#DoublePRWeekend, Part 1 - Renegade Santa Run 5k

Renegade's Santa Run is one of my favorites - fun crowd, well organized community event. Yeah, there are a lot of kids, but they are really well behaved and play nicely. This event is home to my current 10k PR, and (spoiler!) my new 5k PR.

This year, #1 ran with me, instead of The H. We headed out at 7am for the 8am start, and parked down the street. This ended up being not quite enough time for us - we still had to pick up our bibs, and then hit the restrooms, and it just didn't give me time to warm up like I would have liked. Note to self, next year get there a bit earlier.

I anticipated cool weather. HOWEVER, about 20 minutes before the start, it got freakishly HOT, and windy. The wind was hot. I don't know how else to explain it. It was not my most favorite, really. 

Anyway, the 5k course runs in kind of a figure-8 shape down the Peters Canyon trail...

Like I sad last week, I had some goals for this race:
A: 25:45ish, 8:18 pace

B: PR - 27:38, 8:55 pace

C: Don't puke and/or die

Because I'm dumb, I did a long run last Sunday (15 miles), followed by a hard hard HARD speed workout on Tuesday, and nothing else. So that was pretty great and relaxing on the legs. 

The race started right on time, but because I was running late, I snuck in somewhere towards the front-ish, and hoped that it wasn't in the mix of kids running super fast. 

Mile 1 - 8:22. This mile felt good. I tried not to be overly concerned with my garmin numbers, and run on feel, and I felt like I could certainly sustain this pace.

Mile 2 - 8:30. Well. That didn't last very long. This was at the turn around, and suddenly we were running into the hottest wind in the universe. 

Mile 3 - 8:54. This was terrible. Lol. 

Last .1 - 7:50. Out of the wind, THANK GOD. 

26:27, 8:32 pace. Not too shabby, good enough for 5/60 in my age group!

Look, it's me dying!

for real, why do I do that with my head?!

 Anyway. It was hard, and hot, and hard, and windy. And hard. Running fast is hard.

#1 also ran a PR, so it was a good day to be us. (Not so much to be Gabby, who melted down and couldn't wait to bail out of that race.).

The race is really great, and we have really enjoyed the event the last two years. I was hopeful for an AG placing this year, but it was a bit of a faster field than last year - I think because the race is just growing a bit? The course is a little congested right at the start, before the turn onto the trail, but after that it cleared up a bit - this could just be where I ended up in the 5k, but I didn't have any trouble navigating. The course is a nice mix of mostly pavement, with some dirt trail the first half. I love dirt, so that's great for me. 

Registration prices start at just $25 for the 5k, $35 for the 10k, and $15 for the kids run - this includes a great medal and long sleeve cotton tee.

so cute and sparkly!

They have awards 3 deep in each age group, plus a costume contest - the costume was a big source of stress for me. I originally wanted to be a Christmas tree. After I constructed it, it was NOISY and JANGLY and would have made me insane. On my second trip to Target, I found some foam snowflakes, and a new costume was born. I spent Friday night sewing snowflakes onto my tank and Team Sparkle skirt, and was the hottest snowflake EVER. 

It was tons of fun, can't wait to tackle it again next year!

Three Things Thursday

1. I have a crazy plan for this weekend. First, it involves this....

2. Which I'll wear Saturday for.....

Where I hope to PR the 5k FOR REAL THIS TIME. I had a goal kind of picked out, and ran it by the smartest bunny I know, and since she thinks it's reasonable, I'm going to give it a shot. I have been doing a decent amount of speed work, and it's all been going pretty well.

(My current *real* PR is 27:47 from July 2012; the Vet's Day race would have been a PR, but since it was not anywhere close to a real distance, I'm not counting it).

My super lofty, man-I-hope-I-don't-puke goal: 25:45 (8:18 pace)
Goal B is to just PR: 8:55ish pace
I have no goal C. If I fail, I quit.

JK, my C goal, as it always is in a 5k, is don't puke or die.

#1 will be running, as well, and I tried to tell her it would be HILARIOUS to toe the line like it's a cross country race....

So far, she has declined.


3. Anyway, after Saturday's fun, I plan to try my hand at....

Yeah, yeah, I wasn't going to race this, but theeeeen I snagged a free bib from Run, Eat, Repeat, and now I'm going to! Yay, free.

So after I got that bib, I thought..... man, it would be kiiiind of fun to PR TWICE IN ONE WEEKEND.

Wouldn't that be FUN???

So, my goals for Sunday are.....
A: 2:05, 9:32 pace. I honestly don't know that I'm in the right place for a 2:05 right now, because I've been doing shorter, faster runs in prep for the 5k. BUT WHO KNOWS!

B: PR. My current PR is 2:11 (9:59 pace) from PCRF back in May 2012. That seems like BILLIONS OF EONS AGO. This wouldn't take too much effort, I don't think, but I have no idea how I'd feel on a hilly course the day after maybe running a 5k hard. So we'll see.

C: If I get out there and a PR is just not in the cards, I'll run it easy and enjoy a long run with a friend. There are no losers here, so I'm sure it's going to be a swell day.


Really, it's just been soooooo long since I've raced anything, I'm excited to be back out there and am really looking forward to all of it.

Veterans Day Run 5k / PFTW

This morning, I ran the National Veterans Day Run in Irvine.

The race was pretty small and low-key. Since it was close by, I used the run over to the race as my warm-up, and tossed in some strides on the way.

The race started a few minutes late, with a pre-race Veterans Day ceremony just before....

The course starts with a loop through Woodbridge Community Park, then out and back on the bike path (my nemesis from the PCRF training days....), and another loop through the park back to the finish line.

So, here's the real details on the race: The course is not marked. There are volunteers telling people where to go, but there was one missing, for example, at the first loop through the park, so we went the wrong direction for about 50 feet - there were left-over arrows on the ground from TNT training over the weekend, so it was confusing. The volunteer at the 5k turn-around, I think, had us turn too early - there's a section on the path (if you're familiar, I'm talking about the bike path between East Yale Loop, and Jeffrey) with two bridges - the volunteer had us turn at the first bridge, but I'm pretty sure it should have been the second bridge. Also, at the finish, I did not see any water, etc. Not a big deal for me, because it was cool this morning and there are water fountains at the park, just a note.

BUT, it was really inexpensive (I paid $30 for a last minute registration), and included a pin, medal, and shirt. Plus, a portion of proceeds go to Folds of Honor Foundation, an organization that provides scholarships and other assistance to spouses and children of soldiers killed or disabled in service.

You can donate to Folds of Honor HERE

I'd rather run a low-key race with a good heart like this than fret about details and complain about stuff.

Mostly, I wanted to get an idea of where I am with training, and if I have a reasonable goal for winter and spring races. With that in mind, my goal pace was around 8:50-8:40 (my 5k PR pace was 8:56, 27:47).

The course measured at 2.74mi for me, and I finished with a 8:31 pace. WHAT. Mile splits:  8:34, 8:31, 8:31.

If it were an actual 5k distance, and I managed to hold that pace (and I think I could?), it would be a 26:25ish finish.

I was third female at the turn-around (there was a kid that was running the 5k that turned around before I did and cut the course a few times through the park loop, and finished just in front of me, so I'm not counting her, CHEATER). Small races are the greatest.

Overall, I enjoyed the event - I wouldn't recommend it if you're going to freak out on the details, but for $30, it served it's purpose for me.

Related, I've decided the 5k is not something I'm really interested in repeating. That isht is hard, yo. Give me a marathon, any day.

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Plan for the week!

To sum it up quickly, last week SUCKED. I just wasn't feeling the run love, not at all. So I didn't hit all of my miles. Oh wells. Taper for a 5k? HAHAHAHA.

Monday: XT
arms, core, pushups

Tuesday: nothing
Zippo.

Wednesday: speeeeeeed, XT
2 mile repeats!! These sounded so scary, but then they weren't too bad. 1 mile warm up, 2x2mi, with 400RI, cool down. Goal pace was 9:11-8:59, actual was 9:09, 9:01. Felt good. Also did arms, and core.

Thursday: XT
Just pushups

Friday: easy, XT
4 miles easy pace with strides; arms/core

Saturday: FAILED long run
Scheduled for 13 easy. Got through 5, felt crappy and achy and blah, and people wandered into the gym, so I called it a day and surrendered my treadmill.

Sunday: rest
I did absolutely negative zero things.

Total: 15 miles.

Oh well.

This week:

Monday: see above; 5 miles total for the day, with warm up/cool down
Tuesday: easy or rest
Wednesday: 7 miles strides
Thursday: rest
Friday: 15 easy
Saturday: rest (we'll be at XC for the day)
Sunday: 3-4 easy

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Cross-country update.....
#1's team came in second in league finals Friday (#1 finished in 19:05, for 21st place!), so they're heading to state prelims next weekend!!!

she fliiiiiies

The girl's varsity team....

One of these things, is not like the other....

I'm really excited to check out the Mt Sac course, and all the fast fasties. I did some googling of the teams in her heat (is that creepy and/or weird?) for Saturday, and they should pull through to state finals for the following week. Just when we thought the season might be over.........

There's a fair chance that they'll make it through to states, which is EXCITING. I can barely contain it; but race talk makes #1 nervous, so I'm trying to keep it all inside.

Excited!!!

We saw this shirt at the race Friday. It's funny, because IT'S TRUE.

Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.

5K Goals

I know I just PR'ed a 5K a month ago, but I'm going to try again.
Goal A: 26:57 <-ambitious, and crazy
Goal B: PR (current PR 28:11)
Goal C: Don't puke or die

Goal A is an 8:40ish pace. I've certainly never attempted this pace for any length of time - I did 1600's, like, forever ago, and hit that, but I had a RI in between. Doesn't really count. I did run mile 10 of my 11 miler Sunday at goal pace, and didn't want to die OR puke, so I guess it could happen. We'll see. I know it's kind of a stretch, but might as well give it a shot - it's a great course, and my legs feel good and recovered.

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Have I ever mentioned that I am a gigantic Disney obsessed freak?

For years, I've been a member of a Disney message board - I am normally the type who researches crowd calendars and counts down to the 180-day mark so I can make my dining reservations. I plan out what Fast Passes to get when (which is moot now, since they changed the FP rules at WDW, zoinks). It gets pretty intense around me when Disney planning is happening.

Anyway, they have a forum on these message boards dedicated to Make a Wish trips, and tips for families with special medical needs, which of COURSE I've been obsessively reading since we started planning.

On this board, though, there's a group of people, who select families going on Wish trips, and throw a little (or a lot....) of extra Pixie Dust their way...

By way of....

We've been receiving and opening Mickey Mail for weeks, and man, how stinkin' blessed are we.

Gabby is pretty much FREAKING OUT EXCITED every.single.day. The H said he woke up to her counting down yesterday. She advised me as soon as I walked in after work that we only had NINE DAYS LEFT.

I'm guessing today we'll have only EIGHT DAYS LEFT.

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Speaking of Gab.... It's been awhile since I've talked about Gabby.

The truth is, there's nothing to report. She's happy, healthy, and a typical 5 yr old kid.

I guess that's kind of the best report of all.

She had to get stitches a few weeks ago, after a playground incident. Can't get much more normal than that, eh?

The stitches came pretty soon after her chemo doses were increased - chemo is dosed based on the child's weight, mostly, and how they're reacting to their current dosage. Her weigh in at the clinic bumped her up to the next threshold, and doses went up. Not a ton, but enough to mess with her counts for a few weeks.

Chemo, in general, lowers her counts - white blood cells, platlets, red blood cells. All those cells you need to heal when you get cut, right?

So, long story short, her chemo was increased, which led to counts dropping, which led to the creepy stitches being removed but her leg not totally healed, so it was kind of an open wound and puffy, and she got an extra med to prevent infection. More chemo, and an extra med.

Like dominos, man.

Because her counts have been low, she's going to clinic again on Tuesday to make sure her counts have rebounded, before we leave for her Make a Wish trip.

What does that mean, exactly?

If her counts are still low, they'll "just" lower her chemo for the week and give her a transfusion.

You know. No big deal. Just lower chemo and blood transfusions.

Anyway.

The point to all this rambling, is today is Tuesday. Already this week, I've had two of my employees in my office, in tears, about children in their family with cancer.

I'm a private person, and I don't share my personal life with work. My employees don't know about Gabby and her leukemia. I've been here almost a year, and one of them just last week asked if I had any kids. They had no reason to come to me expecting anything more than a manager approving their time off.

TWO people, TWO kids with cancer. In TWO days.

What the fuck.

I don't know. It pisses me off. I hope I was helpful to them, somehow. I know I was terrified the first few weeks... and it takes a LOT to worry me.

It pisses me off that I'm so blase about "just" changing the dose of chemo and giving her a blood transfusion. I mean. Those are kind of serious things, right? I don't know how I'd function if I reacted as if things like that are a big deal, but maybe I should. And how incredibly lucky are we? How did we get SO fortunate.

I don't know. I don't really have a point here. I'm just mad.

“Success comes in cans; failure in can'ts”

A few months back, I had this idea that I wanted to do a 5K. I wanted one, specifically, near the ocean, with the pretty views and all.. If I'm suffering, at least I'll have something nice to look at(incidentally, that's also how I select my hikes).

So I found the Corona del Mar 5K . It's in a lovely area, ocean views and all... but what really made this one a winner, was this part of it....

"Registration includes a t-shirt, gourmet breakast featuring the famous Restaurant Row."

Like I said yesterday, I'm easy.

In preparation for the Warrior Dash, Snork and I decided we really, REALLY need to step up our gym game. It was a really rough time, last night, getting me to go to the gym. Last time I went, I hated every second of it, and then I got discouraged, because... I was doing so well, then just stopped, and then the whole thing sucked again.


But, despite my crankiness, I went, and it was magical. It didn't suck too much, and last time I watched my time, I was at 15 something minutes per mile... last night was under 13. There's a bit of walking thrown in there, but that 5K in June... I'm gonna rock it.