Race Catch Up - PART II - Sharing the love one mile at a time.

This past summer I was training for the Rock-n-Roll Philly Half Marathon. 

This was to be my redemption race for 2 past races. 

One, the Broad Street 10miler that I pushed really hard at but was pretty unsuccessful - even though I did finish - it was just a miserable race for me. (I knew exactly why - I was undertrained - or not trained at all. Either way it was tough.)

And two, the Crawlin Crab for 2013. I felt great that race, but my buddy needed me more so my hopes of a PR just didn't happen. And most days - I'm ok with that. Running for me is about who I'm with, and not always about what I'm achieving. The fact that I can say I've run a bunch of races is pretty much a huge achievement to me. 

So all summer long, beginning in early June, I was out running. Usually this happened before I headed off to my summer job. I was up and out the door by 6am - the latest. It was a schedule that I actually stuck to. I even began to notice that I felt like crap if I didn't run. Hmmmm....must be something with those positive endorphins I hear people talk about!! 

Somewhere around August a friend of mine told me that they were walking the Crawlin Crab Half and I was more then welcome to join them if I wanted to. 

A light bulb went off! Hey! I could get Janet to run the 5k with me, walk the half and then get the awesome challenge medal! You know I LOVE the bling!! Done and done!

So I convinced Janet to run the 5k with me. 

She had been looking for a new fitness goal, so it was a win win. 

Now I just needed her to train. 

While she wasn't getting up and running at 6am with me, she was making an effort, as long as I was with her. For the month of August, we sporadically made some "training" runs. I got the extra "cross training" because I got to push my 30something pound nephew in his stroller while we did our runs. 

Not every run was great for her, but she did it. 

Most runs, we would finish her portion of the run, and then I would go run another few miles while her and Donnie played on one of the many playgrounds at Ft. Monroe. (Note to self though - don't run past a playground during your run, or you will have a very unhappy 2yr old to push!) 

Race weekend came and Janet wasn't as confident in herself as she wanted to be. School for me had started so there wasn't much running time for us, and the house was also plagued with this horrible cold. To say that morale was done would be a correct statement. 

However we pushed through and stuck to the interval plan. 

It was actually a pretty decent day for a race. 

Janet might not have been a fan of my constant motivation and she probably wanted to give in and walk at about mile 1.5, but she did it. She finished. 

She stuck to the plan. 

And she finished just  seconds over where she wanted to be. 

So for her first officially timed 5k, I was very proud of her.

And now we have a new PR to meet at a future 5k. 

Gineff and I are always looking for new running buddies! The more the merrier!

Oh - and she thought I was crazy for turning around and doing the half the next day! I probably was, but wait till you see the bling!!

Pre-race. She has no idea what's she's getting into!

Traditional post race bling selfie!

Double Trouble BLING!

Added two more to my collection after the half the next day! I swear those challenge medals just keep getting bigger and bigger!

Storing all that bling!

How do you store all your race bling?

I will admit it - I have become a race snob!
No longer will I run a race that doesn't provide me with some sweet swag and a medal! (Unless I need it for time - such as my upcoming Elizabeth River Run 10k).

I don't see the point in mud runs, or colored runs. I like running - I DO NOT like dirt! And to me colored cornstarch is a form of dirt!
I'm sure that at some point in life - I will wind up running one those muddy or colored ones.....but right now its not something I willingly volunteer for.

Anywho.....back to the topic at hand!
With all this race bling - how do you store it?
I sure am proud of all these medals (and miles)!! I want people to be able to see them when they come to my house!

I scoured Pinterest  and Etsy on fun ways to display them.
I even thought about shelling out the cash for one.
But then I realized I have this super handy and crafty Dad who likes new projects and enjoys spending time in the Wood shop of the retirement village him and Mom live in. So why not task him with a project?

So one weekend when I was there doing my laundry, I brought all my bibs, and medals and asked him what he could do for me. We laid everything out and came up with a plan.  He even offered to make me a few for my running friends. That Dad of mine is a great guy!

The first one he made me, I don't have a picture of, because it didn't last long.
He had taken his time and stained the wood two different colors and put it together. The race bibs went on the front, and the medals hung on the bottom. There are quite a few of this style available on Etsy. Well after a few weeks for some reason the wood started to separate. When I brought it back to him to fix, he said he was coming up with something better.

This is what I got -

It's quite an upgrade from the first one I had!!

So my medals go on a separate board from the race bibs.

There is even room enough on my medal holder to create a third and fourth row for future medals.

It's nice to be able to see all my accomplishments hanging in one place!!




While it might now be a lot, it means a lot to me because I never thought I'd accomplish this!

A view of my most recent medals. 

A view from where it all started. 

Wait till you see how I treat myself after races - with my portable race bling!!

I am in LOVE with the Broad Street Run!!

Here's my wrap up of the Broad Street Run -

the good, (ok amazing!!)

the bad, 

and the unfortunate. 

So like I had posted earlier last week, I was heading up to Philly to run (for the first time) the Broad Street Run with my boyfriend and some friends from college. 

I was excited because it's the first time I was running in this iconic race! This year celebrated the 35 year! Plus, it was the first race I was running with my KU bestie in Philly. 

Friday I spent the day at Kings Dominion with some of my students. We walked the park about 100 times!! Needless to say I was exhausted Friday night, and had an early flight on Saturday morning out of Norfolk. Early Saturday morning when I was up getting ready to head to the airport I got a phone call that the flight was delayed. Ugh! How can a 7am flight be delayed!! Long story short - I was supposed to be in Philly by 9am, but didn't get there till almost 11! 

Once in Philly Josh and I head over to the expo at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. For a race that was hosting about 40,000 runners packet pick up was super quick and easy. We walked through the expo for a while and then headed out to do some touristy things in the city. 

It has been a long time since I've been a "tourist" in the city. 

I'll admit it - I'm a geek. I love museums, old houses and I really really love wax museums. And not the Madame Tussauds fancy one with famous people, but the old creepy ones depicting historical events. Weird....I know.

Checking out the Liberty Bell

Selfie at Betsy Ross's House. 

Oh hey there Benjamin!

So we wandered around the city for a few hours, checking out The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Benjamin Franklins Burial site, and Betsy Ross's house.  It was an enjoyable but exhausting afternoon. 

Later we headed to my friends house to have dinner and crash for the night. 

Sunday morning we headed off to the start of the Broad Street Run. Typically they urge you to park at finish of the race and ride the septa train or shuttle bus back up to the start. We opted for parking at the start of the race and taking the train back after the race. Since I'd never been to this race before, I was just going on what my friend thought was the best idea. It only took a few minutes for us to find parking - thankfully and we walked to start. 

WOW! I've run a lot of races but have never seen this many people at a start. Or at a race at all!! It was absolutely amazing. I tried to take some pics, but couldn't quite do it justice, till I saw a guy standing on the back of a flat bed and I asked him to take some pictures for me. Just unbelievable.

We were supposed to start in the very last corall, and my friend was starting in one much earlier one - but with all the people I didn't think it was possible for us to get back to where we needed to be, or we'd be run over by people moving to try and get in. So once the corral we were standing to the side of started moving, we headed on in.

That's my picture of the Green Corral where Court was supposed to start.

View from the top of the  flat bed towards the start. 

Somewhere at the very back of that picture the Pink Corral was standing. That's where I was supposed to start....

I was no where near the time I needed to be in the corral we started running with, but we went anyway. My friend took off......I could see her for a few minutes but then she disappeared in the crowd.
The great thing about Broad Street is all the support! The streets were lined with people for the entire race. Some areas were more crowded then others, but the support, cheering and encouragment never disappeared. There was no miles of trudging on by yourself (and your handsome running partner).
Because I found myself in a way faster corral, I was pretty much passed the entire race. It really didn't bother me much, it was actually motivation to keep going.

The miles easily ticked by, and I stopped for most water/gatorade stops. I knew I was WAY undertrained, and I wanted to make sure I stayed hydrated and gave myself a break.

Josh told me before he thought I would make it to Mile 7.5 before I started my run/walk combo, Court said she thought I would run the whole thing.
For the most part, I ran the whole thing.
There was a moment around Mile 9.25 that I had to stop. I was exhausted, every part of my body hurt and I wanted to cry, but I kept going. We were so close to the finish.

I finished in ....... 3 minutes slower then my 10 miler time for the Surf n Santa.
I thought I would have done better, but my undertrained self just couldn't keep up.
I was slow.....like super slow.....so slow Josh walked next to me at one point. But I kept going.
There was just something about the determination in my head during this race. I honestly don't know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that because I had started running in an earlier corral that I kept getting passed and there were people around me all the time, or that there were crowds around me all the time cheering us on. Whatever it was - it worked and motivated me to keep going.

When we finally did finish we grabbed all our stuff and luckily found our friends. The weather during the race was great, and then all of a sudden after we finished, it started to get cloudy and rainy. We quickly made our mile trek from the Navy Yard back to the train station, and back up to our cars.

Pre Race Picture

Yea for my KU Bestie who encouraged me to come up and run!!

Taking on the Broad Street!!

Bestie's with Matching Running sneaks! Totally not planned!! HAHA

Overall it was a fantastic race and one I will happily run again....but this time with the proper training!!


So thanks Philly, Josh, Court, Roberts, Mike and Baby Daniel for making my first experience at the Broad Street an awesome one!!

Post race selfie with my new bling!!

My times were not fabulous, and I came home with some Plantar Fasciitis in my left foot, but I also came home with some great motivation to get back out there and run more consistently in time for the Wine and Dine!!