Race Report: 2009 Run for the Roses

It was a beautiful afternoon for a 5K, and I was registered for the Run for the Roses 5K in Raleigh! The race start was at 2 PM, so I was able to go to church first, and changed into my running clothes afterward so I could drive straight to Raleigh.

I arrived at the Halifax Community Center in plenty of time to find and meet Pauline, a Facebook friend and fellow runner, for the first time today! We've run in at least a couple of races together (including last year's RFTR) without meeting, so it was great to meet her today! I also saw Louise (from the Frozen 5K, the Resolution Run, and other races around here!) at the mid-point water stop. It was a treat to see a familiar face there--thanks for volunteering, Louise! Ray from the Apex Turkey Trot and other Second Empire Series 5Ks last year was out as well, and a newcomer to the Triangle struck up a conversation with me--turns out this was his first race since moving here from New Jersey. He was loving the weather, and his child was signed up for one of the kids' races following the 5K. (The kids races are always sooo cute!)

I knew today's race would be a little slow for me, coming at the end of a fairly high mileage week (didn't quite make 30 miles), a long run yesterday, and a pretty good workout on the recumbent bike at the gym this morning. Still, I was hoping to come in under 40 minutes. The hills in the race were a little tough as I remembered, but I stuck pretty closely to the 3:1 run/walk ratio I started with. (A couple of times I extended it to 4:1 or 5:1, if I caught the downside of a hill!) I ended up coming in at around 40:45, but am waiting for official results. While I'm a little disappointed in my time, it was great to run outside and see so many people out running!

UPDATE: Gun time was 40:50, chip time was 40:28.

Easy Sunday Morning Workout

1) Rode 8.06 miles (45:02 minutes) on the recumbent bike, while finishing Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.
2) Walked 0.27 mile (5 minutes) on the treadmill.

This was a leisurely workout, since I have the Run for the Roses this afternoon. It feels strange not to have run already, but my legs are kinda tired as it is, from yesterday's workout. Hope I make it through the race okay. This was the race where I injured myself last year, and I really, really don't want to repeat THAT!

Race report later!

Long Run Plus

1) Ran 7.05 miles (1:48:00) at Shelley Lake, the best long run I've had in a while! The pace was a little faster than normal, partly because I tried a different strategy, I think. Instead of watching my Garmin for scheduled walk breaks, I used the songs on my iPod instead. I accidentally set the iPod to shuffle songs, but it turned out to be a nice change of pace from my workout playlist. I decided to run through at least one whole song (sometimes two if I was feeling strong), then talk a fast walk break for part of a song, then run the rest of the song and the next. The weather was clear and cold, but a long sleeve shirt and long stretchy shorts kept me plenty warm. I saw a few familiar runners at Shelley Lake, which was fun.

2) Rode 4.20 miles (21 minutes) on the recumbent bike at the gym.
3) Walked 0.35 mile (6:01 minutes) on the treadmill.
4) Ran 0.57 mile (7 minutes) on the treadmill. Just because.

Now I've run a tad longer this week than last, and I still have tomorrow's 5K race (the Run for the Roses). If I run a little extra, I'll have another 30-mile week under my belt for the year. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

TGIF Workout

1) Walked 0.58 mi. (10 min) on the treadmill to warm up.
2) Ran 3.02 mi. (37 min), including two 1-min. walk breaks, on the treadmill.
3) Rode 3.4 mi. (17 min.) on the recumbent bike.
4) Ran 0.51 mi. (6 min.) on the treadmill to finish with a strong, faster pace run at the end of my workout, to practice running faster after I've been pushing myself for an hour or so.

I'm glad today is Friday! It's been a busy week at work, and I've been pushing the running miles a little bit as well. I tried signing up for the Krispy Kreme Challenge 5K yesterday before lunch, and the race is full! Wow! Over 5000 registered runners, and ESPN is covering it, to boot. Ah, well! Maybe next year. (I looked for another race to do tomorrow in its place, but nothing nearby intrigued me.) Meanwhile, I'm still signed up for the Run for the Roses 5K on Sunday.

Friday Workout

1) Ran 3.34 miles in 40 min. on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.35 miles in 6 min. on the treadmill
3) Biked 2.03 miles in 10 min. on the recumbent bike

The workout felt pretty good, especially considering I accidentally left my iPod at work yesterday! I found an extra pair of earbuds at home, and plugged them into the TV monitor attached to the treadmill at the gym, and watched the news instead. Perhaps the change of pace was good.

I also renewed my membership in the North Carolina Roadrunners Club, and signed up for another 5K, the Run for the Roses in Raleigh.

I've started reading a couple of books about marathoning:

1) Run Your First Marathon: Everything You Need to Know to Reach the Finish Line, by Grete Waitz
2) Marathon: The Ultimate Training and Racing Guide, by Hal Higdon

I hope they'll be informative.