ShamROCK on... 2012
Started my day off with a lovely ride down to the race from my friend and her Boyfriend, found the gear check, dropped my stuff off and then made it to my area. I ran into the lady I work for (who was running her FIRST road race… she finished in about 40 mins…) and we chatted until the start of the race.
(Now why are the shirts Red?!?!)
While running, I couldnt tell you if it was a good race or not. One minute it was good. The next I was cramping. Then I was running fast. Followed only by slow walking… I was all over the place. But… of course I kept going… The weather was great as well- sunny and warm, but with a nice breeze every now and again!
Also, it really is a great race. The course is awesome, the crowd is lovely, and the signs… fantastic! My favorite… besides DO EPIC SHIT of course… “Dont Poop”. haha. I literally laughed out loud. Also liked “you are beautiful” and “may the course be with you”.
Anyways… I kept up with my walk/run intervals (except for one interval- I walked more of the run and then ran more of the walk… whatever…), kept a smile on my face (for the most part), and enjoyed the finish line glory. And guess what… A PR! last year, I ran the shuffle in 1:17:38. This year… 1:12:13!!! thats a 5:25 minute cut!!!
And one of those reasons for this PR…
Claire.
Thursday we hung out, and I fell total fan girl for her. There is not enough words to describe how great she is, and… I dont know if she knows this yet… but Im making her my personal fitness/weight loss/getting healthy go to girl… ANYWAYSSSSSS… Im sure you all know that Claire hurt her back and hasnt be able to run in a while. Every time I was having a hard time running and wanted to walk, I said to myself “Claire would be running right now if she could” and it pushed me to go stronger. So this PR is for you Claire! Thanks so much for pushing me even though you didnt know you were!!
Another successful Shamrock Shuffle!
ANDDDD…. my favorite post race sign
TriTri Again...
Big Foot Sprint Triathlon.
.49 mile swim 12.5 mile rolling hill bike 3.1 mile train run
On Saturday my friend Katie picked me up, we tossed my stuff in her car and started the trek up to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It was a nice ride although we were both a little tired and I got us a little lost by not paying attention to where we were going. It was great to sit and chat and listen to NPR and learn something I didnt know… We got to our cozy little hotel, couldnt check in yet, so we drove down to the course. We attempted to set up our transition areas but couldnt until race day. So we drove the bike course taking in all the hills. OH THE HILLS!!! We got some delicious food-yum- went back to the hotel and decided to ride our bikes a little. Jbizz was nice enough to lend me her bike but truth be told… I hadnt sat on it since she gave it to me a few weeks ago! Found out the tires needed a little air- so filled those up right away. We Showered, Katies FIANCE got there and we went out to dinner. After dinner, we went back to the hotel, played a little trial pursuit (Katie kicked our rears!) and then went to bed pretty early.
I woke up at about 2:50 and had to use the restroom. As I was walking back to my bed, I was feeling around in the dark and SMACK I walked right into the wall- right on a corner! Uhhh… it hurt so bad! I got back in bed and couldnt get back to sleep- so I tossed and turned until the alarm went off at 4am. WOOF. so early.
We got dressed, headed down to the race area, and set up our transition areas, sat around for a while and at 6:30ish headed down to the swim start.
SWIM: The water was actually warmer than the air was at that time so the cold factor… wasnt. We were the second heat to go off and as they blew the air horn, off we went. Seconds after I got in- panic set it. I couldnt get my breathing to calm down- I kept on going but I had to actually had to talk to myself saying I would be fine… and of course within less than a minute I was. We were swimming against the current on the first half of the swim so that basically sucked but I just kept right on trucking. One girl, asked to get pulled out just a few minutes in… I wanted to tell her she was fine but she just looked at the turn around and said “I cant do this”. I felt bad for her… By the time I got to the turn around other heats had left and I had to tell myself not to get to freaked out by the people pushing past me. It actually wasnt too terrible. You know what was… THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE!!!! It FREAKED me out. Im used to swimming in the ocean where you see sand and shells and maybe a crab or two… not green slimy stuff and big scary looking rocks. I cant tell you how freaked out it made me, I had to keep my eyes closed the whole time swimming. Every time I opened them looking down I freaked! I swear going back though took a 1/3 of the time because we were going with the current. I got out, and walked towards the transition area
T1: Took me a heck of a lot longer than I was expecting. I wasnt worried about leaving really fast so I dried off, drank some water, put my hair up and then left. It took me almost 9 mins though!!! WAY TOO LONG.
BIKE: Oh the bike. Hillllly
The downs were really fun. The ups.. not so much. At one point- sometime after the 1/2 way mark, I was going down a pretty level area and just taking in the scenery (awesome farm fields and beautiful sky. I love a good farm!) and I had to remind myself I was racing. I was just going along, not really pushing it… like I was on a leisurely ride. I guess I was enjoying myself but… I made a pack with myself when I first started out on the bike saying that I wasnt going to get off the bike- if I made it up that first hill, I could make the rest. This was all fine and good except for ONE hill. It was an uphill, a sharp right turn, and then a steep uphill again. I basically wasnt moving on that second hill- so I got off and walked it. I was ok with it though! The downhills were pretty fun though! The end was an easy ride! Also, I did not pass ONE person on the ride- I was passed 100s of times but not once did I pass someone- that kind of sucked, but I guess it is what it is!
T2: Bike in, fix my hair, drank some gatoraid, had to go to the br and then I was off…
RUN: or more like a walk with some fast shuffling mixed in. I almost got run over by one of the olympic runners in the first 100 yards. I was moving along and he came running up behind me yelling on your left… well I attempted to move over, but there was a woman on my right. So instead I moved as far left as I could so there was plenty of room between me and then woman- well Oly runner did not like this and yelled at me as he buzzed past- Whatever dude. Be friendly. I saw Katies fiance (he was so nice to hang around the whole race!) and I was off on the grass/dirt/yuck path. to be honest, I attempted to run a bit but my legs were not having it. It was really hard for me. So I told myself- count to 60 and then you can walk, count to 100… and whatever. It worked a little, but I was done. There was a lady in a pink shirt that I passed right as I was starting out… I made her my reverse rabbit. I would not let her pass me. So when she was getting close, I would speed up. I will say some of the Oly people were really nice on the run- obviously I was struggling a little and they were very encouraging. It was nice to hear! In the last 2/10ths of a mile there was a steep dirt hill
SUCKED. As I ran across the finish line I was so happy it was over. I was beat. Done. finished. I didnt even look at the time! I just got my water, got a foodie bag, and then saw Katie! She had finished about a 1/2 hour before me- she killed it!
The woman in the pink shirt came up to me after and said thats for pushing her because I was her rabbit! I told her she was kind of mine as well just in reverse- which I then worried was a little mean- but it was nice to hear no matter what!
All in all it was a good race for not training. I wish I did a little better but what do I expect when I didnt train. During the run I told myself how much I hated this and I never want to do it again- and I could never do an Oly.. of course when it was done I was so happy to have done it and cant wait to do my next one…
HOWEVER- I will make sure to train next time!
Swim T1 Bike T2 Run total
B.A.A. Second Annual 10k
Yesterday I ran in the BAA’s second annual 10k event. I have never participated in a BAA race before and had no idea how big they do it up! As soon as I arrived at the Boston Common I was in love! The biggest race I have ever run before was probably a quarter of this size so it was definitely intimidating seeing all those people (most of them who were in INCREDIBLE shape!) getting ready to run.
My number one fan ready to go!
Compulsory before race picture
The weather was absolutely beautiful, 72 and sunny is pretty much ideal for me, and every other person on planet earth. The strong blue and yellows of the BAA logo, I have grown up seeing really pumped me up but also made me a little nervous to finally be a part of it! They did a great job of a 4 minute wave start, since the crowds definitely made the roads more congested than I have ever experienced as it was.
The guy lining up next to me seriously had no shoes on…I am still undecided if this is hardcore or just dumb
I had set a goal to finish the race in 52 minutes since I had read in my Runner’s World magazine earlier in the week that to be considered a “serious” runner you need to be able to do a 5K in 25 minutes. I don’t necessarily believe this but I began to feel a little anxious about others perceptions of me as a runner. My obsessive compulsive self ran me straight to a computer to see what it’s 10k equivalent would be. (I am not making fun of OCD, I actually have clinically diagnosed OCD, GAD, and acute panic disorder to which running is the absolute BEST therapy for me…most of the time :) ) Anyways, it told me about 52min 4 sec. (http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=6765) Therefore setting my goal knowing that I would be breaking all my previous equivalents PR’s in order to do this.
The race was crowded but fairly flat except for a couple of long hills mid race. I loved the fact that at every mile AND km they had mile markers and that they also had water at every mile which was great since mid race the sunny 72 suddenly felt like a death sauna. I found I had a hard time pacing myself because I was so obsessed with my time I ran as hard as I could most of the time which ended up with me struggling right before the 5K marker and the second half in general.
While I was struggling Geoffrey Mutai was already done (27:29) OMG
After mile marker 6 I was just like “GET ME INTO THIS PARK!” but then we had to go around the corner before turning into the park and the finish “runway”. I just decided to suck it up and thought to myself the faster you run the faster your done.
Brian seemed to have an easier time catching me on film than Mutai…weird…
In the end we were presented with a beautiful finishers medal and a really nice mesh t-shirt from adidas. They had a decent spread of food from strawberries and bananas to bagels and granola bars. My stomach was definitely not in the mood to eat too much but I did end up mowing down 1/2 a bagel and a gatorade.
Post race with Coop (who Daddy fed munchkins to while Mommy was running)
In the end I ended up beating (barely) my goal pace but gained a much deeper desire to dominate the Providence Half. Training begins this afternoon. LETS DO THIS!
Official Results:
Kathryn Dasilva Net Time 51:19 Overall 1324/4563 In Gender 414/2535
In Division131/706 Split Time at 5K 25:40
Jerri's Run for Literacy 5k Recap
I never really wake up early for races especially 5ks that are not that far, so this one was no different. I woke up a little after 6 and the race started at 7:40. I tried a new pre-race breakfast of an orange and honey bunches of oats and it didn’t cause any problems.
We got at the site at 7:25 and while my mom parked, I went to get my bib and t-shirt. There was a pretty decent amount of people; I thought there wouldn’t be that many since there wasn’t much information on it. I didn’t have much time, so I got attached my number and headed toward the starting line, I got a spot in the middle.
I’ve ran at the location a couple of times, so I knew that there would be a few hills; where I live we have no hills, so that sort of affected me. Also, it’s a very narrow path once you first start, so it was annoying having to dodge some runners and walkers. At the 1 mile marker I got a sip of water and I think for the first time I didn’t stop to walk; so proud!
As I was heading towards mile 2, people were already turning around! It was then I got inspired, especially by one female (who won 1st in female). That’s when I started repeating “Pain only hurts” and “One foot in front of the other” and when I was ‘dying’ from the heat “If Scott Jurek can run in Death Valley, I can run in this” (I just finished Eat & Run). That’s also when I started trailing a father and son team, which was quite adorable and inspiring. Before you turned around, you had to climb a small hill, which was awful, but going down felt good. Got more water at mile 2, and tried not to think of the stretch I had left. My pace slowed a decent amount, which I was mentally beating myself for but got over it, and I’ll admit I was this close to stopping but I persevered and made it to the finish line, before crossing a bridge.
28:49 was my official time, even though on the results sheet it said 29:49.
We stayed after for the awards, because I got second in my age group for females…out of 2! :)
Encinitas 5K Race Recap
Official Chip Time: 35:48
Pace: 11:32
I signed up for todays race on a complete whim yesterday after work. A while back I had wanted to do the Encinitas Tri that will be tomorrow morning but I was not quite race ready for a Tri. I’ve had some setbacks in running, spotty bike training, a slow/ steady swim routine and am not quite ready for the open water.
Anyway, i feel like it was the perfect time to do the race today because…
- I started physical therapy a couple of weeks ago and was starting to feel ready to run (for more than 10-15 minutes) again.
- I happened to see a Facebook post about the 5K, which was the first I heard about it, when i was taking a break at work yesterday afternoon. It said you could register at sports authority until 7. Which worked perfectly because i was already planning on being over in that area to go swim!
- It was only $25
- Ocean view the whole way
- I wanted to make myself feel better about not participating the the Tri
I am so glad I did it. Granted there is some soreness in some weak areas that I have been discussing with the physical therapist. But I know that when i go in next week I can tell her how it went and she will address it.
I am also pretty sure I PR’d. My Fastest recorded 5K was 36:06 from 1.27.13. So not by a a lot but moving in the right direction. I am not sure If I ran too fast, but I don’t think I did.
One of my goals for this year is to run a sub 30 minute 5K. I am not sure if this will happen, but I am hoping that now that I am working on my weak points I will be able to train more consistently to reach that goal.
I never posted about the Turkey Trot Results
Longer than I would have liked… but given the situation and the fact that I made a bathroom stop Im ok with it!
It was a hard race to do but it was 100% worth it!
I wore my marathon jacket and near the end, I was running with a girl who said that I was inspirational (who me?!?!). She had just started running and never thought that she would do an 8k let alone a marathon. I told her to do it… if I can, anyone can! And… I walked the mile+ back home after. There was a guy working outside. He stopped me and asked me about the race. We had a nice short conversation and he said congrats on a the race and good work! It was just nice that a complete stranger took the time to talk to me about it.
Will for sure do this one again next year if Im in town.
