Trinity Presbyterian 5K

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

This morning Matt and I completed three race weekends in a row with the Trinity Presbyterian 5K Run/Walk in Berwyn, PA. The course wound through Berwyn’s neighborhoods and took us right by my grandparents’ old house. I have many fond memories of their neighborhood (it’s where I learned to ride a bike!) so it was neat to run through it during the first mile of the race.

This was the most competitive race that we’ve gone to so far. The guy who won finished in 16 minutes!! Matt finished 13th overall with a 24:31 and I was 16th overall and 3rd place female with a 25:48. We both didn’t feel as fast as we did in last weeks’ Oy Vey 5K but that’s probably because today’s race ended with a looooong uphill climb. I had to walk a little up the hill but I’m still very happy with my second sub-26 minute time in 2 weeks!

Today’s weather was absolutely gorgeous. The Fall leaves were at their peak color, the cloud-streaked blue sky looked like a work of art, and the temperature was in the mid-fifties. I snapped this photo of Trinity Presbyterian Church before the race went off. Wasn’t it beautiful out?

I finally figured out how to edit my run on Runkeeper to show the correct time which is good since I’m not usually very quick about hitting “end run” on my iPhone when I cross the finish line. Here’s the official Runkeeper recap. I’m proud of that 6:59 first mile split but as expected I slowed down big time at the end… that final hill was evil!!

After three weekends in a row Matt and I now get to enjoy a few weeks off from racing. Our next 5K is Thanksgiving day and I’m already looking forward to it!

Miles since last post: 21.9
Days since last post: 6
Average Daily Miles since July 18th: 4.84
TOTAL MILES: 523.2

Related Posts:
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Limping my Way to 400 Miles (10/3/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• 300 miles and a 5K in my future (9/9/13)
• 200 miles! (8/26/13)
• 100 Miles in 21 Days! (8/7/13)
• 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge: 49 Miles to Go! (7/29/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

27Oct2013

Oy Vey 5K !

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Matt and I ran our second 5K race in as many weekends this morning. The race had a great name – the “Oy Vey 5K” – and, just like last weekend’s race, it took place in Wallingford, PA. I had two goals going into this race: #1 – run faster than last week’s 26:51 time and #2 – finish in under 26 minutes. And guess what?? I did both!! My official race time was 25:16 which is a huge PR for me – even better than my best time from high school. On top of that I was the first female finisher of the race!

The Oy Vey 5K was hosted by Congregation Ohev Shalom. We parked at the Synagogue, walked a short distance into nearby neighborhoods to the start line, and raced on a nice flat out-and-back course. The race finished back at the synagogue where they had food, water, and raffle prizes for everyone. All in all a great morning!

Matt was the 7th finisher overall with a time of 24:21 (faster than his time of 24:52 from last week). I was 8th overall and only about a minute behind Matt the whole race which meant that I could see him most of the time. Matt didn’t know how close I was until we go to the halfway/turn around point and then he realized that I was right there behind him and he cheered me on. Woohoo!

I think there were a few things that helped me run faster today. First, my time last week was much better then I expected so that gave me the confidence to set my sights on an even faster goal this week. I went out aggressively in pursuit of my sub-26 goal (7:47 1st mile) so that put me on track for a good time even when I got tired towards the end. Secondly, the course was really flat which was very nice after last weeks’ (seemingly) mountainous terrain. 🙂

I did have one technological glitch during the race. My running playlist started off as usual with Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance but then, to my horror, I realized that my phone was set to repeat that same song over and over and over again… oh no! I contemplated trying to fiddle with my iPhone while running (or maybe trying to talk to Siri and get her to fix it??!) but I eventually gave up and just listened to a LOT of Bad Romance. I think I need to remove that song from my playlist for next week – I’m sick of it!

Here’s RunKeeper’s summary of today’s race. As usual, the finish time and distance are a little off. I guess I’d rather have my phone telling me that I still have another .2 to go and then actually be done rather than the other way around though, right?

I almost forgot to mention… with 1.3 miles left to go in the race I hit 500 miles!!!! I’ve been running since July 18th and I’ve had a blast. Here’s to the next 500 miles!

Miles since last post: 28.7
Days since last post: 8
Average Daily Miles since July 18th: 4.91
TOTAL MILES: 501.3

Related Posts:
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Limping my Way to 400 Miles (10/3/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• 300 miles and a 5K in my future (9/9/13)
• 200 miles! (8/26/13)
• 100 Miles in 21 Days! (8/7/13)
• 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge: 49 Miles to Go! (7/29/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

19Oct2013

Another 5K in the Books!

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Matt and I ran another 5K this morning and it was fun!! I had two goals going into the race: #1 – Don’t walk and #2 – Finish in under 30 minutes. Not only did I run the whole thing, I finished in under 27 minutes!! I’m still surprised!

The “Fueled Up & Fired Up Pick 5 Challenge” race took place in Matt’s hometown of Wallingford, PA and was sponsored by Wilson Oil & Propane. We started at the Wallingford train station and wound around neighborhoods for two miles before tackling the hilly Smedley-Leiper Trail that parallels the Blue Route (I-476). Thankfully, the race finished with a nice downhill towards the Wilson Oil parking lot.

Matt was the 7th finisher overall with a time of 24:52 and I was the 4th female to cross the line with a 26:51. We both ended up first in our 20-29 age group which was kind of cool. Granted, there were only a few people in our age group and the entire 5K race only had 67 entries, but I was still pretty excited!

I had a very different strategy for this race than I had for the Run-A-Muck 5K we ran last month. I tackled the Run-A-Muck with no watch, no music, no iPhone… just me and nature. Because of this, I went out way too fast in that race and then mentally gave up on the hills and walked (a lot). I also took a big gulp of water at a water station during the Run-A-Muck which made me feel sick for the rest of the race. I tried to apply what I learned last month in today’s race. I used RunKeeper to track my pace, I had a nice, upbeat music playlist to listen to, and I didn’t stop for water. I’ve also been practicing running up hills in my neighborhood which helped me mentally when I got to a long uphill near the end of today’s race. All in all a big improvement! 🙂

Here’s RunKeeper’s summary of today’s race. (The finish time is a bit off because I was late hitting the stop button.) The hills in the Smedley-Leiper trail definitely hurt my pace in the 3rd mile but overall this was much faster than I was expecting.

Here’s my latest mile tally. Many of these miles were done on the elliptical due to my sore foot but it seemed that cross-training worked because my foot feels a lot better now!

Miles since last post: 69.6
Days since last post: 17
Average Daily Miles since July 18th: 5.03
TOTAL MILES: 472.6

Our next 5K is next Sunday and then we’re entered in another one the following Saturday. Go big or go home, right?

Related Posts:
• Limping my Way to 400 Miles (10/3/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• 300 miles and a 5K in my future (9/9/13)
• 200 miles! (8/26/13)
• 100 Miles in 21 Days! (8/7/13)
• 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge: 49 Miles to Go! (7/29/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

3Oct2013

Limping my way to 400 Miles

Posted in Challenges, Race Recaps by Annie T

Last night I hit the 400 mile mark in my 100 mile iPad mini challenge. Sadly I was not running triumphantly through a park or jogging confidently on the treadmill as I hit this milestone, though. Nope, instead I was cross-training on the old beat up elliptical in my garage because my left foot hurts too much to run. Boo!

After running the Run-A-Muck 5K on Saturday, September 21st I felt AWESOME! Empowered by the completion of my first adult distance race I was unstoppable and super motivated to run, run, RUN! And so I ran like crazy:

…on Sunday Matt and I ran 6 miles at Valley Forge National Park,

…on Monday before work I ran 2 miles on the treadmill,

…on Monday after work Bailey and I ran the 4.3 mile loop at Ridley Creek State Park in 38 minutes (a new record!!),

…on Tuesday after work Matt, Bailey and I ran the 4.3 mile loop at RCSP again, this time in 40 minutes.

Then I got home on Tuesday night and said, what the heck, I’ll run another mile on the treadmill, just for fun! And that’s when I realized that the outside bottom of my left foot really REALLY HURT! Uh oh…

Bailey was my running buddy during both days of Ridley Creek loops. I had her secured to me with a waist leash and I think she pushed me (or pulled me, actually) to run a little too fast for my own good!

Bailey was my running buddy during back-to-back days of Ridley Creek loops. I had her secured to me with a waist leash and I think she pushed me (or pulled me, actually) to run a little too fast for my own good!

Ignoring the stabbing, cramping pain in my foot, I woke up early on Wednesday and ran 2 miles on the treadmill before realizing that I might actually be injured. I then did some internet-aided self diagnosis and determined that I am likely suffering from Peroneal Tendonitis.

In short, Peroneal Tendonitis means that the tendons that go around the back of my ankle bone down along the outside of my foot are inflamed and irritated. This is apparently a classic “overuse” injury which makes perfect sense considering I ran over 20 miles in 4 days of 5K-induced euphoria. Oops!

My Peroneal Tendonitis (or whatever it is) was causing some pretty intense pain along the outside of my left foot last week, so much so that I realized that it would be stupid to keep trying to run through it. I had previously had a 4+ mile a day (walk, hike, or run) streak going since July 23rd but that came to an abrupt end last Wednesday. On Thursday I slowly limped my way out to the old elliptical that we retired to the garage after getting our treadmill and I’ve been cross training on that all week. 😦 At least I’ve been able to keep my 1 mile a day streak going – yesterday was day 94 of that.

In addition to logging some quality time on the elliptical I’ve also been icing like a fiend (even under my desk at work!), and taking Ibuprofen. My foot is feeling significantly better now but I am a little nervous about running. I might start out with a really slow jog on the treadmill in the next day or two and see how that goes…

Here’s the official tally for this week. Not quite what I wanted, but hopefully by my next post I’ll be back to running!

Miles since last post: 41.8
Days since last post: 12
Average Daily Miles since July 18th: 5.23
TOTAL MILES: 403.0

Related Posts:
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• 300 miles and a 5K in my future (9/9/13)
• 200 miles! (8/26/13)
• 100 Miles in 21 Days! (8/7/13)
• 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge: 49 Miles to Go! (7/29/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

21Sep2013

Kirkwood Preserve

Posted in Hikes by Annie T

Guess what? In 2 hours I will be running in my first distance race since 1999!!! The 5K is hosted by Willistown Conservation Trust, a local non-profit land preservation organization in Willistown Township, Pennsylvania. To prepare for the race I’ve been running like crazy on my treadmill AND, because the real world isn’t as flat and smooth as a treadmill, Matt and I have also been hiking (and sometimes jogging) in lots of local parks and preserves.

This week in honor of the upcoming race we visited Willistown Conservation Trust’s Kirkwood Preserve.

Kirkwood features 83 acres of grasslands along a stretch of the picturesque Crum Creek. The preserve has been classified as an “Important Bird Area,” meaning that you’re likely to see some endangered grassland birds on your hike. More importantly (for me, at least) this also means that dogs are strictly prohibited from all areas of the preserve.

I actually have a very personal connection to the rolling hills of Kirkwood Preserve because I grew up about 2 miles away from here. When my brother and I were kids we would walk here from our house with my mom all the time. This was back before the land was preserved (it was just a cow farm then) and we spent hours and hours of our childhoods here hiking, playing, cross-country skiing, fishing, picnicing… you name it! With all of those memories in mind it was really neat to come here with Matt and see that the land is still here and open to all. (Of course the barbed-wired cow fences are all gone and the fields are full of natural grasses now, but that’s fine with me!) Here are some photos from our walk:

Kirkwood Preserve

Sorry Bailey, no dogs allowed!

Kirkwood Preserve

Kirkwood Preserve is open daily from sunrise to sunset and has well-mowed walking trails. We did the outer loop on our visit and our total walk was just shy of 2 miles. The only access to the preserve is via the gravel parking lot on Grubbs Mill Road.

OK… time for Matt and me to start stretching and getting ready for the race! Here’s my running tally as of yesterday evening:

Miles since last post: 60.2
Days since last post: 11
Average Daily Miles since July 18th: 5.56
TOTAL MILES: 361.2

Wish us luck at 4pm…! 🙂

Kirkwood Jump

Other local hikes, parks, and preserves:

• Ridley Creek State Park (Edgmont Township, PA)
• Okehocking Preserve (Willistown Township, PA)
• Darlington Trail (Middletown Township, PA)
• Linvill Trail (Middletown Township, PA)
• Stroud Preserve, (West Chester, PA)

9Sep2013

300 Miles! And a 5k in my future…

Posted in Challenges, Race Recaps by Annie T

This afternoon I hit the 300 mile mark in my 100 mile iPad mini challenge! Over the last 100 miles I’ve run a lot on my treadmill and I’ve also had fun hiking in Ridley Creek State Park, Valley Forge National Park, and at a rural central PA destination we fondly call “the Hunting Camp” (more on that in my next post). Here’s the official tally:

Miles since last post: 86.3
Days since last post: 14
Average Daily Miles since July 18th: 5.57
TOTAL MILES: 301.0

I am now running with an official purpose… in less than 2 weeks I am going to run a 5K! I haven’t run a distance race since my ill-fated attempt at Cross Country my freshman year of high school so I’m a little nervous (OK, actually a LOT nervous!). Still, I’ve been working hard and last week I actually beat my best high school 5K time by about 30 seconds! (I was running on the flat, even treadmill, mind you, but it was a victory nonetheless!)

The 5K that I’ll be running on September 21st is a true off-road cross country trek, complete with rolling (BIG) hills and a possible stream crossing. We’ll see how it goes! 🙂

The 5K will take place across these beautiful rolling farmlands in Willistown Township, PA. [cell phone pic]

Related Posts:
• 200 miles! (8/26/13)
• 100 Miles in 21 Days! (8/7/13)
• 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge: 49 Miles to Go! (7/29/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

26Aug2013

200 Miles in 37 Days!

Posted in Challenges, Race Recaps by Annie T

Guess what? I completed 200 Miles in 37 Days!!! Back on July 18th I challenged myself to run and walk 100 miles by August 28th. I reached my 100 mile goal on August 7th, hit 150 on August 15th, and ran through my 200th mile on August 23rd. After today’s 5.6 mile run I’m at 214 miles total with 2 days still left to go in my original challenge!

Miles since last post: 113.6
Days since last post: 19
Days until Deadline: 2
TOTAL MILES: 214.7

If you had told me in mid-July when we got our treadmill that I would soon be averaging over 5 miles a day I would have laughed (or actually cried) at the thought of it. I started out slow with some 2-3 mile days in the beginning and a lot more walking than running but as the weeks have gone by running has gotten easier and I have even had a few 7+ mile days! I’ve continued to track my progress on my Excel graph and I’ve also started to track my best treadmill times for 1, 2, 3, and 4 miles. I’m not ready to go out and run a race or anything, but I’m still pretty proud of how my times have fallen during the past month.

So where do I go from here? Forward! I’m going to keep tracking my miles and I will continue to set mini mileage goals for myself since that has worked thus far to keep me motivated. I’ve now decided that when I hit 250 miles I get to buy these Athleta running tights for myself. They will be just in time for the Fall weather that I hope September brings next week!

Related Posts:
• 100 Miles in 21 Days! (8/7/13)
• 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge: 49 Miles to Go! (7/29/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

7Aug2013

100 Miles in 21 Days!

Posted in Challenges, Race Recaps by Annie T

I did it!!! I completed my goal of 100 miles in just HALF the time I originally planned! My 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge officially began on July 18th and this afternoon at 4:45PM after just 21 days I breezed by the 100 mile mark on my treadmill. Woohoo!

Miles since last post: 50.4
Days since last post: 9
Days until Deadline: 20
TOTAL MILES: 101.1 !!!

Matt helped me make a cool Excel graph that charts my daily miles, shows my total miles completed so far, and (my favorite part) predicts out my future miles based on my current pace. I love graphs and charts and it’s been very rewarding to enter in my miles each day to see my progress. Here’s the graph as of today:

So… this means that I can get an iPad Mini now! Of course now that I’ve ‘earned’ it I’m a little worried that Apple is going to announce the release of an iPad Mini 2 right after I invest in the old model. I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking about this (I’ve had a lot of time to think on the treadmill!) and I have decided that I’m going to wait and purchase a new iPad Mini 2 when it comes out. The release date has not been revealed yet so I will spend a little more time reading ‘real’ books until then! 🙂

So where do I go from here? I am going to increase my original challenge since apparently 100 miles was too easy. My new goal is to complete 150 miles by my original deadline of August 28th. Full speed ahead!

Related Posts:
• 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge: 49 Miles to Go!
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge

29Jul2013

100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge: 49 Miles to Go!

Posted in Challenges, Race Recaps by Annie T

Last Tuesday I challenged myself to run 100 miles in 42 days and I’ve been running like crazy ever since! Wednesday will mark the end of week two of my challenge and I’m currently on pace to complete 100 miles in just 24 days!

Miles since last post: 31.3
Days since last post: 6
Miles until iPad Mini: 49.3
Days until Deadline: 29

I realize that my timing is sort of backwards with the whole fitness thing… most people would have started working out before getting married to get ready for the big day but I, on the other hand, waited until after our wedding to get back into a serious exercise routine. In my mind the reasoning is very simple — there’s no way that I had time to run/walk 5 miles a day in addition to all of the DIY wedding projects, vendor coordination and planning that I needed to get done before the wedding. Now that our wedding is over and life is returning to normal I feel like I have oodles of free time and I’m happy to spend some of it working out! 🙂

Oh yeah… I got new purple running shoes on Saturday because my old sneakers were woefully worn out. Like ’em?

Related Posts:
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge

23Jul2013

100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge!

Posted in Challenges, Race Recaps by Annie T

After 205 days of streaking our old Schwinn elliptical machine is starting to fall apart. We have taken this as a sign that it is time to retire the elliptical and invest in a more serious piece of fitness equipment… a treadmill! After some online research we settled on a NordicTrack and our new treadmill arrived by truck at 9:20PM last Wednesday night (gotta love that “12-6” delivery window..!). Undeterred by the late hour, we happily pushed, pulled and heaved the 350 lb. machine up a half flight of stairs and carefully maneuvered it into the spot that the elliptical had occupied in our little home gym. After some minor assembly we were good to go!

Our new treadmill!

My workout routine has completely changed since the treadmill arrived. Throughout the first half of July I had been faithfully sticking to my mile a day streak, but now over the past six days I’ve been averaging more than THREE miles a day! I’m sure the novelty of the treadmill’s map-based workouts and HD video runs will wear off eventually, but for now I’m going to keep my extreme workout schedule going by setting a goal:

If I complete 100 miles on the treadmill by August 28th I can buy myself an iPad mini!

Why an iPad Mini, you ask? After lugging three books along on our honeymoon (and reading all of them) I came to the realization that a tiny eReader capable of housing dozens of books would be a great investment. I looked at various options and determined that an eReader that also happens to be an iPad sounds pretty awesome! As for the origin of my August 28th deadline? Easy. We’ll be going to a hunting camp in central PA for Labor Day weekend and I hope to spend lots of quality time in a rocking chair on the porch reading books on my iPad mini! 🙂

Treadmill and TV

Only 80 miles to go!

So… 100 miles by August 28th. Including the miles that I’ve put in since last Thursday, this leaves me with 35 days to complete 80.6 miles. That’s about 2.3 miles a day. Think I can do it? I’ll be posting updates that look like this:

Miles since last post: 19.4
Miles until iPad Mini: 80.6
Days until Deadline: 35

Wish me luck!!