If you focus on what you left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead

[surfde22]

Being a Marylander I couldn't pass up the MD flag pullover and flag medal.

The medal and pullover for that race is amazing. I grew up in Carroll County and agree the Maryland flag is by far the best flag. I wore a Maryland flag sweatband for the 10k in January. I wish I could make it to that race just for the swag, but it's too close to my "A" race for the spring so I don't want to risk it.

 

[roxymama]

I'm in total journal catch-up mode and was so shocked to see that I had not read through your trip report yet! It was like finding a little treasure buried in the dis-boards. I will admit I got teary eyed for you on more than one occasion while reading about your marathon experience. Super proud of you and inspired!

Hope you don't mind that this is belated.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

How about Friday 1/5/18 at 2pm at Hurricane Hannah's?

I'll be there! Maybe this time I can be on time so I can actually get a drink and talk to more people.

The medal and pullover for that race is amazing. I grew up in Carroll County and agree the Maryland flag is by far the best flag. I wore a Maryland flag sweatband for the 10k in January. I wish I could make it to that race just for the swag, but it's too close to my "A" race for the spring so I don't want to risk it.

Your sweatband caught my eye at the 10k meetup! I love anything with that flag on it. Have you ever ran the Frederick half before? I was also considering the Baltimore 10 miler for a POT but it's too far from my parents house. I am trying not to overload myself with races this year so I can really focus on the "A" ones and it sucks, I love race day.

I'm in total journal catch-up mode and was so shocked to see that I had not read through your trip report yet! It was like finding a little treasure buried in the dis-boards. I will admit I got teary eyed for you on more than one occasion while reading about your marathon experience. Super proud of you and inspired!

Hope you don't mind that this is belated.

Thanks! I don't mind at all, I love to hear that I am able to inspire others

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Weekly update

1/26- 2.5 miles @ Easy A (16:08) My lap times were 15:44, 16:09 & 8:05

1/27- 2.5 miles @ Easy B (15:07) lap times 15:00, 14:52 & 7:28

1/28- 3 miles @ Easy A- lap times 15:31, 15:15 & 15:19

1/29- 3 miles @ Easy B
Since I decided to do the MD race I promised myself that I would try to do more hill running on my long runs. So DH and I drove up to the local running store and ran from there so we could get in a hill and by hill I mean bridge over an inlet. I think it's only like 28ft high but it's a start. My lap times were 14:45, 14:49 & 14:34

1/30- 3 miles @ Easy A- lap times 15:09, 15:34 & 15:47

1/31- 3.5 miles @ Easy B- lap times 14:52, 14:47, 15:05 & 7:29

2/1 Rest

2/2- 3.5 miles @easy A- lap times 15:43, 15:26, 15:38 & 7:48


Since DH and I were so close to the running store on Sunday I decided to go ahead and pick up a new pair of shoes. I was at 325 miles on my New Balance 880v6 after marathon weekend so it was time. I liked the New Balance so I decided to stick with them. I love/hate getting new shoes. During the first run in them I am always like do these fit right? Do they hurt because they need to get broken in or are they the wrong shoes? But then after a few runs they feel great.



Now what do I do with my old shoes. I'm wondering if I could get them bronzed like baby shoes. I could put them on a plaque that says first marathon shoes??

I also ordered my bag from bibs2bags and sent them my bibs. I got an email last night with a picture of all of them, I had to reply back and rank the most important things about the bibs incase they need to overlap. I am so excited for this bag!!
View attachment 218399

​

 

[DopeyBadger]

Now what do I do with my old shoes. I'm wondering if I could get them bronzed like baby shoes. I could put them on a plaque that says first marathon shoes??

I also ordered my bag from bibs2bags and sent them my bibs. I got an email last night with a picture of all of them, I had to reply back and rank the most important things about the bibs incase they need to overlap. I am so excited for this bag!!

That looks so cool! Excited to see how it turns out.

Congrats on a great recovery week!

 

[surfde22]

Your sweatband caught my eye at the 10k meetup! I love anything with that flag on it. Have you ever ran the Frederick half before? I was also considering the Baltimore 10 miler for a POT but it's too far from my parents house. I am trying not to overload myself with races this year so I can really focus on the "A" ones and it sucks, I love race day.

No, I've never run either of those races. I moved away from there almost 18 years ago. My brother moved back and has done some local races. The only racing I ever did in Maryland was high school cross country. Good luck with the race. I definitely want to hear how it goes.

 

[wehrengrizz]

Weekly update

1/26- 2.5 miles @ Easy A (16:08) My lap times were 15:44, 16:09 & 8:05

1/27- 2.5 miles @ Easy B (15:07) lap times 15:00, 14:52 & 7:28

1/28- 3 miles @ Easy A- lap times 15:31, 15:15 & 15:19

1/29- 3 miles @ Easy B
Since I decided to do the MD race I promised myself that I would try to do more hill running on my long runs. So DH and I drove up to the local running store and ran from there so we could get in a hill and by hill I mean bridge over an inlet. I think it's only like 28ft high but it's a start. My lap times were 14:45, 14:49 & 14:34

1/30- 3 miles @ Easy A- lap times 15:09, 15:34 & 15:47

1/31- 3.5 miles @ Easy B- lap times 14:52, 14:47, 15:05 & 7:29

2/1 Rest

2/2- 3.5 miles @easy A- lap times 15:43, 15:26, 15:38 & 7:48


Since DH and I were so close to the running store on Sunday I decided to go ahead and pick up a new pair of shoes. I was at 325 miles on my New Balance 880v6 after marathon weekend so it was time. I liked the New Balance so I decided to stick with them. I love/hate getting new shoes. During the first run in them I am always like do these fit right? Do they hurt because they need to get broken in or are they the wrong shoes? But then after a few runs they feel great.

View attachment 218398

Now what do I do with my old shoes. I'm wondering if I could get them bronzed like baby shoes. I could put them on a plaque that says first marathon shoes??

I also ordered my bag from bibs2bags and sent them my bibs. I got an email last night with a picture of all of them, I had to reply back and rank the most important things about the bibs incase they need to overlap. I am so excited for this bag!!
View attachment 218399

​

LOL bronzed baby marathon shoes, love it!!!! and LOVE your kiddos being featured in the bib bag too!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I feel the same way about new shoes... hopefully you love them!

I am really excited to see your finished bag! Look at all of those bibs!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

LOVE your kiddos being featured in the bib bag too!

Yes! I'm so happy I was able to include theirs too!

I feel the same way about new shoes... hopefully you love them!

I am really excited to see your finished bag! Look at all of those bibs!

The shoes are getting better with each run, I know once they break in it will be all good. I just have to remind myself each time I get a new pair lol

The crazy part about those bibs is they are all pretty much from one year of running. I may or may not have a problem with racing...

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

That looks so cool! Excited to see how it turns out.

Congrats on a great recovery week!

Thanks!

 

[Mickey Momma]

1/29- 3 miles @ Easy B
Since I decided to do the MD race I promised myself that I would try to do more hill running on my long runs. So DH and I drove up to the local running store and ran from there so we could get in a hill and by hill I mean bridge over an inlet. I think it's only like 28ft high but it's a start. My lap times were 14:45, 14:49 & 14:34​

I recently read that running stairs was a great alternative to hills. Maybe there is a HS football stadium or something nearby that you could run?

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I recently read that running stairs was a great alternative to hills. Maybe there is a HS football stadium or something nearby that you could run?

That's a good idea I will have to look into the high schools around here, Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[ZellyB]

That's a good idea I will have to look into the high schools around here, Thanks for the suggestion!

A couple of years ago we added in regular stair running to our training and I agree that I felt like it really helped me on hills. I think it also helped me move to a more mid-foot strike from heel-striking without my feeling like I was trying to force a gait change.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Lap the Track 5k

This race had kind of been on our radar for a little while. They had a booth at the Wine & Dine expo in November but we had forgotten about it. 2 days before the race my in laws asked us if we were running it. DH really wanted to run on the track so we decided to go for it.

There was a challenge for this race but unlike Disney you have to run the races on the same day. The half started at 7:30am and then at 10:30am the 5k starts. I was not up for the challenge that day so we went for just the 5k. I loved that it started so late even though we still had to get up early to drive the 1.5 hours.

When we arrived at the Daytona International Speedway they directed us to the infield parking. I was so excited we got to park in the middle of the track! I had never been inside before but driven by it hundreds of times. After parking we followed the signs to packet pick up. This race was so well organized. They had some vendors there selling merchandise and quite a few food vendors open too. We walked around for a minute after getting our packets to see what was going on. We found an old race car.

View attachment 218909

and then took a selfie with the sign
View attachment 218910

The half was going on so we stopped to watch the finishers for a minute. Then we walked back to the car to put our stuff away, pin our bibs on and then put the D tags on our shoes. With 15 minutes left to race time we decided to run back to the start line to warm up. I have been noticing that I do much better the second or even third mile into a race and this time we were only doing 3 miles so if wanted to get a faster time we needed to warm up. We ended up only running .25 miles, then we swung by the bathrooms and then on to the start line with 5 minutes to spare. They tried to have pace flags but with the start line and the finish line being so close it was impossible.

There was no fanfare to the start. I guess they had done all that at the beginning of the half. I read that they even had a car start them off. We got a 1-2-3 go. I was a little nervous about the turns on the track but then quickly realized the track is flat at the bottom of the curve.


Lots of people were stopping and climbing the track at that first curve. They wanted a picture with the wall that said Daytona. I decided I could do that after the race because we were PRing that day. By the end of Marathon training I was dying to see what I was capable of in a 5k. I was also trying to get a gage on how fast to start at races. After the DLH where I went out way too fast I have been really conservative at the beginning of my races.

I wanted to start out as close to 12:00 as possible. So I watched my Garmin and made sure that happened. At mile 1 my watched told me 12:07. That was pretty good but I knew if I wanted an average 12:00 pace I was going to have to push harder. I dug a little deeper and tried to keep my watch at 11:50. I got water at the first stop because my mouth was so dry and then kept pushing. We passed through turns 3 and 4 of the speedway and saw the mile 2 marker. Once we were there Garmin told me 11:58 for that mile. I was happy with that but still felt like I could do more. The course then turned off of the track and went out in front of the speedway. After almost 1/2 mile out there we made a u turn and I felt like we were home free. Only .6 miles left. We turned back on the track and the finish line was in sight.
This is when we went all out. Garmin said we were in the 10:00 range and then 9. Mike was starting to put away and I told him I couldn't make my legs so any faster. He started to back off but I told him to go on without me. Just then I got one last burst of energy. I crossed the line and stopped my watch. A volunteer handed me my medal and I thank her before looking down at my watch. I was ecstatic to see 36:37, I had crushed my last PR of 38:08! However when the the results were posted I was even more pleased to see that the official time was 36:34!!!!

We walked around and took some pictures before heading to celebrate at lunch.

Us on the finish line
View attachment 218913

My picture with the wall that I said I would come back for


the next two are looking down from the wall



the very awesome and sparkly medal


Overall I loved this race. Not just because I got a PR but also because it was so well organized. I can't wait to come back next year. Next time we decided we are going to bring the kids too, I am sure they will get a kick out of running on the track even more than we did. ​

 

[ZellyB]

Great race report and congrats on your new PR. Seems like a fun race!!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

I was ecstatic to see 36:37, I had crushed my last PR of 38:08! However when the the results were posted I was even more pleased to see that the official time was 36:34!!!!

Congrats on the 4% PR improvement. Just keep getting better!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Looks like such a fun race! Congrats on your PR!!! How exciting!!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

Great race report and congrats on your new PR. Seems like a fun race!!!

Thanks, it was so much fun.

Congrats on the 4% PR improvement. Just keep getting better!

It does doesn't it?! When I first started running I dreamed of running a 5k with an average pace of 12 now I'm in the 11s and it's surreal. Thanks!

Looks like such a fun race! Congrats on your PR!!! How exciting!!

I'm still so excited and I can't wait to see what I can do after this next training cycle.

 

[wehrengrizz]

I'll meet you and the DSes at the SWDS finish line....Waaaay later

I love the pics of you and DH, such cute ones, and you guys are crushing this whole running thing!!!

 

[TeeterTots]

Wow! Congrats on the PR! Looks like you had a blast!