Three 5Ks in 48 Hours

I didn't exactly mean to sign up for three 5K's within 48 hours of each other.  It just sort of happened.  But I didn't run myself into the ground, I didn't get injured, and they were all a lot of fun.  Plus I think I learned something important about why I haven't gotten much faster.

Channeling my inner Starbuck, photo by CCRG

Merrell 5K Summer Series # 3

This race was on Thursday evening at the Monon Center in Carmel, same place as the first two.  Our Indy Women's Fall Training group did all 3 of these as part of our training, and they were all a lot of fun.  The course is really pretty, and has some slight elevation changes to make it challenging.

Close, but no PR

Thursday evening it was in the low 60's, and I thought if I had any chance of a new PR it would be at this race.  As it turns out, I came really close.  I might have done it if it had been chip start & finish, instead of gun start & chip finish.  I also might have done it if I hadn't slowed down around mile 2, thinking I could push more at the end if I gave myself a slight break in the middle.  More on that later.

Weekend Recap: 2 Sisters = 28.1 Miles

The Rollinses Win Again!

Badass Winners of Big Ol' Mugs

Laura & Mark ran in the Bays Mountain 15 Mile Trail Race on Saturday in Kingsport, TN.   They were a bit nervous about the weather as there was a chance of storms, but it turned out okay.  They did get a bit of rain, but no lightning or thunder.

Laura finished in 3:14:02, with a pace of 12:57, and won third in her age group!

Mark finished in 2:37:31 with a blistering pace of 10:31 and won second in his age group!

Friend Alice also had an impressive finish at 3:12:38 with a pace of 12:51.

A New Half Marathon PR

I ran in the Hendricks County Half Marathon, a wonderful little race and the runniversary of my very first half marathon.  It was 47, cloudy & very windy.  I wished I'd worn long sleeves, as I was cold for over half the race.  Other than the cold, however, I felt great.  I was nervous-excited, but I felt ready.  My knees didn't hurt at all, and at the end I really felt like I could keep going for a couple more miles.  I finished in 2:45:55, which is 4 minutes & 13 seconds faster than I finished this same race last year, and 9 whole seconds faster than I ran the Mini in May.  A new PR!

This race is only in it's third year, so it's still pretty small, but I bet it grows quickly as word gets out.  It's a great course:  well marked; with some slight inclines (Hoosiers probably call them hills); nice straight county roads with pretty views; and wonderful volunteers at water/Gatorade stops every mile.  I am of course partial to the stop at mile 1 & 11 manned by Living Faith Church, but the one with the cheerleaders was pretty fun too. 

My only complaint would be that the pictures aren't free this year.  I looked at the proofs, & I really like them.  Especially the one that caught me with both feet off the ground, so I look like I'm floating.  It would cost $12.99 to download it, though, and that's half the cost of doing another race.  Picture of me running versus me actually running?  We all know which one I'm choosing.

Coming Up

This week I have three 5K's within 48 hours.  First up, the Merrell Summer Series #3 on Thursday evening in Carmel.  Then the Arsenal 5K on Saturday morning at Arsenal Tech High School, and finally the Chateau Thomas Winery 5K on Saturday afternoon in Plainfield.  Perhaps I was a little overambitious scheduling all three of these.  The Arsenal 5K isn't chip-timed, so it will not be a 5K PR attempt.  The other two races are, and the weather is supposed to be in the 60's both days, so good running weather. 

Laura has the Rock the Quarry 5K trail run this Saturday - a repeat of one of her favorite races and one in which she placed last year.  Expect to see another picture of her with yet another award.

Race Discounts!

If you'd like to run the Chateau Thomas Winery 5K or 10K this Saturday, go HERE to sign up, use discount code FBFRIEND, and say you were referred by Teresa Hazel to save $5!

If you'd like to run the Santa Hustle 5K or Half Marathon in Indianapolis on 12/21, go HERE to register and use discount code TERHAZELIN to save $5!

Ketchup Post

Catching up on a few things I haven't had a chance to blog in the past couple weeks....

5K PR Watch

I made another attempt to achieve a new 5K PR at the 2nd Merrell Summer Series 5K on 8/28.  It was in the 80's and very humid that evening. I think they tried to help us ignore the heat by using race bibs leftover from the Polar Bear Run, but they didn't really help.I carried water with me since there were no water stops in the 1st race, but I still struggled through the heat and slowed down rather than sped up.  I'm okay with that, though. A lot of the reading I've been doing lately has said to run by feel, not by pace or speed.  So when it's hot and the run takes more effort, it's okay to slow down.  I'm still working hard and getting the benefits of that conditioning. As always, I had a lot of fun running with my friends from the Indy Women's Fall Training group.  And got a bonus t-shirt! Carmel Road Racing Group was giving away old race shirts to people who had preregistered.  Everyone knows how much I love Christmas, so I'm sure it's no surprise I picked this 5Ks of Christmas shirt.

 

I Am A Spartan

One of my friends told me about the Spartan Workout Tour, a free group workout designed to teach you how to train for a Spartan Race.  I've never done a Spartan Race - they look pretty hard core - but the workout was free and included a free t-shirt. So how could I say no?

September Races

I've just updated my September races, and yes, I am racing every weekend in September.  The first two weekends are going to be incredibly hard trail races, 18.6 and 15 miles, but they work out good mileage wise in my Marathon training.  Sometimes its just easier to race for some of the long runs, and since its trail I won't be running too fast and I will be getting amazing training.  The third weekend is a tough but short trail race through the rock quarry in Black Mountain, NC.  Placed last year so I'm hoping for a repeat.  Last weekend is the Sunset Stampede weirdly this year moved from an evening race to morning and from spring to fall.??. Anyway, this race is the one where my running buddy Alice and I started running together.  Since then its been who knows how many races including about 7 half marathons and 1 full, plus the Cradle to the Grave 30K ( and the next two weekends too).  Guess that's our crazy runniversary.  :)