Race Catch Up.....PART 1

Ok - it's been awhile, and I really have no good excuse. 

Probably because there just isn't enough time in the day. 

There are probably a million other things I could be doing right now, but instead I'm going to sit here on my couch, enjoying the rainy weather outside and try to catch up on stuff. 

So here it goes - 

Wicked 10K

I came back from the Rock-n-Roll Philly Half without much running going on. 

I can honestly say - I don't think I ran at all.  Maybe a few miles here and there but nothing major. 

So the next race that was on the list was the Wicked 10k. 

I've done the Wicked for the last two years and while the weather has been pretty awful for those, the weather for this one was perfect. 

It was another Gineff & Liz run. (Yeah for running buddies!) 

It was going to be our "long" run before Disney's Wine & Dine! Apparently in our world 6.2mi is an appropriate long run for a half marathon - with little to no training! We're rebels like that!! HAHAHA!!

So we stuck to our normal 3:1 intervals and did amazing. 

I was proud of Gineff since she hasn't run in a while. 

The last mile and a half, I thought we stood a shot at breaking our PR from the Chikfila 10k in May. 

When we crossed the finish we were both super happy!! 

It was a beautiful day (a little breezy) but gorgeous. 

And they had moved the after-party back to the beach! 

So we grabbed our gear bags, did a quick change into flip flops and new shirts, and headed to the food and beer line. We first opted for the food line since that was the shortest. It also gave us a chance to refuel while we were waiting in line for beer. We grabbed our two beers and settled into some sand for a little people watching. The costumes were awesome! I'll be honest - my costuming was non-exsistent. It was one of those - your lucky I showed up races. 

While I love the fact that there were so many different costumes, it just wasn't something that I had the time to worry about or come up with. It's hard enough some days just to run - let alone run holding onto a styrafoam piece to make me a part of the Yellow Submarine - nope just not in me!

Overall - we had a great time! And when I finally did have the time to look at our chip time - we were only about a minute and 45 secs off of our PR time. For not having not trained or put in any real big mileage, I'll take it!

Our next big race was the Wine & Dine in Disney. I can't wait to write about that and share all the awesome pics from the weekend. It was absolutely amazing and I wish I could go back and run a race at Disney every month.
But till next time....here are my Wicked 10k pics!

Getting ready for the race!! Always pre-race smiles!

Running buddies keep bringing in the bling!

A bright and sunny Saturday AM earning another J&A medal!

You gotta have your Blue Moons in the sand! 

New PR's in races and love!

Ok so I've been super MIA for the last few months.

And with really good reason. 

That handsome boyfriend I always talk about is now my handsome fiance!!

A few months ago, Josh was coming down to spend Memorial Day weekend with me. I was originally planning on running the Elizabeth River 10k to attempt to get a better time for my corral placement at the Wine and Dine, but at the last minute, I changed my mind and dragged my running buddy to the Chick-fila 5k and 10k at the Mariners Museum. I was still plagued a little bit by my knee and ankle, but I wasn't going to let them bother me and I had all intensive purposes of getting to the PR that I wanted. 

Sadly, I did not make my goal time for the Wine and Dine but I did managed to set a new PR of 1:19:06. (12:44 pace) That's a few seconds off my time from the Wicked 10k back in October. Which is weird because I felt better running wise in October. 

Since we hadn't been running much lately we were opting for a 4:2 combo. Of course we got race day excitement and decided to run the first mile or two and see what happened. The first mile was great. Flat and Fast. It was after that, that things started to fall apart. The course switched to a half gravel/half paved hilly road. Oh, and it got hot. Not a good combo. So we made it to Mile 2.5 and switched to our run/walk combo. We kept up what I thought was a decent pace, but it got hot out, and I think we were just physically not prepared! Story of my life lately. Mentally I was in the game, and just kept pushing. And my trusty side-kick was also trucking along with me! So I didn't make the 12:30 pace time I was hoping for to get a better corral placement at Disney, but a PR is a PR so I'll take it!!

Now onto the good stuff!! 

Josh had driven down the night prior but had already told me he wasn't running the race with me. He said that since I had Gineff with me, he knew I would be ok. I can't blame him. He didn't get to VA till after 1am. I wouldn't want to get up that early either. 

Turns out - he didn't sleep in. He got up right after I walked out the door and drove to my parents house to ask for my hand in marriage. Such a gentleman! And he also knew that I really wanted my Grandmother's engagement ring. She was someone who was beyond words special to me, and it would just mean a lot. He assumed that he would do a slight of hand with the ring somewhere later down the line when my sister could retrieve it from my Mom, but no Mom took him right to the bank/vault and gave it to him that morning. 

It must have been burning a hole in his pocket because when I walked in the door from the race, sweaty and hands full of my race stuff, the ring was sitting on the chair in the doorway waiting for me. I was all confused because you don't normally see diamond rings sitting on chairs when you walk in the door from a race! But I turned around and there was Josh, all nervous and sweaty (the garage was hot!) asking me to marry him! Of course I said yes!! 

So I've been missing in the blog action because I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that I'm getting married, planning a wedding, wrapping up the school year, and still recovery from whatever injuries that have been plaguing my ankle and knee. 

But I promise to have more to write about soon. 

I can finally get back out there and run....just a little but still ....it's running. 

Plus I'm broadening my horizons and going to different classes at the Y. 

I just tried yoga for the first time last week!! Awesome!

*****So I am finally getting around to posting this...because I finally have more time to write - or at least I hope I do.

I've got a bunch of races coming up so I'm planning on writing all about them!!

Plus I have made some significant gains in my running so I'm happy about that too!!

Wicked 10k - October 2013

Wicked 10k 

October 25th, 2013

So, I only noticed this when I uploaded the picture - that it doesn't have the date on it like it usually does. Hmmm I wonder why. 

On to the race review- 

Like I've stated earlier, when my running buddy has been unavailable to run with me, my boyfriend Josh has earned plenty of good boyfriend points by volunteering to run with me. He could easily speed off ahead of me and get himself some PR's - but no - he happily trots along side of me listening to me complain/wine/chatter on about the race. 

Like it seems like for most of my J&A races lately the weather was not on my side. I can't even remember what the actual temperature was, but I do remember it being cold! Cold enough that the night before I went out and bought some new running pants at Target. That morning I got all bundled up - Josh sported his race shirt and shorts (apparently cold temps don't bother him). I probably should've followed him because I was sweating by mile 2. I de-layered and we kept running right along. Thankfully there was no wind/or it was at our backs so the race was really enjoyable. I'm a big fan of J&A races because they are generally flat and run by the ocean. Growing up on Long Island I'm a big fan of the water. For me it's a very calming thing. I just feel better near the water. There's just something about looking out and not being able to really see the end....and the smell. Reminds me of home. But I digress.....back to the race. We stopped somewhere around mile 4-5 because like usual I drink way too much water at the stops, and had to go. Josh was waiting outside being a gentleman and holding my stuff. Someone even passed him and thought he had already finished and was just making his way back to watch...what a trooper. Because if he had run at his pace - he would've been done. So for the last mile or so, Josh continued to hold my stuff and we made our way back to the convention center. (Where the start and the finish were located.) They moved it last year due to Hurricane Sandy, and this year there was some issue with the sand. I'm not going to lie - with the cooler temps I'm a fan of them having the after party indoors. 

We finished!! And I got a new PR!! And technically a PR for Josh too since this was his first 10k! 1:19:38 - A 12:51 pace. While still slower then I want my miles to be - I'll take it! I probably ran 3-4 times between the crawlin crab to the wicked. So even for my lack of running I was happy with my time.  That time isn't going to cut it for the Princess though! I've got to get some serious miles under my feet!!

Overall its a fun race. Especially all the costumes. While I chose to wear a new "wicked" (spiderweb) running skirt my sister made for me - I am a fan of all the creative things people run in! 

Josh and I at the finish line party. 

If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have run this year, or gotten my new PR!!

Up next.....a quick review of the Surf-n-Santa 10miler!!

Because in 14 days.....Shamrock Dolphin Challenge!!! (I just saw the new medals and I can't wait!! I LOVE the bling!)