Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon

Sometimes you have to travel through some valley's before you reach the top of your mountain.  This spring running season was full of valleys for me.  Heck, my entire "Half Season" has been ups and downs.  The good thing is I learn best when tested.  

Last November when I did my first half I learned training is key and what you eat/drink the week of matters.  I worked hard after the half fixing things that needed fixing.  I did a 15K on Valentine's Day that was amazing.  My best run so far, but woke up a couple days later with a sore leg.  The next weekend I ran a half.  It was a great half, but my hip injury really slowed me down the last 2 miles, but I managed to beat my time by almost 24 minutes.

The next two half's I did were not so good at all.  My hip injury really messed me up.  The lack of training made my knees week.  It was just not good at all.  It makes it hard to enjoy running when injuries slow you down and make you feel like all the work you have done isn't showing.  

I had 2 weeks between Bridge Street and Kentucky Derby so I only ran 2 short runs.  What I did do was strength train and walk.  I needed to get my strength back so my knees could last 13.1 miles.  The days before the run I ate right, drank my water and prayed a lot.

I was up early and doing my pre run ritual--a toasted plain bagel with peanut butter, WATER and a banana.  I taped up my knees, got my gear on and was ready to tackle this half.

WOW!  That was all I could say when I saw the amount of people running.  This was my biggest race for sure.  I was so nervous about the crowds.  One thing I did different was run with music.  I usually listen to music on training runs, but never for a race.  I thought it would be a good way to take my mind off the hip/knee pain if it got bad.  

Despite the amount of people the race start was really smooth.  The rain had held off so far, too.  I got my first mile done in 11 minutes so I was happy.  Mile 2 went great and around mile 3 the knee pain started creeping in.  I prayed and asked God to take the pain away.  To just remove it from me until the run was over.  I asked Him to be with me and give me the good run I had been needing.  Thankful He heard me and the pain subsided and I just kept going.  My goal was too keep each mile as close to 11:30 as I could.  I wanted to break my previous best time of 2:34:42.  What I really wanted was to break 2:30, but I was just taking it a mile at a time.

Around mile 3 the drizzle started.  It didn't bother me at all.  I had already shed my long sleeve because I was heating up so I knew the rain would help me stay cool.  One thing I don't like is getting hot.  During the first 3 or 4 miles I saw a man running barefoot.  I listened to him talking to another runner about how he always runs barefoot.  I also saw a woman running in pogo shoes.  There were so many people and it was tight the first few miles, but after that it thinned out.  I was thankful the entire street was blocked off for the runners.

It was a really great course and there were so many amazing people cheering us on and handing out water.  Not only the race water stations, but church's and frat's had set up water/fruit stations.  Music was playing and the people were so happy and positive.  

My favorite part was running through Churchill Downs and UofL campus.  It was so cool to see the race track and the horses that were practicing.  The campus was great, too.  By this time it was really raining, but it didn't bother me at all.  I actually thought to myself once "I could pee while running and no one would know because I am soaked".  haha!

Some pictures I took while running...

When I finished mile 10 in under 2 hours I realized I had a shot at beating my time.  I only wish I had run mile 9 and 10 a little faster and done a little less sightseeing.  Oh well!  My last 2 half's mile 10-13 were slow and painful, but not today.  God was with me and I would not fail.  I kept running faster and walking less.  My Galloway Method was so messed up, but I didn't care.  I was feeling good and just went with it.

I got very emotional the last 2 miles.  My heart was happy.  It was my best run ever!  Everything came together just right.  No one knew I had tears in my eyes for the rain so it was good.  I wouldn't of cared anyway.  I was on a runners high.

Crossing the finish line never felt so good!  My fastest mile was #13!  I had done it.  I had a fantastic run from start to finish.  Topped it off with a PR!  2:33:01

I got to hit the PR GONG!!! Made my day!

I also accomplished the Kentucky Half Classic.  By completing RunTheBluegrass and the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon I got a 3rd medal that says I did 26.2 through Kentucky.  YEAH!  Love my home state and glad to have completed this goal.

Here is a breakdown of my half...

Thanks for stopping by and happy running!  

Spring Training

After my half marathon in February I had to take a break from running due to a hip injury.  Sadly, every time I tried to run my hip was killing me.  In all my craziness I pretty much just stopped doing everything.  I should of continued to strength train and do other cardio, but I was mad and just stopped everything.

A week before Run The Bluegrass I did a couple short runs and a 10 miler.  It wasn't my best, but I was running/jogging/walking and getting it done so I was happy.  I knew I wasn't going to be PR on that hilly course, but I still wanted to do my best.

If you are going to run a difficult half do it with friends!  Makes it so much more fun.  Luckily I met up with my girlfriends for a fun weekend.  We met up Friday had a wonderful dinner and hung out in our hotel room catching up.  Saturday we were up bright and early to do a hilly half marathon through horse country.  Oh, did I mention it was 24 degrees at the start of the race.

Kristie and I started in the same wave so we took off together and I stayed with her for a long time.  I believe we were at about mile 8.3 when I told her to go one without me.  Not only was my hip hurting me, but my knees were, too.  I managed to wobble across the finish line 2 hours and 45 minutes after I started.

It was a beautiful run.  It was a hilly run, but not too awful.  The dreaded mile 9 wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be either.  I enjoyed the first 9 miles and than the pain set it and I just wanted to finish.  I was very upset with myself.  Why did I stop strength traning?  Why didn't I do another type of cardio?  What was I thinking!?!?!

YEAH!  It's over!

Kristie rocked it!

My amazing sister-in-law getting it done!

BUT--when it was over I was happy to celebrate with great friends.  Not only did I have my girlfriends that I was spending the weekend with, but I got to see a ole college buddy and my new running buddy from Huntsville came up for the run, too. 

Monica (my college friend)

Kristie and I with our free Kentucky Ale

All my girls!

Kristin and I 

We ran, we ate and drank beer and we napped!  Now it's time to have a great dinner and find a local pub so we can watch the Kentucky game!

It was a great weekend!  After getting home my hip was good after a couple days.  I went for a few walks and some shorts jog/runs, but still didn't get back into training mode.  So 2 weeks later when the Bridge Street Half rolled around my knees gave out around mile 6.  I was so mad at myself.  What should of a been a great run due to it being a flat and fast course ended up being a painful 2 hours and 47 minutes!  I have learned my lesson big time.  Strength training is a must and if you can't run you can still do other cardio.

Although I am not happy with myself for slacking, I am happy that I did finish both half marathons.  I signed up for them months ago and had high hopes, but sometimes things get in the way to slow you do.  The key is to work around whatever is slowing you down.  Lesson learned!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

God knew...

So I went a little crazy for a beach towel last week.  Yeah, I am serious!  Sunday before last I was cruising a running group page on Facebook and saw a post for this cool finishers beach towel.  I popped the picture up so I could see the towel better and thought that's the run Natalie was talking about.  So I text her and said did you know you not only get a medal, but a really cool beach towel.  She didn't know and was excited.  I jokingly said I should do it with you.  I bet you can figure out how this story goes.

It's a good thing I signed up for the race that evening because I woke up the next morning with a sore leg.  Felt like a strained a muscle during the Hot Chocolate 15K so thought I would just take it easy this week and be ready for the half on Sunday.  All week I stretched it out, put an anti-inflammatory on it and took some ibuprofen.  Saturday as we were leaving for Birmingham to do the Mercedes-Benz Half Marathon I thought I would be good.  We did a lot of walking that day and when we got to the room I was hurting a bit and wondering would I make it through this half.

So much was going through my mind as I tried to sleep that night.  

1.  I bombed my first half and don't want to do it again.

2.  Will my leg make it 13.1 miles?

3.  9.3 miles is the longest run I have done since I did my first half back in November.

4.  Can I really do this? 

Sunday we are up at 5 AM and getting ready to go.  My leg is sore and I am nervous.  As we walk over to the start line I am saying little prayers and reminding myself that I rocked at 9.3 last week and I can do this.  I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.

Me, Natalie and Loren

The race starts, but I am back at the 11 minute pace area so it is 7:07 when I cross the start line.  Nat and I take off and I am feeling it, but going to push through and see what happens.  If my legs keeps me from running I will just walk it, but I am crossing that finish line and getting my towel and medal!

Natalie runs on ahead of me.  She can keep just under a 9:00 minute a mile pace so I knew I wouldn't be able to stay with her long.  Around mile 3 the pain goes away and I am feeling good.  Thank you Jesus!

That's me praying for strength

I am cruising along around mile 5 when I hear "hey girl" and look to my side to see Natalie?!?!  Confusion and than "are you okay" comes out of my mouth.  She says she is not sure what is going on, but she feels off.  Thinking maybe her sugar is low.  We all have off days so I tell her we just keep going together and cross that finish line even if we have to walk.  We got another mile or two in and we see a medic so she tells me to keep going that she is going to have them check her.  As she runs over to them I say a little prayer for her and keep going.

She rejoins me and says she is good, just feels off.  I feel bad for her, because I know she can run so much faster and was wanting to PR today.  We keep going, but I can tell she is not herself and it worries me a little.  We stop to walk and I am trying to encourage her and be positive--it's just a bad day we will finish today and you can go for a PR next time.  We start to run, but she still is feeling off.  I don't know what to do so we walk and I pray.  She stops to have someone check her again and tells me to keep going she'll catch up.  Should I stay with her?  Should I keep going?  I am so confused because I want to be there for her, but I am running so much better than I did my last half.  She tells me to go on so I do.

I make it to 10.1 miles before I am passed by the pace car for the full marathoner.  Woohoo! I made it a whole 10 miles before I was lapped.  Hehe!  At mile 11.2 my knees are killing me.  I don't know how to explain it other than to see it felt like my knee caps were going to pop out the sides of my legs.  I thought to myself I have hit my wall and am going to have to stop and walk these last 2 miles and ruin this good pace I have kept the whole race.  I was about in tears when I heard "I'm back" and there she was.  I told Nat I was dying that my knees were killing me.  She told me I had this and we're less than 2 miles from finishing and I could do it.  I knew she was feeling better and could of probably kept a better pace, but she stayed there with me and we just kept going.  She was my rock that got me to the finish line.

Me dying and Nat happy its almost over

Okay I am happy now, too.

Around mile 12 and half I looked up to see my friend, Vanessa on the side lines.  She was there to cheer her daughter on.  I saw her happy face and big smile as she begin to cheer for me and it gave me that last boost of energy to get to the finish line.

Less than a mile to go!

And we cross the finish line!  We survived.  We did it for ourselves, for each other and God!  I had a PR doing the half in 2:34:41.  Keeping a pace of 11:48.  A whole 23 minutes faster than my first half in November.  I needed this confidence booster!  I am so sorry Natalie had a bad day, but so thankful she was there to get me through that last 2 miles.  

 We did it!

God knew exactly what he was doing when that enticing beach towel popped up on my news feed.  He put Natalie and I together on that run so we could be there for each other and make sure we finished.  Because of Him and each other we ran and didn't grow weary.

But those that trust in the Lord will find new strength.  

They will soar on wings like eagles.  

They will run and not grow weary.

Isaiah 40:31

Will run for Chocolate!

What an amazing 24 hours!  It all started around 12 on Friday when Nat and I hit the road to Nashville.  We made a quick stop at Green Hills Mall to check out Lush.  After seeing a few of my sorority sisters commenting nonstop about it on Facebook I decide I needed to find the nearest one to me.  We spent an hour in that little store and loved every minute of it.  I left with Bath Bombs, Bubble Bars, Shampoo, Conditioner and Soap.  Plus, I found out that mall is only 10 minutes from where I go to my migraine doctor every 3 months so I will be visiting regularly now!

Next we headed downtown to pick up our race packets.  I love downtown Nashville.  Packet pick up was great.  We got to sample the amazing hot chocolate.  The expo had some great stuff.  We got a BondiBand and a Sweaty Band. 

Than it was off to my Aunt Jean's house.  What a blessing she was to us.  Not only did she open her house up to 4 crazy ladies, but she prepared an amazing meal for us.  She worked all day preparing the most amazing pasta sauce.  She also made a pesto pasta, huge salad, homemade bread and dripping oil.  Oh and I can't forget the homemade strawberry cupcakes.  The bathroom was stocked with toiletry items in case we forgot anything.  After we all helped clean up the kitchen we ended up in the bonus room chatting the evening away.  It was a wonderful night.

We were up around 5 AM to get ready to run for some chocolate!  It was such a fun run.  The course was awesome.  The first half was all up hill and just the test I needed for my very hilly half I have next month.  Along the run they were giving out chocolate chips, tootsie rolls and marshmallows.  Around mile 3 we passed a Krispy Kreme and they were handing out fresh hot donuts to the runners and wishing us a Happy Valentine's Day.  The race was so well organized and the people were fantastic.  Not only were they directing us where to go, but they were dancing and cheering us on.  Even the police officers were cheering for us.  It was a great experience!

What a marvelous sunrise!  God is good!

This was my first run starting in corral's.  It was pretty nice and a lot less crowded doing it this way.  Only thing I didn't like was crossing the finishing and the time being off.  The run started at 7:00 with corral A. I was in G so I started around 7:22.  

I have been training hard since December to improve my running and I was given the satisfaction that my work is paying off.  I completed the 9.3 miles in 1:44:40.  I averaged 11:15 a mile which is what I have been doing on long flat runs.  Mile 4 was my slowest--- the last part of it was all uphill.  I did it in 12:06.  My fastest mile was 10:29 and most of the others averaged around 11:09.

Natalie was first of our group to finish.  She had an amazing run!  Finished in 1:22 with an average pace of 8:53.  I was so happy for her.  She is ready for her half next week that is for sure!  Go Nat!

Doesn't that look amazing!  It sure was good.  I wasn't able to eat the sweets along the run, but I sure did enjoy this afterwards.

I was able to get a picture of my sister-in-law, Carrie crossing the finish line!  Thanks to the text updates during the race--Thanks Hot Chocolate 15K.  She did amazing!  So proud of her.

Tracy snuck across the finish line so we weren't able to get her picture--that little devil. She did fabulous!   

Hot Chocolate 15K/5K is a must do race!  I would recommend it to everyone!  The goodies you get are top notch-- a cool bag, zip hoodie, the finishers medal and finisher mug full of yummy.  All around fabulous race!  I give it a A+!

Another run in the Garmin!