Race Recap: Percival's Island 5 Miler

Boy, has it been too long since I've raced.

I'm not counting the Castaway Cay 5K as a race since it was miserable and untimed (not to mention free), so that puts my last race as the Liberty Mountain 5K back in April.

Not having a race to look forward to really zaps the motivation out of me, so I went out on a limb a couple weeks ago and registered for the Percival's Island 5 Mile Footrace even though it was in July. I'm always leery signing up for summer races since the humidity here is so terrible. But the lack of motivation won and I decided if nothing else I would just go out and have fun.

I picked up my packet Friday, getting there right at the start to be guaranteed my t-shirt (I was a bad runner and didn't register before the deadline) which came in a men's and women's option! I love when races have tech shirts but hate it when they are all unisex cut, they end up swallowing me. The women's was even pink!

The weather on race morning could not have been more perfect. It was in the 70s, and completely overcast with a light drizzle. Even though the humidity was 100% the clouds and rain kept us cool.

The race course is pretty boring. 2.5 miles out and back on the flattest part of Blackwater Creek Trail. The flatness is nice for racing (and rare for hilly Lynchburg) but there's pretty much nothing to look at except trees and other runners. There are two cool bridges to cross, but that's about it.

At least one of them if not both are old railroad trestles, hence the train on the shirt.

I ran the race with my friend Drew and we were able to keep each other motivated. I secretly wanted to finish in under an hour, but didn't know if it would be possible. When we turned the last corner and saw the that the timer said 58 minutes, I was ecstatic!

Overall the run felt great. Once I got past the initial mile of torture, we fell into an easy pace and kept it up almost the whole time. The only issue I had with the entire day is where the water stops were. They were about .25 miles before the turnaround which made them fall .5 miles apart. They were both too close together and too far from the start/finish. I would have liked them to be about 1.5 miles in so I would have wanted water the second time.

Percival's Island was exactly what I needed to get that "I LOVE RUNNING" boost that it had been months since I had felt. I'm resting today but I can't wait to see what this week's training runs bring!

Forgot to turn my watch on until we were already going.. but I finally snapped a picture of the famous LOVE sign!

Next on my race calendar: the Lighthouse 5K presented by Outer Banks Runcations on July 30th!

Throwback Thursday: The Virginia Ten Miler

(Part of my Throwback Thursday series to cover the races I ran before I blogged)

I remember when I was in about third grade (my pre-runner days) I used to see our local news cover The Virginia Ten Miler. I told my mom that those people were crazy. I hated doing the mile test in school, much less ten miles back to back. Oh, third grade self, if only you could see yourself now. You've become one of the crazies.

September 2013 was the 40th anniversary of The Virginia Ten Miler, and I couldn't have picked a better year to run it. There was so much hype about it leading up to race day, that I knew that even if I hated the race, the atmosphere would be good.

Oh, yeah. Before I get too far let me just show you the elevation profile:

It's basically a bunch of hills one after the other. But, that's what you get in Lynchburg.

Going into the race, I was petrified. I had never run a race that long, but I knew that if I could do a hilly 10 miler then my relatively flat half marathon in November would be a piece of cake. I just had to get through it.

Packet pickup was super fun, mainly because the Brooks Run Happy Island was there giving away prizes. I won a free t-shirt (that I now wear all the time). I really hope they come back this year.

The shirts were nice and fit with the anniversary theme, and the bibs were customized for what I think was the first time!

Race morning came all too early, but the perk of running a race in your hometown is that it only takes 15 minutes to get to the start. I lined up with my pace group (which I severely overestimated. I could have moved up 2 groups) and waited for the start. I found my friend Drew who was running the 4 miler and decided to stick with him until he finished.

The race itself was probably my favorite race of last year. It wasn't my fastest, or my best performance, but it made me fall more in love with my town. All 5 miles of the (out and back) course were lined with strangers cheering for me. They made the hills bearable. They gave us water. They held encouraging signs.

I got to run through areas I had been through tons of times, but there's something about running on a road that you normally drive on that's special.

I actually finished faster than I thought (2:22) but my goal is to beat that this year.

And of course, there's the favorite part of every race: the bling!

Here's a review breakdown:
Course: This course is HILLY! I personally love hills because they are impossible to avoid around here, but if you don't like them, stay away.

Atmosphere: It's basically one big party. There are live bands, cheering fans, an announcer that says your name as you cross the finish (even though he pronounced mine wrong). The whole thing is very encouraging and supportive.

Medal: Big, gorgeous, sparkly, and commemorative of the anniversary. Love it and can't wait for more.

Packet pickup: Smooth, organized, and unproblematic.

Post-race food and entertainment: Excellent! Lots of options to choose from for food, and the awards ceremony is enough entertainment for the whole day! (There is a live band after but I left before it was over)

I'm looking forward to doing the race again this year. I should probably go ahead and sign up soon before the price increases. One of my long term running goals is actually to do the race for the next 10 years to get every medal from the 40th to 50th anniversary.

I Drank the Kool-Aid

When I first started running Janurary 2013, I wanted to run 12 5Ks in a year and call it quits. I thought anything over 3 miles was crazy and didn't know why people would want to torture themselves in that way.

After 2 5Ks I said, "These things are over in like 30 minutes. I want to run longer."

I ran a few 10Ks in training. "This is halfway to a half marathon. I'm going to do one of those."

So I ran the half marathon. During my second half marathon I reached mile 10 and thought to myself, "This is almost over! But I was having so much fun..."

Today I signed up for the race that makes non-runners think that runners are insane. I signed up for a marathon. The Richmond Marathon, to be exact.

I've drank the crazy runner, torture yourself for hours, run 16-20 miles on Saturdays for fun, push yourself to the max Kool-Aid. I have signed up to join the marathoner cult. 

Half of my brain says, "Girl, you're crazy. That's running a lot for month in training, leading up to a 4 hour run at the end." The other half says, "You can do this! It's only double a half marathon! Nothing can stop you!" We're going to listen to that second half.

The other day I saw a Boston Marathon sign that said "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 26.2", and have decided that will be my mantra throughout this training process.

Bring it on, Richmond.

Race Recap: The Color Run Kaleidoscope Tour

As I mentioned in my last post, this weekend I did two races. Okay, well I wouldn't really consider The Color Run a "race" since it's not even timed and the main goal is to have fun.

You may remember that I wrote about my last Color Run in this post. I was hoping for the same exciting event this year, but it didn't top last year.

Kaleidoscope shot 

Don't get me wrong, I had a blast! However, they changed the location from last year, and it was just an overall lackluster event. We have decided that next year we are probably going to end up doing the Flying Pirate half marathon in the Outer Banks instead.

This year was the Kaleidoscope Tour, which I thought was a good marketing move. No one wants to do the exact same event twice, so they tweaked it just enough that people would want to do it again.

We went to packet pickup on Friday night. Last year the whole thing had a party feel to it, but this year it was more of an assembly line. They also didn't give us our color packet, but instead the bibs had a tear-off part at the bottom to get it at the finish line. I think they have had a problem with people using them before the color throw at the end, so that actually was kind of smart of them to change it.

The "swag" had improved from the year before. The packet came in an awesome reusable bag, and had temporary tattoos, a newly designed shirt, a headband, and a wristband. They also had a store set up with all kinds of cool, reasonably priced (as far as race gear goes) merchandise. I purchased a purple tutu, a reversible headband (because I LOVE headbands), and a sticker (which I plan on making a magnet and putting on my car).

The rest of Friday was pretty much a girls night out with my mom. We shopped (and found a pet store and played with the most adorable English Bulldog puppy) and ate and then went back to hang out at our hotel. Side story about the hotel: at the same time we arrived to check in, about 60 obnoxious high school students were doing the same thing. Apparently there was a technical school conference nearby at the same time, and the hotel lady felt sorry for us and gave us a complementary upgrade to a VERY fancy room I'm still not sure why anyone would need a room that large in a hotel, but it was kind of fun.

The bag my shirt came in. Pretty cute!

After a horrible night's sleep (the pillows on the beds were too fat), we woke up and mom and I decided to go for a matching 80s inspired look with the headbands they had given us. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to wear shorts and a short sleeve shirt. I figured it worked last year so it would work this year. However, last year it was in June, and this year it was in April. I regretted that decision as soon as I walked outside into the windy 48* weather.

Luckily, the race started at a civic center, so we were able to stand inside until the race started.

The following is a breakdown of various aspects of the event:

Course: Eh. It went through a residential area and had some cool houses but wasn't very scenic. There were some hills. Nothing super special.

Volunteers: They were very into what they were doing! They were all covered in the color they were throwing and threw out generous amounts to the runners.

Color Zones: There was one less than last year, but this year they added purple (my favorite color) so that kind of made up for it.

Finish line: The area to exchange the tab from your bib for your color packet was a disaster. It was a mob of people thinking they were going to run out or something. I got stepped on several times. There were also KIND bars, water, and Panera goodies (with no limit on how many you could eat). That was my favorite.

The best part of The Color Run is the color throw at the end. This year, they did them less frequently, so there were a lot of people participating in each one. Somehow we got in the middle, and the sun was blocked out for a minute or so when the color was thrown. It was pretty awesome and I got covered in color.

Overall, it was a fun event, but next year I may stick closer to home. I'm not sure I want to travel for an event that several charities in my area are trying to host for the upcoming Fall/Spring race season. I think next year I may choose a smaller event, and use the money to try something new.

Check out my colorful hair!

Don't get me wrong, I had a blast! But I'm always ready for a new challenge. Maybe I'll replace the color with mud ;)

Shamrock Half: The Day I Channeled Forrest Gump and Set a PR

All dressed up and ready to run

At 6:15 in the morning on March 16, Virginia Beach was freezing. I was standing at the starting line of the Shamrock Half thinking to myself, "Why did I sign up for this? I don't want to be here. I hate the cold. This is never going to end," and so forth and so on.

At 7, the corrals started running. I was in 8, so I was standing there literally shivering for a good 15 minutes before we made it to the start gate. I was still having a pity party and freezing when they started the countdown.

"5...4...3...2...1!" I started running. And I didn't stop for the next 13.1 miles.

I always have to take walk breaks. Of course, that's in Lynchburg where you can't go more than half a mile without encountering some form of incline. I ran the first mile in a little over 10 minutes. I looked at my watch and thought, "There's no way I can keep this up for 12 more. I'm going to have to walk sometime."

Half and Dolphin Challenge medals

Mile 2 brought gloves for my freezing hands. Whoever tossed away a thick blue pair of mittens, thank you. I threw them back later so they'll make it to charity.

Mile 3 made me start to think, "Okay legs, you holding out down there? Cause the lungs are fine, this flat ground is nice and easy.

At mile 4 there was water and a party of cheering spectators. I couldn't stop with all of them watching.

Then I hit mile 5, still running, still at about an 11 minute pace. "I could do this. I don't know how, but I can do this."

(I will say I did walk the length of every water stop. Otherwise I would have gotten all the water down my shirt and none in my mouth.)

At mile 6, we went into some woods, but still on the road. There were signs with corny jokes on them that I thought were hilarious. What's purple and green and next to Ireland? Grape Britain! (Okay, that's not so funny now. It was much funnier after an hour of running.)

One excited face

At the GU stop, I grabbed one from the kid passing them out. I ate it. I kept running.

Mile 7 had a Saint Bernard with a sign that said "I like Runnners. You taste salty." He was my favorite spectator. I still kept running.

I lost feeling in my right hand at mile 8. It wouldn't move. I don't know if it was my arm band, or the cold, or both. I switched the arm band to my left arm and passed the next mile trying to get my fingers to move normally.

Mile 9 had Oreos, and I will forever swear that the Oreo the man gave me was magical. I love Oreos, but that one was the best Oreo I have ever had in my life.

Feeling like Michael Phelps

Mile 10 I was feeling beat. I remembered the magic Oreo, touched a sign that promised to give me super powers, and vowed to run the last 3.

Mile 11 was where it really got hard. I passed the 11 mile marker right as my watch hit 2 hours and knew I was going to PR if I kept it up. I stopped for a quick stretch to loosen up my quads. And I kept running.

Close up of the medals

Mile 12 was emotional. During training, I wanted a PR so badly, but I had very little luck training. In my mind, I wasn't getting faster, I was getting worse. Some runs had ended in tears. The tears that threatened to come this time were tears of pride. I could never have imagined running 12 straight miles a year ago. I didn't even dare to dream of getting a PR until last night after running the 8K. The emotions powered me through the last mile.

Mile 13 was a mile of cheers. People were lined up elbow to elbow cheering both for people they know and the ones they didn't. They were reading our bibs and every time someone chanted, "Come on Leah, you're almost there!" I got more and more excited. I saw the finish line and the statue of King Neptune. And I ran.

The last .1 brought celebration. My watch time was 2:23 (the official time was slightly longer. I'm believing my watch since I started it at the exact second I crossed the start). My first half was run in 2:43. I had PR'ed by 20 minutes.

I was handed my finisher medals and savored the moment. I don't know when I turned in to Forrest Gump, or how such a miserable morning turned in to such a great race, but it did.

Shamrock, I may never do you again, but thank you for the amazing experience.

Race Recap: Shamrock 8K

I look a little too excited.

Today was day 1 of the Dolphin Challenge, and I couldn't have asked for a better race!

I woke up at the crack of dawn to try to beat traffic. I didn't really work, because there seems to be traffic 24/7 here, but it helped a little bit.

I got to the starting line pretty early, and made it back to my starting corral, 10 (which was 2 blocks back). But first, I had to snap a selfie with the start gate.

The race didn't start for about 30 minutes  but it gave me plenty of time to people watch. People came in all kinds of green clothes: tutus, kilts, leggings, hats, and I even saw a few green beards!

The race was sold out at over 10,000 participants, and the corrals filled up quickly.  The race started at 7:45, but those of us in Corral 10 didn't even see the Start gate until closer to 8. When they let us go, we took off and the magic started.

It is completely flat around here. Completely flat. I ran the entire 5 miles and it was easy. I'm the kind of person who has to walk up hills and after a few miles. Not today! I have never felt so comfortable in a run, it was almost like I wasn't even trying. I worked up a sweat because it was warm (so warm I even took my jacket off) but it wasn't taxing. According to my results, I finished with a chip time of 55:35 with an 11:11 pace. I am so proud of myself! (My gun time was 1:13:26 but that doesn't even count because I didn't start until almost 20 minutes after the gun)

If I can keep that pace tomorrow, there's no doubt that I will beat my goal time!

Also, I placed pretty well. I came in around the middle of the whole race, and pretty far up among the women runners.

The finish line was a different experience from ones I have seen at past races. They gave you everything in the finish chute- medal, water bottle, snacks, and even had photographers taking pictures in front of backdrops. The area went on for what felt like forever before I could get out, but it was nice to have everything in one place.

Some final thoughts on the race-

Course: Overall, the course was pretty boring. We ran down one street full of buildings, then down the Boardwalk with a view of the ocean (which was less boring), then back down some more streets with buildings, finishing with a view of the beach. I did like how flat the course was!

Medals: These medals are absolutely gorgeous! They are big (about the size of my palm, which is larger than I was expecting for the 8K), shiny, and heavy. The top has a bottle opener, and the ribbon is printed with the date. Completely worth it!

Atmosphere: What the race lacks in exiting course, it makes up for in atmosphere. Everyone was so excited, from announcers to spectators to participants. The fact that it is St. Patrick's themed makes it even more fun because there are some crazy costumes!

Spectators: There were so many people lined up wearing green to cheer us on! Our bibs had our names printed on them and some of them even took the time to cheer on as many people by name as they could.

Overall, this race was great. Maybe I'm just feeling really good after my post-race nap, but I feel confident that tomorrow will be even better!

Official Finisher's Certificate

Throwback Thursday: The Color Run

There's a trend on social media called "Throwback Thursday". I have decided that since this blog wasn't around when I first started running (and through some really fun races) I'm going to do a couple of Throwbacks of my own.

The first one is the Color Run last June.

Runicorn!

This was the biggest race I had done to date, and the only one not organized by local charities. I was so impressed at packet pick up how organized and how smoothly things went!

 We arrived later in the day so there weren't that many people there, but the whole thing is like a party. There's music blasting, and games to play, and you can even meet their mascot, a unicorn.

All the race goodies

They give you a white shirt and encourage you to wear it in the race. You also get to pick out what color packet you want to throw in the end celebration. I chose purple, of course. There are also temporary tattoos to wear to make you look extra fierce as you they pelt you with color. You also get a white headband to wear, but I thought it looked ridiculous on me so I chose not to wear it.

The next morning we started off all nice and clean. We had bought white shirts at Old Navy to wear because they are cheap and we didn't want to mess up the nice ones they gave us. We put on our pink tutus and temporary tattoos and headed to the start.

The race goes in waves, and if you ever have the opportunity to run a Color Run, get towards the beginning wave. When we finished there were still a lot of people waiting to start and it was really hot that day. I can't imagine waiting that long in the heat.

On the course there are a total of 4 color stations if I remember correctly. Pink, blue, orange, and yellow corn starch are squirted at runners through bottles. My favorite station was the blue one because most of the volunteers were younger kids and they were very generous with their color!

At times the course gets really crowded so you can't really run, but since I was doing it with my mom I had planned on walking anyway. I have no clue what our time was because it isn't officially timed, but it was over way too fast due to all the fun we were having. If they made half marathon color runs, I would probably set a PR!

At the end everyone throws their color packets up in one final color explosion. This is done every 15 minutes to accommodate all the finishers. Note to self next time I do this: keep my mouth closed. The dust tastes like chalk and it isn't fun.

The "after" photos were so much fun to take! Both of us were super colorful, and I had it in my mouth and hair and just about every crevice of my body.

It took about 30 minutes to scrub all that off. Mainly the purple that was in my hair:

This was one of the most fun races I did last year and I can't wait to do it again in April with my mom. Color Run Kaleidoscope Tour 2014: here we come!