Because I'm a Runner...

"I'm waking up to ash and dust
I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust
I'm breathing in the chemicals

I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse"

Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

I usually only blog about races, but this needs to go somewhere.  Yesterday morning was so exciting watching the start of the elite women's race, following along online while I was out and about doing other things, tracking a friend who was running, and anticipating watching the DVR'd marathon in the evening. Then the unthinkable happened...explosions at the finish line.  I teared up immediately and was worried about runners that I knew who were in Boston.  As photos started to come in, I felt sicker and sadder. I also saw how runners are still inherently runners.  Even amidst the chaos, you can see people automatically stop their Garmin or make sure they cross the finish line completely.  I smiled as I listened to the story of the elderly gentleman who was knocked to his feet yards from the finish line who then got up and continued on to finish.   When I heard about Martin Richard, I was completely undone.  This feels so personal.  This could have been my family.  This could have been my little boy.  How many times have one of us stood at the finishing line of a big race with the kids cheering on the other parent to the finish?  My heart breaks for that family, for all families, for the runners whose dreams and lives were shattered today. My run is my outlet.  It's how I process life, solve problems, find strength, and push myself to the limit.  This morning I felt so lost.  I felt like the solace and joy of the run had been taken away.  As I began to read on Facebook and see other runners feeling the same way and starting a movement to wear race shirts in honor of Boston, I gathered my strength.  I did what I always do in the morning.  I laced up my shoes, and I hit the road.  My tears mixed with my sweat as I pushed myself harder than I normally do on a midweek run.  As I finished the 6 miles sprinting towards my driveway, my lungs burned, my legs ached, but I owned my run again.  I ran for those who might never run again.  I ran in solidarity with other runners.  I ran because I'm a runner and that's what I do. 

JD is running a marathon on Saturday and the kids have been working so hard at logging 25 miles so that they can complete the kids' marathon on the same last mile as Daddy.  My heart is heavy, and I can't quite see how we move forward, but we will move forward.  We will take back our finish line. 

Runniversary-Manassas Runway 5K

The Manassas Runway 5K was the official runniversary for the boys.  Last year was their first ever 5K at this race and kicked off a real love for racing.   Adorable video footage of Nickel's first 5K finish from last year including his finish line interview.

We were really excited about this race again as it is a fun race.  It is really close to us, it is completely flat, and we get to run on the airport runway near the planes. We showed up pretty early, but check in was a bit of a mess.  They were using some system where you had to pick up your bib separately from your chip and then the chip was a triathlon ankle bracelet that needed to be assembled.  This was all quite a hassle when you are doing this for 4 people and trying to get to the start on time.  The check in was so disorganized that the race ended up starting a little late.

 The 10K runners took off first, and then it was time for the 5K runners to go.  JD and I decided to switch up pacing duties so JD went with Nickel and I went with Zman.  Zman was looking for a PR so I let him go out a little hard.  He ran a 9:15 first mile and was really strong throughout that mile.  At one point Nickel caught up to us and hung on for a while and ended up with somewhere around a 9:45 first mile.

Grinding it out!

JD is auditioning for most photogenic racer!

I wasn't sure how much Zman had left in him so we slowed he pace a little in the second mile and ran that one right around 10 minutes including a water stop at the halfway mark.  I then told him that he was right on PR pace, but that I needed him to really push for the last mile.  He locked in and kept up a nice pace.  When we hit the final straightaway, I told him that I wanted his all out best effort.

Intensity!

I debuted my New Balance Cherry Blossom running skirt which was awesome!

He really started on a nice kick.  I saw another boy ahead of him so I leaned down and told Zman to go get him.  He kicked into a completely different gear and really turned it on. He mumbled something about feeling like he was going to puke.  I told him to run now and puke when he crossed the finish line.  He completely ran this other boy down from behind and left him in the dust to cross the finish line.  28:56!!! Awesome PR!  (and no puking)

The run down!

Nickel and JD crossed shortly afterward at 31:30...brand new PR for Nickel as well.

Daddy cheering him to the finish line!

We were so proud of their effort, and it was so awesome to see the improvement over a year.  Usually the age groups at these races are 14 and under so even a decent time for an 8 year old doesn't have a chance at placing.  We had to get to baseball practice so we took off.  We later found out that Zman placed 3rd in the 8 and under age group and own his first age group award.  Nickel was right up there in 4th place!!!

We all got cute little medals.

No Cherry Blossoms but a New PR!

Yesterday I ran my second Cherry Blossom 10 Mile.  This was my second big road race ever and first 10 mile race when I fell in love with running and racing in 2010 so this race is special to me.  I remember being so excited and crying at the finish line when I finished it in 1:43 the first time and then being exhausted for the rest of the day.  What a difference a few years makes!  This year JD and I jogged down to the start line from GW where we had parked and got in a mile warm up.

 The sun was still coming up, and it was chilly.

Sunrise was gorgeous

We jumped around to stay warm and used the surprisingly uncrowded porta potties.

Look!  No lines at 6:45 am!

I met up with a bunch of the mother runners  from various Moms Run This Town chapters and we took some photos.   I ate some gummy bunnies and was feeling really relaxed and ready to load into the corrals.  I was also super excited about the National Women's 10 Mile Championships and geeking out that Janet Bawcom was there and running the same course that I was running.

Elite Women's Start (courtesy of CUCB)

 I step into the blue corral and someone taps me on the shoulder.  It was one of my friends from work.

Quick selfie before they launch us.

The gun went off for the elite men and then the next corral went.  Then it was time to launch the blue corral.  It was a mess in the beginning.  I hate running in crowds and was dying to get out of the group.  I started dodging and weaving and running faster to get away from people and get some free space to run.  I finally got some running room when we hit the Memorial Bridge.  I love this part of the run.  I run there a lot on my regular morning runs so it feels comfortable, and I love the views.  I was cruising along and feeling good while listening to people complain about the ?hill? on the bridge.  In the back of my head I was thinking that it would be nice if I broke 1:30, but I didn't really feel like pressuring myself in the race.  I just wanted to relax and enjoy the run and see what happened.  I vowed not to look at my watch once and run at a pace that felt comfortable but slightly challenging.  I had noted that I crossed the start line around 10:30ish so I could occupy myself calculating splits when I saw mile markers, and I knew that I was running pretty well early (mile 1-9:04; mile 2-8:43; mile 3-8:43).  So we head under the Kennedy Center and turn around (hate this part of the run-the turnaround and running under the Kennedy Center annoy me).  Then I get caught in some slow mess as someone drops a phone onto the street and has to stop to pick it up and causes a pile up (main reason that I totally support the no headphone rule in these huge races). There are also a lot of people stopping to walk which annoys me greatly.  If you are walking this early (and they clearly weren't using a run/walk strategy), then you don't need to be in the blue corral.  So at mile 4 I am elbowed, almost tripped, and kicked a few times until I hop up on the sidewalk and get out of the mess while still managing to run 8:48.  This whole time I am swearing that I am never running another big race in DC, and that I hate this race. 

Still was happy enough to ham for a photo (Marathonfoto)

Then comes mile 5 where we are done with the annoying turnarounds and ready to get out to the point (9:14) for a 5 mile split of 45:25 and average pace of 9:05 on the first half of the race.  At this point I feel like I'm passing more than I was getting passed so that put me in a really good mood.  I also blew by the 9:30 pace group somewhere around here which tells me that I started way too far back in my corral since I should never have been that far behind them based on my pace.

Finally we hit Haines Point so I am excited to see some of the A runners coming out.  I missed the elite men unfortunately.  I had been hoping to catch a glimpse of them.  As we turn onto the Point, the wind just hits me.  I feel like I'm exerting way more effort, and I feel like my pace is dropping.  I am not looking at my watch.  I am just going to keep going.  I know it gets better, and I need to prove to myself that I can tackle Haines Point after falling apart on it at Marine Corps.  9:06 mile 6 and 56:52 10K split.  It feels like 5 miles out to the end, but pretty soon I see the free beer and oreos sign and make the turn. Mile 7 is where I really drop off my pace and end with 9:26 for the mile.  I kept trying to tuck myself in behind larger groups of runners to draft a little, but it wasn't helping much.   As soon as I make the turn, the run starts to feel much easier.  I want to pick up the pace, but I can't seem to make myself push it much more than I already am.  To tell the truth, I wasn't trying all that hard because I was still in the enjoy the run mode.  I am disappointed this whole time that the cherry blossoms are not out, but I am still chugging right along with a horrifying 9:30 pace-post race analysis tells me that miles 7-8 are where I lose any chance at sub 1:30. 

I see the 9 mile sign with my time and realize that I can probably PR after doing some quick math (yes, I'm a geek, and this is how I occupy myself when I run). I had picked up the pace at mile 9 for a 9:11 mile.  Pretty soon we hit the tiny hill near the end.  I know that it's coming so I'm ready for it, and I push up it.  I feel like I'm passing quite a few people at this point, but my pace really was only 9:16.  My watch beeps for 10 miles (46:29 for the last 5 miles so a little over a minute slower), and I finally see the finish line and make a nice push for the end. 

I know that I'm going to easily PR now, and I am pretty much shocked when I see that I have PR'd by slightly over 1 minute for a final time of 1:32:13.  (I ran 8:02 for the last 0.15 miles because all of that weaving around really added some distance which adds 1:14  to my time so quit weaving and run the tangents better. This tells me that I had a lot left in the tank which I already knew.  )

 Then I'm instantly irritated because I know that I could have easily run harder and gotten sub 1:30.  Overall I was really happy with this run since it wasn't really a goal race.  I just enjoy this race (yes, I know that I said I hated it earlier, but I always love it again by the end).  As soon as I was done, I was walking quickly through the finishers' chute to find JD, grab my medal, and do our cool down run back to GW with a Starbucks pit stop.

 I really needed this run because it's been a long time that I enjoyed a race this much without completely stressing and freaking about paces.  I also love that this race attracts so many elite runners.  Sorry that I missed seeing the elite men's finish.

Kiprono or Salel??? (courtesy CUCB)

3061 out of 10,329 females-only 30% ahead of me so I'm in the top third

My fave part about Cherry Blossom are the RunPix results since I can do what I do best and analyze the data.  According to my results, during the second half I passed 235 runners and got passed by 644 (it didn't feel like that many people were passing me, but it was really crowded at the end).  I was also ahead of 41% of the males in the race so go me (they were probably all senior citizens but I'll take it)!

415/1581 in my age group-only 26% of finishers were ahead so almost made it into the top 25%

7309/17,545 overall so 42% of the finishers were ahead of me

Which translates to avg of 9:13 mile