Victory at Victory Brewing Company! [SUB-25!!!!!]

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Yesterday Matt, my brother Billy, his girlfriend Suzanne, and I ran the Run for Ryan 5K at Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown, PA. The four of us were team “Red, White and Brew” and we had a blast running and enjoying BBQ and Victory beer after the race.

I’ve been gearing up for this 5K for months (I signed up for it in early January) and it’s been my unofficial goal race all Spring. This was my wishlist plan going into the race:

Chill out during mile 1. Don’t let the excitement of the start and the big crowd make me go out faster than I should. (This has been a problem in the past; I hoped for an 8:25-ish first mile.)
Run negative splits. Finish strong!
Beat my current PR of 25:13 from the YMCA’s New Year’s Eve 5K.
Finish in sub-25:00

Lofty goals, I know, but I have been working hard and I knew this course was going to be fairly flat (a rarity around here, apparently!) with a very exciting, fun atmosphere. I also had just come off of a super strong training run at Ridley Creek on Friday where I had shocked myself with huge negative splits (8:45, 8:11, 7:30..!) and a positive experience at the Elwyn 5K where I really concentrated on taking it easy during mile 1 so that I’d have some juice left for the rest of the race.

The subject line probably tipped you off to the fact that I ran sub-25 so I’ll just tell you right now. My official chip time was…

24:17 !!!!!!

That’s nearly a MINUTE faster than my previous personal best! I was (and still am!) thrilled!

During the race, however, I was pretty worried that I had (once again), gone out at a pace that was way faster than I could maintain. The race began just fine and I felt like I was succeeding with Part 1 of my plan as I settled into what felt like a comfortable, easy pace for the first mile. In fact it felt a little TOO easy and I thought I might have chilled out a little too much, until Runkeeper cheerfully reported that I had completed my first mile in 7:42. Yup, almost 45 seconds faster than I planned to run. Crap! As I started to mentally chastise myself for going out too fast I realized that I still felt inexplicably good. I put the first mile behind me and instead focused on trying to keep that pace up for my second mile.

The moment Runkeeper reported my second mile split – 7:54 – I knew that I was definitely going to get a PR. I had 1.1 miles go and only needed to complete them in ~9 minute pace to beat 25:13. Woohoo! I hadn’t run my second mile quite as fast as the first but amazingly I had maintained a sub-8 pace and still felt good. With renewed energy I pushed into my 3rd mile and back towards the brewery. (Oh yeah, did I mentioned that there was free beer waiting for me at the finish????) With about 0.3 miles left to go my abdomen started to cramp up, but I knew that I was on pace for a big PR and I tried really hard not to slow down. Runkeeper reported my third split – 8:00 – just before I came around the bend and into view of the finish line clock that was slowly ticking its way through the low 24’s. I sprinted as fast as I could and finished with an official chip time of 24:17. Victory!!!!!

Our entire team finished with PRs, with Billy coming in 39th overall, Matt finishing with a new personal best time of 23:47, and Suzanne completing her first 5K ever! I finished 101/644 overall, 25/344 women, and 5/58 in my age group. Woohoo! As part of our race entries, we all got free BBQ sandwiches and 2 beers each. Matt had a lacrosse game immediately following the race so we all generously helped him drink his beers. 🙂

Beer.

Annie and Matt at Victory

It was really nice to run with Matt, Billy and Suzanne (and to have my mom cheering and snapping photos from the sidelines!) and I am super psyched that I was able to crush my time goal (even if I wasn’t so successful at running negative splits!). It was also quite enjoyable to kick back and drink a few beers in the gorgeous 65° weather after the race. 🙂

My next race will be the Rocky Run Trail Run 5K on May 30th. The course will follow some of the Middletown Trails that I have hiked on and blogged about in the past so that should be fun. After my big PR yesterday I think I’ll just plan on having a good off-road experience and enjoying the scenery.

Miles since last post: 62.5
Days since last post: 14
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.83
2014 TOTAL MILES: 667.5

Related Posts:
• Elwyn 5K (5/3/14)
• St. Tim’s 5K (4/26/14)
• Rick’s Run 5K (4/19/14)
• Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/14)
• Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30/14)
• Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

5May2014

Over the Hills and Through the Woods… the Elwyn 5K!

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

On Saturday morning Matt and I ran the Elwyn Maximum 5K, a road/trail/XC race held on the beautiful grounds of the Elwyn school just west of Media, PA. This was our first off-road race since our racing debut at Run-A-Muck last September. All of my races since Run-A-Muck have been on pavement and I had forgotten how much harder it is to run off-road. (This also made me realize how hard Run-A-Muck really was… I’m lucky I didn’t quit running immediately after that race!) Mixed surfaces aside, the race course was beautiful, the other runners were friendly and supportive, and I had a blast!

After going out way too fast in the St. Tim’s 5K last week, I was determined to run my first mile at a reasonable pace. I curbed my competitive instincts at the start and let people run by me, keeping myself to what felt like a comfortable jog. The first mile ended up being mostly downhill and was all on pavement, so my split was still pretty quick at ~7:34, but I felt much more under control at the 1 mile marker than I was during St. Tim’s. This was good because the next 2 miles were very challenging, with trails, grass, and loooong up hill climbs!

At around 1.25 miles the course left the road and entered the woods, where we were greeted by a steep climb up a wood chip trail. Then we exited out into a soggy, grassy field (where I passed two people… that never happens in the middle of a race!!) and started a steady 0.8 mile climb that felt like it lasted forever. (And those people passed me back, oh well!) The wet grass footing was challenging but I pushed through, knowing that eventually we’d return to pavement. At one point around mile 2 we ran down a short driveway and I remember feeling so excited that we were back on the road, only to realize that the volunteers were actually directing us to yet another field for another 3/4 miles of XC running. During this last stretch on the muddy grass I was only about 50 feet behind Matt, but just as I thought I might try to pass him he put on a burst of speed and pulled ahead.

Runkeeper Stats

Muddy Mizunos

Elwyn School

We finally returned to the road with about 0.35 miles left to go. I was SO HAPPY to have pavement under my feet again! I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that I apparently also had enough energy left to pick up some speed and run my third mile faster than my second. Woohoo! I finished in 26:17… FASTER than my St. Tim’s run despite this course being much, much more challenging. I know that the trick was going out with a more controlled pace and I can’t wait to get a chance to try out that technique on an all-road course!

Matt finished strong, passing a few people right at the line for an official time of 26:12. He ended up 2nd place in his age group and won this fancy blue Elwyn mug. Doesn’t he look happy? 🙂

Our next race is Victory Brewery Company’s Run for Victory 5K on May 18th. They have a beer garden and BBQ after the race, which is apparently a very fast and flat ROAD course. Looking forward to it!!!

Miles since last post: 42.4
Days since last post: 8
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.85
2014 TOTAL MILES: 605.0

Related Posts:
• St. Tim’s 5K (4/26/14)
• Rick’s Run 5K (4/19/14)
• Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/14)
• Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30/14)
• Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

27Apr2014

A Gold Medal at St. Tim’s 5K!

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Yesterday afternoon I ran the St. Tim’s 5K and I won!! Granted, it was a very small race (33 participants) but I was thrilled to lead from start to finish and take home the gold! 🙂

Waving around Mile 1

GOLD!

Post-race selfie

Going into this race I had high hopes. I was under the impression that the course was flat (it wasn’t) and the sunny 70° weather was perfect for running, so I was hoping for a PR. With that in mind I exploded off the start line, eager to get into a good position to get around the first narrow turn out of the parking lot. To my surprise, no one else seemed to be running with me and before I knew it I came to the first intersection and realized that I had no idea where the course went. Luckily the course was arrowed and a police car was clearing the way ahead with its lights on, so after my initial confusion passed I excitedly took off alone in the lead.

The combination of the unfamiliar lead position and my amped-up expectations made for a very quick first mile (7:34). Just as I was deciding that I might have gone out a little too fast I arrived at the bottom of an ENORMOUS hill. (So much for the flat course!!) I trudged up the hill at a slow jog and figured that someone would certainly be passing me soon after my sudden deceleration. But no one came. I didn’t want to turn around and look, but I could hear the spectators cheering me on and I tried to listen after I passed to find out if they were cheering for someone close behind me. It wasn’t until the last 1/2 mile that I finally heard someone say “they’re right behind you!!” so I tried to make my tired body move a little faster. Finally with about .15 to go I realized how close I was to victory and I finished strong. Woohoo!

Overall it was very exciting to win a race but I know that I could have run faster if I had paced myself a little better. I need to get more disciplined about my starts… a 7:34 first mile doesn’t do me any good if it makes me so tired that I slow down to ~9:00 pace for the rest of the race. (Although maybe in yesterday’s race the fast start actually did help because it put me so far in the lead that it was mentally harder for anyone to pass me later on??) Either way, running a more consistent race (or even – gasp – negative splits???) is definitely going to be something that I work on moving forward. Look at these ugly splits from yesterday… eek!

My next race is the Elwyn Maximum 5K next Saturday. Apparently the Elwyn course is a mixture of roads and hilly trails so I think that it will be a great opportunity for me to chill out and focus on running a more even-paced race!

Miles since last post: 28.3
Days since last post: 6
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.84
2014 TOTAL MILES: 562.6

Related Posts:
• Rick’s Run 5K (4/19/14)
• Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/14)
• Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30/14)
• Athlete’s Closet March 5 Mile (3/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Let’s Go Streaking! (11/21/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

Thank you to DD, a kind spectator who took the two photos of me during the race and who was kind enough to email them to me!

21Apr2014

Rick’s Run 5K at Ridley Creek State Park

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

I’ve been trying to run a race at Ridley Creek State Park since February and I’m happy to report that I finally got my chance! On Saturday morning I joined 458 other runners at my “local” state park for Rick’s Run, a 5K that helps fund research for Esophageal Cancer. The weather was beautiful (58 and sunny), the race was well organized, and the runners, volunteers, and spectators helped to create an exciting, friendly atmosphere that I really enjoyed.

All fun aside, the 5K course was TOUGH. To paraphrase the race organizer at the start line, “You’re all going to run down the hill [for 1 1/2 miles] until you see the water station, then you turn around and run back up!!”

Post-race selfie… I made it up the hill!

I’ve run this downhill section of the RCSP loop many times (most recently during my un-Pickle Run), and I knew that coming back up it was going to slow me down significantly. Therefore I decided to go out FAST to preemptively make up time down the hill, then just slog through the uphill on the way back. This strategy started out great and I felt like I flew through the first half of the race. (Runkeeper agrees… apparently I reached the halfway point in sub-23:00 pace!)

As I neared the turnaround I was inspired by the leaders that were already powering back up the hill so I starting clapping and cheering for them (especially for the 2nd place runner – a 14 year old girl!!). I think this episode of well-intentioned sportsmanship led to my downfall, however, because as soon as I hit the halfway mark I got a terrible side-stitch that lasted for the next mile. Blech!!!

In spite of the stabbing pain in my abdomen I pushed onward up the hill, albeit at a MUCH slower pace than the first half of the race. I never broke down and walked (although at times I wanted to!) and with about .5 left to go the side-stitch pain mercifully started to subside. With renewed energy I picked up my pace and was able to finish strong across the finish line. My chip time was 25:56 which put me at 30th overall and 9th female overall out of 256 women!

The cramp was, quite literally, a thorn in my side and I know I could have run up the hill faster without it. I don’t get side-stitches very often and I have been mentally dissecting my race prep trying to figure out where I went wrong. Good hydration? Check. Banana with a light breakfast 3 hours before the race? Done and done. Warm up? Yup! (OK, just a tiny warm up, but it was more than I usually do…). After much consideration I have concluded that the dreaded side-stitch must have been caused by my irregular breathing while cheering during the race. I guess that’s the last time I’ll do that!! 🙂

Have you gotten a side-stitch during a race? Did you figure out what caused it and/or how to prevent it from happening again?? (Please share your secret!!!!)

Miles since last post: 78
Days since last post: 16
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.84
2014 TOTAL MILES: 534.3

Related Posts:
• Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/14)
• Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30/14)
• Athlete’s Closet March 5 Mile (3/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Let’s Go Streaking! (11/21/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

5Apr2014

Security 5K in Las Vegas!

Posted in Race Recaps, Trips by Annie T

Hello blog world! Matt and I are enjoying a relaxing weekend southwest of L.A. in California’s Temecula wine country. We tasted wine all day and as I type this post I am sitting on our private patio at Ponte Vineyard Inn looking out at this gorgeous view of grape vines and mountains… AMAZING!

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. I’m sure I’ll be doing a full recap of our time in Temecula next week, but the purpose of this post is to recap the 5K that Matt and I ran in Las Vegas on Thursday! The race was the Security 5K, a fundraiser event sponsored by the security conference/expo that we were exhibiting at in Vegas for work. Here I am post-race, just before we jumped on a shuttle bus to get back to our hotel in time for the expo’s 10am start.

The flat 3.1 mile course was a few miles off the strip at a local park just south of the airport. There were 380 participants (308 men and 71 women) and the race started at 7:30am. I typically eat breakfast 3 hours before race time, which meant that I had to venture down to the Palazzo Casino’s gaming floor to get breakfast at 4:30am. That’s the earliest I’ve been in a casino and there were some interesting characters down there who had definitely been up drinking and gambling all night!

The start of the race was pretty chaotic. The only other race that I’ve done with more than 300 participants was last year’s Turkey Trot. For that race they had the 600+ runners lined up on a road that was the same width as the starting line so that start went pretty smoothly. That was not the case for the Vegas 5K though, where all 380 runners plus all of the 2K walkers were massed together in a big, wide blob at the start line. The crowd was significantly wider than the start line, so when the gun went off everyone patiently began to walk forward before politely waiting their turn to cross the line. This makes sense because the race was chipped, but it was still weird not to take off running when the race started!!!

Matt finished the race 122nd overall (113th male) with a 24:41. I finished 146th overall (13th female!) with a 25:26. I’ve really been hoping to go sub-25 but considering the traveling, long work hours at the expo, and higher than usual elevation, I was pretty happy with my time. As my splits show, I felt like I got a great start (I even kept up with Matt for a while!) but then my speed sort of petered out in the last mile. I didn’t know at the time because the race was chipped, but the 12th place woman beat me by less than a second! I’m pretty sure that I would have been able to run a little faster at the finish if we had been running neck and neck, so I’m going to use this as a lesson to always finish as strong as I possibly can, especially in a chipped race where the actual person you’re competing against might be several seconds ahead of or behind you.

After the 5K we spent Thursday and Friday working at the expo. Then we packed up on Friday and headed west to California! I’ll wrap up this post on that note because it’s time for me to stop blogging and start reading a book while watching the sun set over the vineyards. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday evening!

Miles since last post: 20.0
Days since last post: 6
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.84
2014 TOTAL MILES: 456.3

Related Posts:
• Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30/14)
• Athlete’s Closet March 5 Mile (3/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Let’s Go Streaking! (11/21/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

30Mar2014

Color Out Cancer 5K

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Today my brother and I ran the Color Out Cancer 5K in West Chester, PA. There were lots of ups and downs, so I’ve decided to recap the race with a list of pros and cons. First the biggest pro of the day – I got to run with my brother!

Color Out Cancer 5K – The Cons:

The Course Marking – I had what felt like a fantastic start in today’s race but it was immediately foiled by a complete lack of directions on the course. There was no course map and we had been assured at the start that there were people on the course with signs so we’d all know where to turn. Unfortunately the organizers neglected to mark the very first turn which occurred about 200 meters into the race, so we all went straight, directly into a little neighborhood. We got about a quarter mile in before the road dead-ended. It was clear at that point that we were definitely off course so everyone stopped, turned around, and milled around for a bit before cutting through a random parking lot and eventually getting back on course. Talk about a frustrating way to start a race! (I remember wishing that they’d just bring us all back to the start line and restart the race!)

At another point in the race I was approaching an intersection and had lost sight of the person in front of me. There was a volunteer (and yes, I realize that he was a volunteer, and for that I thank him) standing in the intersection with a giant neon posterboard sign FOLDED IN HALF IN HIS HAND (!!!), making it impossible to actually see the sign. I had no idea where to go and finally had to yell “WHICH WAY??” before he pointed the direction. Not ideal.

The Course in General – As I mentioned, there was no map so I had no idea where we were going. All I knew was that it was two laps because that’s the only actual information they gave us at the start of the race. I was fine with this; I figured I’d get the lay of the land during the first lap and then I’d know where I was in relation to the finish on the second. But the problem is, that first lap seemed to take FOREVER. By the time I passed the start line the race clock showed I had already been racing for 20:30! I realized then that not only was the course terribly marked, apparently this was more like a 5 MILE race! Again, no big deal, and I adjusted by settling down into a little bit of a slower, more comfortable “5 mile” pace. Less than a mile into lap 2 I was shocked to turn a corner and see the finish line ahead… and that’s when I learned that the second lap was a much shorter loop than the first. Which would have been good to know in advance.

My Music – When I start an activity on Runkeeper it usually auto-plays my 5K music. The music didn’t start today. I normally would have just ignored this, but when we all stopped after going off course I tried to fiddle with my phone to get the music going. But my phone was utterly, inexplicably unresponsive. I could open the music app but it wouldn’t let me hit play or even scroll through songs. I got so desperate that I actually asked Siri to help me out (Yes, I was that weirdo commanding my headphones to “Play Safe and Sound!!“) but to no avail. After the finish I eventually had to restart my phone in order to get the music to work. Strange.

Not exactly a tech shirt…

The Free Tech Shirt – Not a major con here compared to the other race issues, but the race registration clearly stated that participants would get a ‘sport teck’ shirt. My brother was especially excited about this because it would be his second 5K shirt and his first tech race shirt. The moment I looked in the race bag I knew that he was going to be disappointed. The “tech shirt” was a (very) see-through white polyester shirt with pink writing on it. Not likely to ever get worn in public. Oh well.

Color Out Cancer 5K – The Pros:

Despite the course issues and phone malfunction the race really wasn’t that bad. Here are a few of the things that were great about today’s race!

Running with family! – My brother Billy ran the race with me and his girlfriend Suzanne braved the drizzly, windy weather to cheer us on. Billy did great in the race, coming in 8th overall with a time of 25:35. The best part of the morning happened after the race when the three of us went to the Market Street Grill for breakfast… I had an empanada omelet with chipotle sour cream and pepper jack cheese. YUM!

At least it wasn’t pouring!

My Pace (considering the course issues) – The race ended up being around 3.4 miles long. I finished 18th overall in 28:13 which would have been roughly a 25:43 5K. If you factor in the time spent turning around and being lost at the start and that’s actually not too shabby!

The Weather – Wait, didn’t I just say that Suzanne braved wind and rain to watch us run? True, but I think that mid-40s and overcast is pretty great running weather. I was a little cold at the start but warmed up quickly and then felt very comfortable in tights and a long sleeve shirt. Also, it was down-pouring on my drive home so I am very thankful that we did not have to run through that!

My Foot didn’t hurt! – I haven’t mentioned it on the blog, but after my 10 mile run two weeks ago I woke up with intense pain on the outside/bottom of my right foot. It was pretty much identical to the pain I felt when I had Peroneal Tendonitis in my left foot last fall, so I reacted immediately by icing my foot/ankle regularly, taking ibuprofen 3x a day for a week, wearing my compression socks whenever possible, and cutting out running completely in favor of logging miles on the elliptical machine in my garage. Today was the first time I’ve run since my 10 mile run and my foot felt great!!! That’s a huge relief. I’m still being cautious though… when I got home I put on my compression socks, propped my foot up on the couch and iced it. Hopefully it will still feel this good tomorrow!

I get to redeem myself on Thursday, IN LAS VEGAS!!! – Sure, today’s race wasn’t the greatest experience ever, but luckily I only have to wait another 4 days before I get a chance to run even faster! Matt and I will be running in the Security 5K, a race that’s associated with the conference that we’ll be in town for. I’m looking forward to warmer temperatures and dry weather!! 🙂

Miles since last post: 57.2
Days since last post: 14
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.88
2014 TOTAL MILES: 436.3

Related Posts:
• Athlete’s Closet March 5 Mile (3/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1/14)
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Let’s Go Streaking! (11/21/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

16Mar2014

My Un-Pickle Run 5K and a 10 mile run!

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

I have long been awaiting a chance to run a race at Ridley Creek State Park and I finally got my chance yesterday… except that I thought the race started 5 hours after it actually did, so I completely missed it. Doh!!!

Yesterday should have been the perfect day to race… the temperature was a wonderful 57°, the sun was shining, and I was super psyched to get a chance to run on my relatively flat “home” course. I remember thinking that the biggest challenge might actually be dodging all of the walkers, dogs, and bikers that would surely also be enjoying the park at 3PM on such a beautiful afternoon. That and finding a spot to park, since the already crowded parking lot would no doubt be overflowing with the addition of all of the racers’ cars.

When Matt and I pulled into the parking lot at 2:20 (forty minutes early for our “3PM” race), I was shocked to see so many open parking spots. Were all of the other racers running late, I wondered? Then we came around the bend to where I was sure the Run The Day registration table would be set up, only to see a few late afternoon picnickers enjoying the lovely weather. What?!! I then checked the race web site and realized my mistake… the race had started at 10AM and was long over. Boo. 😦

Me after my UNpickle Run at Ridley Creek

Me after my un-Pickle Run. That’s Ridley Creek in the background. I love this park!

Matt and I were all ready to race so we decided to run our own un-Pickle Run (maybe that would be a Cucumber Run??). We started promptly at 2:30PM and, race or no race, I was still determined to get my PR. We didn’t run the exact Pickle Run course (the race would have had us do a 1.5-ish mile out and back) so our route ended up with more downhill than the real race had, but nevertheless I got my personal best!!!! I crossed the “finish” with a huge PR time of 24:25. My previous best was 25:13 from the New Year’s Eve 5K so I was very happy with my time. Now if only I could have done it in a real race! 🙂

In other running news, I ran my longest distance ever today – 10 MILES!! Matt had a lacrosse game at Rosemont College and I tagged along in order to go on a nice run on the Main Line. When I ran track (hurdles/sprints) at Haverford College I spent a ton of time doing shorter runs in this area so it was nice to get back to my running roots with the long run today. My run took me from the Septa (R5) train station at Rosemont all the way to Narberth and back… that’s 6 stations in all!! (And I can name them in order by heart because I’m a dork… Rosemont, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Ardmore, Wynnewood, Narberth. I wrote my college thesis on the Main Line so I could also tell you all sorts of ~~useful~~ useless historical facts about them, don’t get me started.) Anyway, it wasn’t easy and I definitely got pretty tired around miles 7-8, but I did it!! My run started before Matt’s lacrosse game began and I didn’t get back until his game was over. I felt very hard core!!

Here are the Runkeeper stats for today’s run… I stayed close to the train tracks to avoid the bulk of the traffic lights and intersections but I still (mercifully) got stopped at a few lights and had a chance to stretch. I also paused my workout to use the restroom at the Ardmore Wawa… I spent a ton of money there in college so I figure I am entitled to a free pit stop!

After my epic run and Matt’s lacrosse game we stopped at a place in Bryn Mawr called *ndulge cupcake boutique for cupcakes (the mocha-cola cupcake was delicious!) and then I drained my entire Camelbak waterbottle before collapsing into a bubble bath with my Kindle for an hour or so. Life is good!

Miles since last post: 75.4
Days since last post: 15
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.92
2014 TOTAL MILES: 379.1

3Feb2014

Athlete’s Closet Run for Love 5K

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Matt and I ran the third race in the Athlete’s Closet Winter Series on Saturday. Following the loss of our beautiful pup, Bailey, on Thursday night, we decided that we still wanted to race but we were also feeling completely emotionally and physically drained. As a result, the race didn’t feel particularly good, but it was definitely good for us to get outside and run.

My brother Billy (or “Bill” as he likes to be called now that he’s an adult!!) wasn’t planning on running with us but he decided last minute that he’d come and run with me for support. We all wore our “The Little GSP” t-shirts in memory of Bailey and, true to his word, Billy kept pace with me throughout the entire race. I told him at the start that he should tell me to go faster when I was plodding up the (many) hills on the course, so he did and I think it made me go a little faster.

Despite Billy’s best efforts, this was not a stellar race for Matt and me. We both finished within seconds of each other in the 26:02-ish range which is 2+ minutes off of Matt’s target time and at least 45 seconds slower than I was aiming for. At least I was able to finish strong AND I have photographic proof of it! With a few hundred feet to go I started sprinting and my step-father captured this photo. I think this may be the first photo of me in a 5K where I look like I’m actually running! (Usually I’m mid-stride with a painful expression on my face!)

Here are my RunKeeper stats for the race. Again, nothing too impressive but, considering the circumstances, not terrible either. The weather was beautiful (35° and sunny) and we had a great cheering section in the form of my brother’s girlfriend Suzanne, my mom, and my step-father. It was really nice of them all to come out to support us… thanks guys!!!

Our next race will be the Pickle Run in Ridley Creek State Park on February 15th. I’ve heard great things about the Pickle Run Series (they’re super fun AND they’re predictive, meaning that the winner is the one who most accurately predicts their time in advance!) and it should be really neat to finally run a race on our “home” course at the park. I’m looking forward to it!

Miles since last post: 75.3
Days since last post: 15
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.87
2014 TOTAL MILES: 166.9

Related Posts:
• Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4/14)
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Let’s Go Streaking! (11/21/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

4Jan2014

Athlete’s Closet January 5K

Posted in Race Recaps by Annie T

Matt and I ran the second 5K in the Athlete’s Closet Winter Series this morning. This race was special for two reasons… we had our first-ever spectators/cheering squad (my mom and stepfather) AND both of our brothers ran the race with us!!! Here we are at the finish… my brother Billy (#167), Matt’s brother Dylan (#145), me, and Matt. Yay for family running together!

Billy was the first finisher of our group (15th overall) with Dylan (17th), Matt (20th) and me (23rd) close behind. Matt’s time was 25:45 and mine was 26:19… much slower than usual but we had a good excuse… the roads were partially covered in snow and it was really, really cold out. It was a mere 1°F when we arrived at the event. ONE DEGREE!!! By the time the race actually started it had probably warmed up to around 10° but that’s still pretty chilly!

I knew it was going to be cold so I tried to plan my clothing accordingly. I was wearing SmartWool compression socks, Athleta’s Relay Tights, a thin Under Armour Twisted Tech T-shirt, Athleta’s Queen’s Luscious super-soft long-sleeve half zip, the Sugoi Firewall 180 Jacket, a head band, lightweight gloves, and a neck warmer from my mom that was made out of some sort of super-breathable tech material. All of that layering paid off because I felt good at the start line and got just hot enough during the race to unzip my jacket and long-sleeved shirt and put my gloves in my pockets. Oddly my toes went numb for the first mile or so but I’m not sure if that was from the cold or from my compression socks… I’ve never run in these socks before so I’ll have to do some investigating to figure out what was going on!

Today’s 3.1 mile course took us on the same route as the Athlete’s Closet December 5K. It was fairly hilly with a few big, slippery uphills towards the end of the race. I tracked the run on my iPhone with Runkeeper as usual but unfortunately I couldn’t get the “start” button to work at the beginning of the race. I ended up running the first several hundred yards looking at my armband trying in vain to push the stupid button with my “iPhone friendly” gloves (which, for the record, had been working fine up to that point!). I finally got it to work about .1 into the race after taking one glove off and licking my finger before tapping the phone screen Jeez! Maybe it was too cold out? All of this excitement resulted in my splits being a little messed up since I had to manually edit the course distance in Runkeeper afterwards. Oh well!

Overall today was chilly and not quite as fast as I was hoping for, but it was really fun to have our brothers running with us and to have our very own spectators. I figure if our family was able to survive today’s frigid temperatures they can survive anything! Hopefully they will join us again for the next 5K of the Winter Series on February 1st! 🙂

Miles since last post: 16.3
Days since last post: 4
Avg. Daily Miles since July 18th: 4.84
2014 TOTAL MILES: 16.3

Related Posts:
• New Year’s Eve 5K at the YMCA (12/31/13)
• Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14/13)
• Turkey Trot 5K (11/28/13)
• Let’s Go Streaking! (11/21/13)
• Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2/13)
• Oy Vey 5K (10/27/13)
• Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19/13)
• Run-A-Muck 5K (9/22/13)
• The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)

31Dec2013

A (Long) Look Back at 2013

Posted in Bailey, Race Recaps, Trips by Annie T

As 2014 rapidly approaches I am happily reflecting on the wonderful year that I had in 2013. Most importantly, I married my best friend and the love of my life (and had a blast doing so!). I also started running again after a six year hiatus, I spent time with Bailey, and I cooked lots of yummy foods. All in all a good year. Here’s my official recap!

Matt and I got married!

On June 8th Matt and I got married at Sweetwater Farm in Glen Mills, PA. The celebration started Friday night with a laid back barbecue ‘rehearsal dinner’ during Tropical Storm Andrea (luckily we were under a covered patio!). Then the sun came out on Saturday and we got married outside at the edge of the woods before partying the night away with our guests in a renovated 18th century red bank barn that doubles as a winery. After our wedding Matt and I honeymooned in beautiful St. Lucia.

St. Lucia’s Piton Mountain

Sugar Beach

Paradise!

I ran! (a lot)

When Matt and I returned from our honeymoon I decided it was time to get back in shape. I started streaking on July 1st and we bought a treadmill on July 18th. Spurred on by a goal that I set for myself (100 miles in 42 days), I started walking, jogging, and then running like crazy. I hit 100 miles in 21 days, 200 in 37 days, and 300 in 54 days. Then I nervously entered and triumphantly finished the Run-A-Muck, my first 5K race since freshman year in high school.

Matt at the Trinity 5K

My 8 mile run!

After a run in Ridley Creek State Park

Working hard on the treadmill!

After Run-A-Muck I was completely hooked on running. So much so that I overdid my training and injured my foot to the point where I could hardly walk. I didn’t want to break my streak, so I switched my training over to the elliptical trainer in our garage. With time my peroneal tendonitis healed and I was ready for more 5Ks. Matt and I ran three races on consecutive weekends in late October/early November (Fueled Up, Oy Vey, and Trinity) and then enjoyed a crowded Turkey Trot on a chilly 29° Thanksgiving morning. Matt hurt his back so he cheered me on from the sidelines at the Athlete’s Closet 5K in mid-December, then I finished off the year with a new personal best (25:13) at the New Year’s Eve 5K at the Upper Main Line YMCA.

I started tracking my mileage on July 18th and I’m finishing off 2013 with exactly 812 miles. That’s an average of 4.86 miles a day since mid-July, whew! My best month was August with 180.2 miles, followed by a strong December with 161 miles. My longest run was an 8 mile jaunt in Wallingford, PA on December 22nd (I didn’t mean for it to be that long… I got lost!). I’ve been streaking for 184 consecutive days and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon!

Bailey played!

Little mud puppy

Seeing Double… GSPs!

SNOW!

Bailey the little GSP

I can’t write a year end recap without mentioning our cuddly, energetic, “petite” German Shorthair, Bailey. Bailey turned 6 in May, competed at the DockDogs Regional Championships in June, had a GSP house guest in July, wallowed in the mud in August, and frolicked in the snow in December. When she wasn’t outside patrolling the yard for squirrels, Bailey snuggled with us on the couch (she’s only allowed on the furniture if we invite her up) and snoozed in her doggie den bed. She also started K9 Nosework classes in January and she’s working on hunting for birch scent now. (That reminds me that I really need to do a post about NW one of these days… maybe next year!) 🙂

We cooked!

When we weren’t busy planning a wedding or running, Matt and I spent time in the kitchen making lots of yummy meals. Here are a few of our favorites from 2013:

I blogged!

And, finally… in 2013 I blogged! WordPress sent me a stats summary for the year so I thought I’d share a few quick factoids. My blog had over 58,000 views in 2013 and my visitors came from 150 different countries! Thank you very much for visiting, everyone!!!

My most popular post by far was this recipe for Candied Yams (it had over 1300 hits on Thanksgiving day alone!). Other popular posts were my DIY Tutorial on making your own “vintage” blue ball jars and my Rotisserie Chicken Burritos. I’ve really enjoyed blogging in 2013 and I can’t wait to continue next year!

OK, I’m off to get ready for a New Year’s Eve party. Have a wonderful last few hours of 2013 and happy new year!!!