into the finish and my niece started screaming bloody murder at the 2 mile marker so my brother had to pick her up (she gets a DNF!!). 

Here is the video to the finish.  I think I am somewhere afte 7 mins and my brother is about 8:30 - 9:00 minutes in. 

Aurora Labor Day 5k - The Fade Away

The last time I ran this race was 2006 or 2007.  Let's just say it had been awhile. 

Anyway, this week called for a 3 mile tempo at 8:00/mile.  I had just done that a week or so ago, but the idea of running it on the treadmill did not appeal to me -- at all and the weather was 65F and overcast (a near perfect day in my book to race), so at 8:14am this morning, I made the executive decision to hit up the race that started at 9:00am. 

Registration and packet pick-up were efficient and quick.  I even had time to hit the porta-john twice before the race.  I only managed 0.75 miles for my warm-up.  My legs, specifically my quads were tight and a little sore from yesterday's run.  I kept reminding myself, this is going to cover your tempo workout this week and be way easier, if you're racing.  I did a few striders and lined up.  I planned to run my hardest and hoped it would be in the 7:30s. 

I had been guessing my fitness level based on my long runs and treadmill workouts, but with the relay coming up in a few weeks I need to know how close to 7:00/miles I would be.  Obviously, I am hoping for sub-7s (as I'm sure my teammates are too). So, I needed a fix.  I needed a race, not only to see where I was physically, but mentally. 

I started too far back, on purpose in hopes of going out conservative and picking it up each mile.  It would ultimately cost me at the end, but alas  I wasn't out to win the race (not that I ever would be).

The race is two laps around the park.  There is one little incline in the first .25 miles and then a small but steep hill right before mile 1. 

The horn sounded and it seemed a lot of people didn't move.  "What are they doing?"  I thought.  The race was only chipped at the finish, not the start.  I immediately ran by a bunch of people.  I didn't see any fast chicks at the race and new I would more than likely be toward the front.  I assumed some high school ringer might blow the field away, but that wasn't the case (duh!! cross country season is in full swing).  I followed a blonde through the mile 1 and split 7:16 (garmin - 7:18).  That was a lot better than I thought it would be.  I felt good too, but I didn't want to die at 1.5, so I tried to rein it in and stay under control as I passed the blonde and took advantage of the nice little decline back to the entrance of the park.

We had to make a handful of sharp turns back at the entrance to the park before heading out for lap 2, which definitley wasn't helping me.  My breathing was good, but my legs were fatigued and my stomach was a little off.  You know how you poop before a race and then you get that crampy, either you're gonna crap your pants or your uterus is gonna fall out feeling?  Well, I had a mild case of that as I neared the 2 mile marker.  The timer called out 13:2x and I was glad I had my garmin on.  It was undoubtedly short.  I ran and ran and no beep.  Crap!!  It finally beeped, but I didn't care what the split showed and just kept running.  Mile 2 split (per Garmin) 7:25. 

I was hoping at this point, I would feel good and be able to pull out my fastest mile here at the end.  I finally saw a girl about .5 miles ahead and she looked like she was fading.  I tried to focus on her and close the gap.  I wondered if she would look back to see if anyone was behind her.  She never did.  We passed the water stop and I heard someone call out 4th woman as I went by.  I managed to work my way up to her with a little at a time.  As we came out of the woods to the front of the park where the finish was I wasn't exactly sure if we cut through the grass to the finish or had to go around on the path.  It didn't matter.  GD saw me and yelled "Come on ElizaBeth!!!" 

Now, I have never seen a girl jump like that in my life, but apparently that woke her up and just like that she straightened up her form and picked up the pace.  "Darn It!"  I hadn't planned on trying to kill myself yet.  Oh well, I took off and remarkably closed the gap on her!  I was almost on her shoulder.  I yelled "Come on girl!!  I'm coming!!  Go!!  You can do this!!"  to her.  She picked up the pace and I matched her, running right off her shoulders.  I yelled again.  "I'm still coming!!" or something like that and she found another gear and so did I.  She crossed the finish banner one step in front of me, but the mats were 2 steps after that.  I had once made the stupid mistake of stopping too soon, so I went to the mat.  Mile 3, 7:35.  (That song, "Sail Away" popped in my head, but I changed the lyrics to "Fade Away, Fade Away --- Booooo!!!)  And the last 451ft., 31.5 seconds.

I felt great at the finish, except for my stomach, which was a little wonky.  I knew I had to hit the bathroom asap.  I shook hands with the girl and congratulated her.  She definitely didn't look too good at the finish.  I asked if she was okay, before leaving her and she nodded.  I ran to the bathroom and felt better after I did my business. 

At the awards ceremony, they had me as 3rd female overall, because the girl had stopped after she crossed the banner and walked to the mat, but I explained to the RD what had happened and pointed out the girl that should be 3rd overall.  She was super nice about it and I told her it was a training run for me to gauge where my fitness was at.  She said the same for her.  I suppose, to the mat I beat her.  Had I started up farther in the beginning of the race perhaps I would have never had this happen.  Either way, it is a shoulda, coulda, woulda, such as this I think, that makes runners even more neurotic and overly analytical than they already are.  I'm not sure what was in the little box the top overalls got, but I'm okay with not having it whatever it is.  My official time was 22:49.  Avg Pace: 7:24.

In basketball, the fade away is a sweet shot (Michael Jordan did it best, in my opinion), but in running there's nothing sweet about it.