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[captaincatwoodson]

Hokie Half Marathon: Sept 2019 Race Report

This was my first pretty big race in three years that's further than 3 or 6 miles. It's also my check in race before the big race, the Detroit Marathon, that's to follow in a month. September was a big resting from running month for me. At the end of Aug, my longest run was 19 miles - during and after that I started experiencing knee pains and struggles during my runs. I was still biking and walking. I completed five long rides (53, 65 and three centuries) and an alleycat bike race.

The resting from running really paid off. I did really well during the Hokie Half race! I ran with some friends during this race and had a really good pacing buddy.

Pre race: up at 4 AM, breakfast and hydrate, suit up and tape up my knees, meet up with pals and drive to start, stretch more plus a quick, active warm up and head out to the start line

Mile 1: slow start, everyone packed together for a bit

Mile 2 - 8: as we spread out miles 2 and 3 got faster. We ran down 460 from Blacksburg into Christiansburg, and once we got to the mall we followed the course onto the Huckleberry Trail and headed back to Blacksburg, some flat terrain, rolling hills, not until we get closer to Tech campus did we start to get some incline action. My pace stayed within 9-10min/mi (staying a little about 9 min and a little under 10 minutes from mile to mile).

Mile 9-10: the first bit of mile 9 was alright but then we hit chicken hill and that's where my pacing buddy and I got separated, I had to slow up my pace in order to keep running up, by this point my knee tape on the right had fallen off completely and the left was starting to fall off. I managed to keep my pace around 10 min/mi for these two miles.

Mile 10-13: these last few miles were the hardest, as soon as I hit mile 10 my knees gave out and I had to walk for the first time in this race and continue a walk/run pace - walking on the declines and trying to run as much on the flats and inclines as I could. My pace slowed with each mile passing and the last mile was the hardest. There was a big incline but fortunately I was able to run that while most were having to walk, unfortunately the rolling hills were tough particularly going down, it was a struggle to even walk those.

Mile 13+: I managed to finish strong, running it into the finish line and ran a total of 13.36 miles all together with a time of 2:14:37 - setting an unbelievable new half marathon PR! I think I managed at least two negative splits!

The post race food was amazing, there was chili (veg and everything). I met up with my friends again and we ate, stretched and took obligatory post race pics :P

[captaincatwoodson]

Virtual Racing: Aug 2019 Race Report

My first month of training was off to a great start. I got 11 training runs in, trying to get 3 runs a week in plus cross training. My longest run got up to a half marathon distance (13.1 miles). My biking related cross training included my commutes, weekly group rides and completing two century rides.

As I continue my training for the Detroit Marathon and am running local races, I also decided to try out some virtual racing to give me some motivation for my training runs. I completed four virtual races during August, two 5ks and two half marathons! In addition to these races, I did the Draper mile race (previous report), 5 additional training runs and more biking (commutes and group rides) including four long rides (55mi, 62mi, and two centuries).

The first was the Brooks Best Fest Half Marathon (my furthest training run thus far has been 15 miles). Since it was mid summer I waited until the evening to start and ran well into dark. I ran 13.13 miles around my neighborhood, starting out running 3 mile blocks with a rest in between (fuel, water) to try an simulate some race perks (fuel stations etc.). The darker it got the closer to home I stayed and did 1 mile loops to finish. My finishing time was 3:14:56, 14:51 pace.

The next virtual race was the NYRR Virtual World Championships 5K - I did three attempts for this one. Again just rain around my neighborhood to complete this race.

First attempt I did 3.2 miles in 33:49, 10:34 pace.

Second attempt was a bit slower, I did 3.1 miles in 37:23, 12:01 pace.

The last attempt was the best time but a couple seconds slower pace wise from the first since it was not as long; I did 3.1 miles in 32:59, 10:36 pace. This virtual race is one of three I'm doing as part of a series, the next one is early Nov: TCS NYC virtual 5k and the third one is later Nov: NYRR virtual Turkey Trot 5k.

Next up was the lululemon SeaWheeze virtual Half Marathon. I ran through a couple neighborhoods for this one, adding some more hills and a bit of paved trail running. I ran 13.25 miles with a finishing time of 2:40:54, 12:09 pace. This was my best half marathon time thus far this year. I kept thinking it was like 2:20:00 for a bit afterward lol but still very good. Things were looking good for my Detroit marathon.

My fourth virtual race this month was for the Clarity Eye Run (5K), which was an actual race that was happening a couple towns over but I wasn't able to be there in person so I ran it on my own. I ran 3.24 miles in 35:08, a 10:51 pace.

[captaincatwoodson]

Draper Mile: Aug 2019 Race Report

Now that a month has passed I guess I should post about this race lol. This is my first 1 miler race (I’ve done 1 milers before but not in a real competitive, race setting).

I surprised myself in the best way, I ran was faster than I even thought I was capable of running at the time. I was positive I could definitely do a 9 minute and realistically optimistic that I could pull off an 8 but I was not expecting to run a 7:01/7:08/7:11 according to Strava???... 7:13:54 was my official recorded race time! My previous best miler was 7:45/7:54.

[the 17:05/17:34 includes the standing around waiting to actually go lol]

The course was a good one for PR-ing because it was a gradual downhill road race into downtown Blacksburg. The crowd and volunteers were amazing!

This race has gotten a lot of recognition and growth over the years and has been split into 3 waves: elite men’s, elite women’s, and open. Some of running my buddies here were very flattering and convinced I should run in the women’s elite wave because I could totally do a 6 or 6:30! HA! Not quite - not that I don’t believe in myself but having just starting running again after three years and never had run that fast previously, I was being realistic lol. However, having said that and having finished as fast as I did (never ran that fast before either) I think it’s in the realm of possibilities for me!

All the participants get to the start line and warm up around 6/6:15 PM. First wave goes at 6:30, second wave at 6:35 and third wave goes at 6:40 PM. The first two waves were pretty small and not surprising my wave was the largest lol. The elite runner waves had qualifying times for them but apparently it’s mostly just about not being crowded.

So when our turn came, everyone squished in as close as possible and the first 0.25 mile became about getting out from the masses. There were volunteers at each quarter mile markers and they’d yell out times as folks ran past.

1/4 mile - 1:41 … feeling really good

1/5 mile - 3:32 … very pleased with myself, thinking if I maintain this momentum and kick my boost at the end I could do a 7 or sub 7!!

3/4 mile - 4:26 … almost there! the finish line is in sight and I start to kick in it to higher gear

1 mile - 7:08/7:11/7:13:54 ... going into this last quarter of a mile as I engage my runners’ boost/N2O button I was immediately swarmed by a pack of children and was slowed up trying not to literally run them over! In front of me were a few kids, on my left and right were a couple kids and trailing pretty close to me were another couple of kids! I still finished strong, no children were harmed in the making of my running history and am very pleased with how well I did!

Fast forward a couple days to me checking my results and learning that I had placed third for my age group! I placed 186th overall out of 328 total runners, 84th for the open run out of 221, and 3rd out of 9 for my age group! I won a pretty cool pint glass and a gift cert for a cookie from a local bakery lol!

Fun fact: the cookie was only redeemable during the festival weekend that the race happened at, so since I went in the day after, I didn’t actually get my cookie :( whatever I still did awesome!

[captaincatwoodson]

Downtown Sundown 5K: June 2019 Race Report

June 15, 2019 - second race of the year. This race was amazing! I’ve been running more frequently now and have been doing speed training with my cutie of a pup and it has been paying off.

Race Recap:

7:45 PM - walk to start/finish line area, do some dynamic stretching and warm ups

My Goals: finished in less than 35 minutes, run the whole time, again, don’t be last lol

8:30 PM race starts

Mile 1 - the course started out flat with a few rolling hills going up Draper street; it was so pretty out, cool too cause the sun was going down lol and you could see the almost but not quite full moon; felt really strong going into this

Mile 2 - started to feel that little stitch in my side telling me I’m running just a little to fast so I slow down a bit but kept on running, shortly after the second mile marker we make our way onto the trail (the flat parts!), also found some similar paced folks to keep with and ran into some friends :P who were volunteering

Mile 3 - zigzagged around the neighborhood before heading back towards the start/finish line back down those rolling hills :D as soon as I turned the corner to head back down Draper I started picking up speed, felt really good

Last 0.11 mile - I cross Miller street for the last couple hundred yards and started booking it! passed at least a half dozen people on my way to the finish including this guy literally just before crossing the finish line, that was amazing!

This race was really where I felt I was back in the running game!

I accomplished all my goals:

I finished in less than 35 minutes, finish time was 00:30:25 (9:47 min/mi pace)getting my 5K race time down to 30 min within four months

I ran the whole time - no walking or stopping

I definitely wasn’t last. placed 135th overall out of 231 runners and 5th out of 13 for my age group

Plus I got my last mile speed and that final bolt to the finish line kick back! I finished strong and I finished fast!

[captaincatwoodson]

Huckleberry Jam [8 Miler]: May 2019 Race Report

May 11 2019 - I ran my first race since 2016! So far 2019 really has been my comeback year. Feb: my first run in about 3 years - 3.2 miles in 34 minutes (on a paved trail), a couple very short (under 1 mile) runs/jogs happened in March but really it wasn’t until 2 months and a couple days later that I really ran for my second time (April: 8.07 miles in 1:45:02 on a typical trail), another week and a half later I ran for my third time (May: 5 miles in 0:54:53, again on a typical trail), then three days after that I ran my first race.

Race Recap:

8:30 AM Meet up at Run About Sports - about a mile from my place, I walk there in about 16 minutes

8:50 AM Walk over to the start line - about a half mile - cue rain, lots of it, I start my Strava tracking early so as not to fiddle with my phone in the rain so my finishing mileage and time were adjusted to account for this extra part

My goals: Finish this race in less than 2 hours (my only other 8 miler I did was in 1:45), Run the majority of the distance so little to no walking but No stopping, Don’t finish last

9:00 AM race starts and rain ceases temporarily

Mile 1 - we head out onto country road then connect to electric drive that shortly connects to the Huckleberry trail, which takes us from Blacksburg, VA to the Rec Center in Christiansburg, VA., there’s one short steep hill here on the turn, this mile takes place mostly around Tech’ s campus, at the end of this mil is a water station that already exists on the trail

Mile 2 - the start of this mile is downhill then flattens out for a bit, mile marker hits right on an uphill, some tree coverage

Mile 3 - luckily said ^ hill is short lived and is followed by a nice downhill that takes us through a tunnel & a round about, than is pretty flat, then another tunnel and a round about where we hang a left and begin another climb

**somewhere in between here was a water aid station, since there was no Gatorade or gels/fuel as initially stated & I had my camelback for water, I kept going

Mile 4 - more hills. up and down, more rain - there were some spots of tree coverage but soaked feet are soaked feet

**somewhere between here, we enter Christiansburg

Mile 5 - more rolling hills, I also ran into a friend here (lol) who was not running the race but training for another and I paced with her until her turn around point, kicked up my speed a bit!

**there’s a bathroom on the trail along this marker, few people stopped but I kept going

Mile 6 - these last couple miles were really tough, my soaked feet were starting to bark and this side of Christiansburg was mostly hills (up) and more rain, it is about this distance that I had to start walking on/off a bit

**at the split point where left is the NRV mall and right is the Rec Center, we turn right

Mile 7 - made it past the mall and over the bridge that crosses 460, feeling good about only having a mile left! but exhausted that that mile is mainly uphill lol! oh and more rain lol

Mile 8 - the finish line is in sight! after a couple more hills I had made it, and what a sweet relief it was to be done!

I am really proud of myself, I accomplished all my goals:

I finished in under 2 hours - My watch read 1:36:43 for a total distance of 8.21 miles (including the walk to the start). My official time was 1:24:08.10 for a course distance of 7.84 miles by my tracking (putting me at a 10:44 min/mi pace) but I think only 7.5 miles by their tracking because my pace was recorded as 11:13 min/mi.

I ran the majority of the race, walking ~0.20-0.25 miles of it (that last 2 mile stretch) & I did not stop (no bathroom or aid station breaks)

I was not last! When I crossed the finish line I thought I was maybe 2nd or 3rd from last but turned out there were dozens of folks behind me! I placed 95th overall out of 132 runners and 10th out of 17 for my age group

After this race I had plans on biking back the trail but with the rain & wind, I ended up taking a shuttle back to Run About Sports lol. I did walk that mile back home, shower and changed THEN bike 8.2 miles!

I also got to see another friend at the start of the race then not again till the end, turns out she placed third in the women’s! So proud of her.

I’ve gone running once more since this race - ran 6 miles in an hour and nine minutes on a trail. Feeling really good about my re-entry to running with these 5 runs and my recovery time has quicken as well.

I have more races lined up throughout the summer and fall to keep me motivated & on track, following this race series:http://runaboutsports.com/2019-runabout-race-series/ - I missed the first two races :(. The big race I will be training for and using these other races to check in, is a Marathon in October in Detroit, MI!

[captaincatwoodson]

Running Again, after a 3-Year Hiatus

I’ve been out of the running game for a couple years now, having last officially competed during the summer of 2016 and my last recorded run ever was the fall of 2016. I was primarily focusing on biking and lifting after my injury had healed up enough, but this year I’m reading to run again!

Dec 2018-Jan 2019 had been about training for my first century ride. By the end of Jan I rode my first Century but also the Iron Man bike segment distance and my first Double Metric Century! Having finished that goal, I rested up before training for my first ultra marathon.

My first run at, well, running, I finished 3.2 miles in ~34 minutes (~10:37 pace) over rolling hills on the Huckleberry Trail in VA, the first time I had run in over 2 years and I did most of this with my new dog. I am excited about running more with her! This run happened to follow a group bike ride I did earlier that afternoon, becoming an impromptu duathlon!

Athletic Profile: as an adult athlete (I also competed as a kid but I'm not including that here)

Over the last 8-9 years I have completed 51 running based events including 1 marathon, 8 half marathons, 1 relay marathon, six 10K’s, and twenty-three 5K’s plus 12 other fun mud runs, varying in distance.

I completed 3 multi-sport events including 2 (sprint) triathlons and 1 duathlon (mentioned above).

And I completed 56 biking based events including 9 bike tours (2 DC-PGH rail trails), 10 bike races (alley cats), 27 group bike rides, 5 quarter century rides, 1 half century ride, 2 metric century rides, 1 century ride and 1 double metric century ride!

All told that’s 110 events, essentially completing one event every weekend for about nine years! I’ve also raced in about 6 out of 50 states: PA, D.C. (biking tour), MD, WV, VA and OH.

PR’s to Date:

5K (3.1 miles): 27:09 (8:32 min/mi)

10K (6.2 miles): 58:18 (9:15 min/mi)

Half Mar. (13.1 miles): 2:15:03 (10:03 min/mi)

Full Mar. (26.2 miles): 6:13:04 (14:14 min/mi)

Sprint Triathlon: ~2 hours including transition times; split between a 750 meter swim (10 min) but I did not complete the full swim segment, 14.35 mile bike in 53 min, and a 5K run in 31 min.

Fastest Mile Average: 7:57 min

Lifting PR’s:

Barbell Bench Press: 115#

Barbell Back Squat: 155#

Barbell Conventional Deadlift: 225#

[captaincatwoodson]

JINGLE BELL 5K: December 2015 Race Report

My best 5K race of the year and ever actually! I PR’d at 27:09

This particular route has become quite familiar to me as most of the events I have done on the North Side include most or all of it. The route includes part street and part trail (the 3 Rivers Heritage Trail), relatively flat. We began and ended just outside the Steelers stadium. The weather was incredibly nice, especially for December, mild sprinkles in the morning that had ceased by the time of our starting gunshot. There were a lot of fun holiday themed costumes and many brought their canine companions with them likewise in costume.

[captaincatwoodson]

The Ugly Sweater Run 5K: November 2015 race report

27:09 final finish time (8:32m/mile pace) Another PR in the books! My best 5K run thus far and it was colder than the Turkey Trot on Thursday, only getting up to 39°F. It was a lot of fun and there were so many great sweaters and holiday themed outfits. I got tons of compliments on my choice of “ugly sweater.”

I did this 5K the day after attempting Pittsburgh's Dirty Dozen, an annual bike race held in Pittsburgh that involves biking roughly 50 miles (I biked about 60) and attempting to conquer 13 of Pittsburgh’s steepest hills. Since I had to work that morning I didn’t get to partake in the official event but I went out and tried it on my own afterward. Even though I wasn’t able to race in the Dirty Dozen nor complete all 13 hills (a goal for next year) my body was still pretty damn sore afterward especially my thighs (quads specifically) and calves.

The course had some rolling hills but overall was pretty flat incorporating part streets and part trails with it ending in the PNC Pirates Stadium. I ran a negative split my second mile. Post race there was beer and plenty of hot chocolate to warm ourselves back up.

[captaincatwoodson]

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot: November 2015 race report

Completed my first Turkey Trot this morning. It was beautiful weather, high of 65°F I think. The course took place in the downtown and north side parts of Pittsburgh. I did the 5 miler option and by the looks of my watch I ended up running 5.32 miles all together. I worked hard this run, I think because of the coolness of the weather I didn’t feel it so I was able to push hard. I completed 3 negative splits with my best mile being a 8:19 pace.

GPS Total Time = 46:42 min Ave. Pace = 8:47/ mi GPS Moving Time = 46:16 min Ave. Moving Pace = 8:42/ mi Official results = Place: 341, Class place: 76, Clock Time: 47:57, Net Time: 46:43

My hear rate got high towards the end, 200 bpm, but I stayed within normal ranges throughout the race. I felt I could have kept this pace up for longer, which is good news for when I run the PGH Half Marathon. This race was a little less than half the distance I'll be running in the PGH Half but if able to maintain, I'll be on my way for a nice PR.

Now I’m ready to eat all the food!

[captaincatwoodson]

Zoozilla 5K: November 2015 race report

The animals were in hibernation except for the flamingos. I probably should have been tryna hibernate too but a las I like to challenge myself. A lot more uphill action than expected but that didn’t stop me. I don't have the official results yet, but according to my watch I timed at 30:05 min averaging about a 9:42 min/mile pace. The weather was chilly this morning (39-40°F with wind) but felt nice during the run. I ran with my bag since there was no bag check but I think I did alright with that, was weird for my form but I don’t think it really slowed me down much.

We started in the parking lot, ran along outside the zoo then entered and ran throughout the entire facility then looped back around the outside and finished in the parking lot again. The winner’s prize were these super cute little & big plush monkey dolls plus a placers medal.

[captaincatwoodson]

Pittsburgh 10 Miler: Oct 2015 race report

Weather cleared up nicely before the start, slight drizzle but otherwise great temperature. Carpooled in with a friend then took the trolley over then walked to the start line - nice warm up. The goal was to finish somewhere around an hour and a half and the strategy was to break up the course into 5km chunks with a mile victory lap to finish it up.

Mile 1-2: Had some technical difficulties so I only have data for the remaining 8 miles and that data is limited since I had to use the indoor setting. I believe I had a negative split for mile 2. I will gather the more data and re-post later. Mile 3: feeling great, another negative split here I think as well Mile 4-6: negative split for mile 5 Mile 7-9: negative split for mile 9

Mile 10: negative split, finished strong

I was very pleased with my performance for this race, I had not ran more than a 10K distance since April so this was a nice check in and it was good to know where I’m at for training and preparation for the PGH race.

[captaincatwoodson]

Pittsburgh Donut Dash: October 2015 race report

Event time: ~19 min (I didn’t have the time going during the first doughnut consuming part so I don’t have an exact time) Running time: ~15:53 min *Found my official race results but the data was still inconclusive - there is some missing data from the second half. Overall this event was super fun and I may have to do this again next year.

There were over 1,300 participants and over $104,000 was raised for the Live Like Lou ALS Research Center, created by Live Like Lou.org and the University of Pittsburgh Brian Institute.

[captaincatwoodson]

The Great Race 10K: September 2015 race report

The Great Race is Pittsburgh’s largest 10K race and my first official 10K event. The weather turned out to be beautiful - cool 62° heating up just a bit toward the last couple miles.

The course started in Frick Park at Beechwood Blvd. The course was predominately downhill finishing in Point State Park. Normally for local races I tend to bike there and back but for this one since the starting and finishing lines were at different points I took bus as far as it would go to the start line then walked the rest of the way. There were 10-14,000 some people there.

There were a surprising amount of water stations for this race - more frequently available than I would have thought. I made sure to hydrate at each station though. Mile 2.33 = first water station Mile 3.3 = second water station Mile 4.7 = starting to feel that burn and some “side stitches”, I’ve been running within the 9-9:30min/ mi pace nonstop with mild increases during the downhills. It’s around this time Skillet’s Hero comes on my playlist and for whatever reason it gets me super pumped, like I’m unstoppable and I have what I need to keep going and push it to the end. Mile 5.1 = third water station Mile 5.7 = the last water station The last 400 some yards wrapped around the city leading us into the Point State Park finish and Kesha starts playing and brings me home strong. Normally it’s in these last few hundred yards that I tap into my ‘runners kick’ however due to the volume of people and narrow finish runway I wasn’t able to fully punch it without literally running into or running over others but I still finished strong.

[captaincatwoodson]

The Color Run - Shine Tour: September 2015 race report

Last weekend was the color run and was the second fun run like this I’ve done. Even though it was not a time run, I felt I should write about it. I did time myself and it was still a race of sorts but more importantly I wanted to write about the controversy behind these runs involving the cultural appropriation (a sociological concept which views the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon - often it is the different culture that uses this adoption to make a profit or other wise benefit from) of India’s Spring Festival celebration: Holi.

The description of and more about the color run can be found here: https://thecolorrun.com/about/

Now I’m not sure who came up with this idea for a running event but it seems pretty clear that they at least got the notice of throwing paint and powder from Holi. “Holi is a spring festival aka the festival of colors or the festival of love. It is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, as well as people of other communities outside Asia” (this definition comes from Wikipedia). More on the history of Holi can be found here.

Also here are some articles/ other blogs that talk more on the subject of this white washing or appropriation of this culture’s traditions.

Dye-ing Culture: Color Run, White-washing Holi Since 2012

The True Colors of Holi: Is It Being White-Washed?

Why it's important to talk about cultural appropriation

The Line Between Appreciation and Appropriation

How RAD is Cultural Appropriation?: Color Run Capitalizing Indian Culture

When I signed up for this run or the Color Me Rad run I was thinking as an athlete; a runner looking for new events and cool ways to enjoy my runs. However, the more I think about these particular events, the more I think about how they may be inappropriate. Certainly so since there isn’t even any recognition or acknowledgement of India and the paint/colored dust idea coming from their Holi celebration - least non that I’ve seen on their sites and it’s certainly not mentioned at the events themselves.

I enjoy all my running events and while I did have and ran well I believe I should be more conscientious (moving forward) about the kinds of events I participate in and look for local runs or events that support great causes. Things to ponder as I continue my journey as a runner/athlete and as I grow as a person.

[captaincatwoodson]

Steelers - Gatorade 5K: September 2015 race report

This was the first time I have been inside of the Heinz Field (the Steelers and PITT Panthers home football field) ever. The course started just outside the Heinz Field up from C Gate. We were divided into 4-5 waves based on anticipated finishing times 1) sub 20 min 2) 20-24 min 3) 25-30 4) 31+ 5) walkers and peeps with strollers. I opted for the third wave, which went really well for me.

Results: Placed 926th overall, Placed 324th out of the women, Placed 55th in my age group Time = 28:37 Pace = 9:11/M

My training has evolved so much since my first race and typically contains more "cross training" than running workouts. I've been working on improving mobility and strength alongside endurance. For this race, I tried out running shorter, quicker strides to conserve energy. I've seen and read about this for long endurance events like marathons or ultras and triathlons. It paid off! Not only did I run my best 5K thus far, it was also particularly hot and humid this day and by the end of it I was drenched in so much sweat. Following the race, I made sure to hydrate like a boss, refuel and get cooled down.

I’m excited for this year, got a lot more races coming up. I’m hopeful I will continue to get better, faster, stronger and will keep getting closer to if not crushing my goals.

[captaincatwoodson]

Stride with Pride 5K: June 2015 race report

This was the first 5K of my summer, during the month of June which happens to be LGBT History month and during Pittsburgh Pride week.

The Stride for Pride 5K benefits The Stride for Pride Student Community Leadership Scholarship. Learn more about the scholarship here: or by contacting us at stride4pride@yahoo.com

The course for the race. the North Shore- along the North side/ Three Rivers Heritage Trail. 5K = 3.1 miles

I was really please with how I did this race - I started out in the 9-9:30/M pace group and was proud with how long I kept up the pace. At the turn around I slowed down some but kept running. Results: Place = 129/274 Time = 30:49.30 Pace = 9:56/M.

Lesson learned: I need to do more weather conditioning training especially when it comes to hotter temps. I heat up quickly in general so when it gets especially hot and humid I get real flushed - my face gets super red and everything. Fortunately I'm good about keeping hydrated before, during and post race.

I also make sure I am properly food fueled pre and post race. A healthy and somewhat filling breakfast typically involving yogurt or oatmeal with fruit, eggs, maybe toast or bagel or English muffin, water and OJ. This is especially helpful since I tend to bike 4-5 miles to the event, utilizing some of that fuel right away. Then I eat the race food that’s there right after I finish (banana/ orange, bagel, cookie/ donuts, water and Gatorade) then eating an actual meal within the next 1-2 hours post race. If need be I'll take some ibuprofen, particularly after a really hot race.

[captaincatwoodson]

Running with Superheroes

For about half the summer I was spelling out words and for about the past month I’ve been writing out superheroes and what not. I have completed 12 of these fun runs. #RunningwithSuperHeroes

Black Widow - 8.07 miles

Hawkeye - 6.89 miles

Thor - 3.75 miles

Iron Man - 6.08 miles

The Hulk - 4.83 miles

Captain (5.5 miles) America (5.18 miles) for a total of 10.68 miles