I'd apologize for the delayed update, but I'm sure this isn't a surprise for anyone.

On October 18, 2015 I ran the Care 4 Breast Cancer 5k in Woodstock, IL. This was my second 5k of the year and my second race with the Running Depot team. I had participated in the 5k training program that was hosted by Running Depot and felt extremely prepared for this race.

The race was held at the "new" Woodstock North High School (in a small town, with very little happening, things stay new for a loooooooong time) and started at 8:30am, but I got there at 7:00 to ensure that I could park in the high schools lot. Several of my friends arrived closer to 8:30 and were forced to park at the Municipal Building down the street. The race was kind enough to provide shuttles between the Municipal Building and North.

The race expo was held inside the gyms at the high school and had enough offerings to keep me entertained until the race start. There were bagels from Panera, donuts from Country Donuts, and coffee from Starbucks for the participants. There were also several different vendors who were handing out free samples such as chapstick, sunscreen and fun bags. The chapstick was greatly appreciated because of the weather.

That morning when I woke up it was in the 40s so I made sure to wear a thermal top under my racing tank, and my winter running tights. I also brought gloves, a headband, and neck warmer, while these items were nice to have before the race, I wish I hadn't worn them during the race.

With the race set to start at 8:30, my group and I headed over to the start at 8:20. The start was set up with various pace signs to help people line up from fastest to walkers. Unfortunately, most of the individuals at the race did not listen to the pace signs and just charged to get close to the start. This caused a lot of strollers and walkers to be ahead of my group, even though we stopped by the 8 minute/mile sign (we couldn't get further than that due to the wall of people).

The race started promptly at 8:30 and it took my group 2 minutes to cross the starting line. Once we had crossed this line it was fairly easy to weave around the slower individuals and get to a pack of people around my pace. One thing I will note is that people tended to not listen when you announced "on your left", there were several moments when I had to change directions because the person I was trying to pass would jump right where I was going.

The first mile is slightly hilly, but manageable. It is directly down the main road and is lined with balloons, and volunteers cheering. I felt like this mile went extremely fast and was well marked out, I completed it in 9 minutes according to my FitBit data.

The second mile was a bit slower for me but was pretty consistent, with a pace of 9'10". This mile goes through a local neighborhood which is always nice. There were several residents out who were cheering for the runners or just having a good time. It was around this mile that the pack I had been running it started to separate, it provided a nice opportunity for me to try and keep up with the faster runners of the group and really push myself.

The third mile slowed down for me considerably. The first portion of the mile was in the neighborhood, which was fast, but the last portion followed the first mile with all the hills. These hills weren't too severe but because I slacked on my hill training they felt like mountains. It was during this mile that I had a back and forth going with a parent running with a stroller. This "competition" helped me keep going at a steady pace because I kept telling myself that if they can push that stroller and keep a consistent pace then I can run, by myself, at a consistent pace.

The last 0.1 mile was on the driveway to North. This mile was fairly irritating because there were radio hosts from a local radio station "cheering" on the runners. I can't stand listening to radio DJs in the morning and these two individuals happen to be on during my morning commute. Once I finished the race I was pleased to see that I had improved my 5K PR by 6 minutes, bringing it down from 34 minutes to 28!

While I did PR at this race I don't believe that it is one that I would do again.

Pros: Nice expo, fast course.

Cons: Disorganized start, way too many walkers causing a bottleneck, awful parking, and the darn DJs.

I did it! I successfully completed my first half marathon and didn't die! The race was the Crystal Lake Memorial Half Marathon in Crystal Lake, IL. Along the way I learned several important things about myself and my race strategy. 

Perhaps the most important thing I learned is that you should always, always think ahead and prepare for your race conditions. The night before this race I found myself at Kohls trying to find a pair of running capris. The weather had been amazing all throughout this training cycle so I had never thought to actually go out and purchase anything longer, or warmer than shorts. It was supposed to be a nice 40 degree morning so I would have been pretty screwed if I hadn't looked at the forecast. Luckily Kohls came to my rescue and I walked away with several different capris and pants.

The morning of the race I got up about 30 minutes before I had to leave a rolled into my clothes. I spent around 20 minutes glaring at my cat because she gets to sleep in while I had to go run in the cold. 

Sometimes I can't help but be jealous of her life. 

I got to Lippold Park about 90 minutes before the walkers were scheduled to start, and sat in my car for 20 minutes so I could finish my tea and eat breakfast. Once, I saw some other people from Running Depot I left the warmth of my car and joined them. We got a really cute group photo before the race of all of us in our Running Depot singlets/t-shirts. 

Photo Credit: Running Depot

I had signed up with the runners so we started approximately 30 minutes after the walkers had started. While I had expected that this could create a bottleneck along the course it actually worked out really well. The walkers had enough time to get out of the narrow sections at the beginning and by the time we reached the narrow sections at the end they had spread out pretty well. 

The race started on time and for the first 3-4 miles I went out way too fast. Originally I was going to run with two individuals who had trained with me around my pace, but somehow I ended up running with the fastest couple in the training group. While this was a great confidence boost it really worked against me in the last half of the race. 

Between miles 4-9 I dropped from a fast run to a run/walk with 6/1 intervals. This section of the race had a few hills and one long stretch that was extremely sunny. The sunny section was along Haligus Road which was not closed to drivers. This created not only a warmer run than I had expected but also forced runners to be more aware of their surroundings and their race strategy. The runners were directed to run with traffic as opposed to into traffic, which goes against all my training runs. I was nervous to pass a few runners because the shoulder of the road was narrow and I did not want to risk having a driver come up behind me. 

The race doubles around in a neighbor hood and we ran back along Haligus and the earlier section of the race. It then shifted into a neighborhood that was flat and allowed me to stretch out and relax my stride. Running on Haligas had caused me to tense up and that tenseness had caused my lower back to hurt. While in the neighborhood I ran with some of the other Running Depot girls who had started with the walkers. Once I felt stretched out and more relaxed I opted to go ahead of them and continue the race at a fairly quick pace. 

From the neighborhood the race went back onto the trails at Lippold Park, I believe these trails are for the disk golf course. The trail was nice and flat, and also had a nice crowd along it. These people along with the runners who were cooling down by running back along the path really helped me finish strong. Every year one of the runners participants in the race while wearing a full fireman's suit. This gentleman finished before me and was running back along the path, in what I believe was his cool down. Just before he passed me I congratulated him and he responded with "you're doing great!" To me this was just a special moment that really made me glad I had participated in this race. If this man can run a race in an extremely heavy outfit and finish strong enough to run back along the path then I could finish with a smile on my face.

The last mile was perhaps the worst. There were so many people along the course and each one felt the need to tell me that I was almost there. After the first five times of hearing it I wanted to cry. I could hear the finish line party, but it still felt so darn long. It wasn't until I saw my coach screaming that I was done that I felt like I could finally breathe. Getting that medal felt like winning a million bucks. I had done it, I had finally finished my first half marathon. 

Also getting that bottle of water at the end was amazing. I could actually relax and drink it and not slosh half the bottle down my front. I have yet to master the running and drinking thing. 

I stayed at the end of the race to cheer everyone from my team in. It really was great to see everyone finish and finish strong. After spending 12 weeks with these people I was honestly more excited to see them finish that I was to see myself finish. We had all been in this together and we had all finished!

I learned a lot during this race, such as making sure to not let my thoughts get the best of me and to always know the weather a few days before the race. The most important less I learned was to not try and keep up with people who you know are much faster than you. I burned out towards the end of the race and really had to fight to keep going. I don't think this negatively effected my overall race but it did make the end quite difficult. 

Results from my age group. 7th isn't too shabby!

Pros: Good course, well marked, nice medal, easy packet pickup.

Cons: They ran out of water at the end, the post race food was left out for the bugs, 

Haligus road. 

Somehow I've made it through Week 1 of the Half Marathon Training program I am participating in, and didn't feel like I wanted to die.

My running plan for the week consisted of the following;

Monday: 2 miles

Tuesday: 2 miles

Wednesday: 3 miles

Thursday: Cross Training

Friday: 2.5 miles

Saturday: 4 miles

Sunday: Rest

Because I felt awful on Friday and had a killer migraine I decided to switch Friday's plan with Sundays, so at some point this afternoon I plan on putting in the 2.5 miles.

The group run on Wednesday was interesting to say the least. I might have gone too fast and ended up running with one of the pacers. We kept a great pace that did not follow the run/walk plan, but I was able to really feel like I had worked out properly. My splits could have been better, but I think that the whole run and talk to something thing slows me down.

For the Saturday group run I had another runner in training who ran with me. We did a quick out and back on one of the local bike trails, which I will have to try out once it stops raining here. My biggest mistake with the run was that I had dressed for the weather at my house, not for the weather at the meet up location. It always amuses me how much of a difference there is between two points, 10 miles away from each other.

Overall, I am happy with the program. I just need to learn how to keep my pace more consistent. If I keep up with having splits like these then I feel I will burn out extremely quickly at the actual Half.

Currently Reading:

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

The Strain by Gulillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan