Nike’s Just for Her VIP Night

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

My friend Lindsay and I headed out to Potomac River Running’s Tyson’s store Thursday night for a special Nike Just for Her VIP Night. We’re both planning on running the Nike Women’s Half in D.C. next month so we figured this would be a fun, pre-race get together. I had really good intentions of cranking this post out Thursday night so it’d be up Friday morning, but I was too nervous watching the Syracuse game that night and too fired up after they beat one-seed Indiana to be able to focus on writing!

Lindsay & Me at the Nike Event

I’ve been to similar events before, but this one was by far the best yet – they did a really good job. The first 30 RSVPs to show up received free Nike swag bags, but despite being there fairly early we didn’t stand a chance since apparently some people showed up hours early. We filled out some surveys to give Nike some feedback for a chance to pick a plastic easter egg that might reveal we won a prize. No luck there either, but we quickly turned our attention to the table where ladies were mingling about and enjoying wine, nuun cocktails and snacks. I wasn’t in the mood to drink anything so I just grabbed a water, but I did load up on some snacks!

Cocktails

Snacks!

We had a bit of time to wander around the store and check out all the great gear. You could even sign up for free massages! I drooled over the Nike wall of gear for awhile before deciding on a few things.

Wall of Nike Clothes

The Nike reps gave a quick presentation on Nike+ before letting people go back to milling about the store. They called everyone to attention a few more times throughout the night to showcase some new Nike gear (good stuff!) and also did a bunch of raffles every 15-25 minutes. Before switching to my Garmin I used Nike+ for a few years back when it was an iPod attachment and then a wristband and shoe pod. I really like the improvements they’ve made to their free app and think their updated Nike+ GPS watch with Tom Tom is pretty awesome. I was really hoping to come away with one in the big raffle at the end of the night, but unfortunately did not win out. Don’t tell my Garmin I said that, because it’s already been finicky lately and I don’t need it getting jealous and breaking down on me. 😉

Nike+ Presentation

To enter the raffles you had to buy something Nike from the store. I wish they’d let everyone get at least one ticket for free and then gave more entries to people who purchased items, but that was really my only complaint of the night. I managed to find a few things I really wanted anyways and since I just passed the $50 mark, I got a free pair of Nike performance socks to go along with them! I picked up a great new Nike running hat. Let’s just say it was time – my white running hat I’ve been wearing since training started for my 2011 Twin Cities and Marine Corps Marathon races is getting a bit worn. I also got a new orange top that is identical to ones I already have in green and white. They are oh so comfortable and I love wearing them on the run or to the gym or spin class. I figured I’d go with Orange in honor of Syracuse taking on Indiana in the Sweet 16 later that night!

Nike Running Hat

New Nike Running Top – So Orange!

I’m so glad we made it out for this event. It was a lot of fun and I’m getting even more pumped for the Nike race now. I can’t believe it’s just a month away!

Guest Blog: The Musings of An Athletic Supporter Part II

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

My boyfriend Ian guest stars on my blog again today with a second post on what it’s like to be a non-runner at running events. If you like his writing, you can read more over on his blog, Croutons Stuck in Futons. I’m a bit biased, but it’s pretty darn good and really entertaining.

Guest Blogger: Ian Gallagher

Run Rogue 5k: A View from the Sideline

First off, this is a great event supporting a great cause. The fights against Brain and Breast Cancer deserve our attention and support for more than the time it takes to run a 5K, especially at the pace some of the runners were going.

Some non-running race observations. First off they served coffee to everyone, not just those who decided to tackle the race. It is nice when Race Directors remember that spectators are part of the experience. Point to Run Rogue.

The Race had an excellent atmosphere. Between the MC keeping the crowd involved during the dark side of the race* and the feel good vibes coming with all of the cancer survivors coming through the finish line, the Rogues definitely had the ambiance of a great race.

*The dark side of a race is the moment the last runner leaves the starting area until the winner comes charging into view. Most participants never know the 12 minute awkward pause as people wait with noisemakers in hand. It is the Action Movie elevator scene writ large.

Finally, the race had easy and accessible parking. No meters or pay lots, just a large enough free lot to park in. Run Rogue 5k you rock. I really thought this was a great race, and one I would recommend to all levels of athletic supporters and their families, whether you are running or just there to yell.

Crowded Start Line!

Race Recap: Run Rogue 5k

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

On Saturday I ran the Run Rogue 5k in Fairfax for the second year in a row. The race was organized to honor friends and family who have fought and continue to fight cancer, and proceeds from the race are split evenly between Life With Cancer and the Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. I’d been dealing with a cold all week and was up a lot of the night before coughing, but this race was important to me since both breast cancer and brain cancer have touched my family over the years, and I really wanted to be out their helping raise money to find cures for these diseases.

It’s a very family-oriented race, so the start line was crowded at the front with lots of little kids and people pushing strollers. My annoyance at the stroller runners lining up so close to the start quickly turned into envy when one woman pushing a stroller blew by me half a mile in. I never caught up to her…impressive.

Crowded Start Line!

The wheel chair racers took off first. These guys always impress me – talk about upper body strength!

Wheel chair racer at the start

Ian was nice enough to wake up early with me to drive me out to Fairfax, support me during the race and take all these pictures. He even managed to snag one of me amongst the crowd at the start.

Working through the crowd at the start

I felt about as happy as I look in this picture! It was not my day for racing and I struggled from the start. Every step and breath felt more labored than it should, and I couldn’t find my speed. The race field spread out as soon as we worked our way out of the Fairfax Shopping Plaza area and really began the run. The course was filled with rolling hills. I felt like a whole lot more of them were going up then down, but that could just be because I was struggling.

Chilly at the start, I finally dressed in just the right layers for me for this race, and at least felt just right as far as temperature was concerned. The sun shining brightly made me feel a little better about how cold it still was in late March. I wore a tank top with a built in sports bra topped with a long sleeve tech tee and a Nike half zip. I also wore my Nike dry fit pants, CEP compression socks and of course, my Newtons.

The winners came flying in well before me. The first male, Josef Tesema of Springfield, Va., crossed the line in 15:10 for a pace of 4:53. Wow. I would love to know what it feels like to run that fast. The first woman, Barbara Fallon Wallace of Alexandria, Va., came through in 18:04 maintaining a 5:49 pace. Congrats to both of them on their wins!

First woman coming up on the finish line

After what seemed like forever, I finally made it to the finish. I finished in 22:37 for a 7:36 pace putting me as the 72nd overall finisher out of 797, 20th of 482 females, and 10th out of 126 in my 20-29 age group. It was way off my PR and actually a slower pace than I hope to run my half marathon in just five weeks from now, so I wasn’t thrilled with that. It was for sure not the slowest 5k I’ve run, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt worse along a 5k course and wanted it to be over as badly. Here’s hoping it was just because of this cold I have and that it goes away quickly!

On my way to the finish – didn’t even have energy to do a final kick.

I found Ian after the finish and despite not having a great race felt really good that I’d still come out and done this one. I even managed a smile for my post-race pic by the finish line.

Finish Line Shot

This race is well-organized and supports an awesome cause so I highly recommend it for anyone in the area. Ian and I decided to take advantage of being up and out early to find somewhere to eat brunch and ended up at Eggspectation. This place was awesome. I started off with a hot chocolate to warm back up.

Delicious Hot Chocolate

For brunch I ordered their Yoke Around the Clock meal. It’s a bagel cut in half, placed face down on the grill, and topped with sunny side up eggs, cheese and bacon. It was oh so good, and while I couldn’t eat all of the potatoes and fruit that came on the side, they were just as tasty. Check out Ian’s post over at Croutons Stuck in Futons for the full brunch recap.

Breakfast at Eggspectation

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Despite feeling a bit under the weather and dealing with more winter-like weather (where are you spring?!), I felt like I had a pretty solid training week last week. I know it could be a lot worse than it is here, but I am so sick of the cold. I’m over winter weather, layering up and bitter windy days. Spring needs to get here – and soon! One thing I did not do last week is my strength workouts, which is not acceptable and I will really focus on making sure that happens this week. I ran 33.57 total miles last week. Here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class

Tuesday: I did my speed workout at Hains Point again this week and fared pretty well with my half mile repeats. I did a total of 6.1 miles with a 2 mile warm-up, 4 800-meter repeats with 400-meter recovery jogs (this was too long) and a 1 mile cool down.

Wednesday: I was up early for an endurance spin class up at Revolve and wrapped the day up with a fun run with a friend after work around the Mall and the Jefferson Memorial for about 5.75 miles.

Thursday: I don’t know what it was, but I had the hardest time getting myself to the gym this morning. I came up with every excuse in the book and almost got back in bed a few times even after getting into my gym clothes and doing my ab workout. I got to the gym and saw all the treadmills in use, which rarely happens at my gym, and I almost turned around. Then someone hopped off and I knew I had no excuses left. I’m so glad I did this run. I did a 6.05 mile tempo run for an average pace of 7:26 including my warm-up and a top pace of 6:48. It felt great!

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: I ran the Run Rogue 5k this morning. It wasn’t a great race for me, but it was a great cause so I’m glad I did it. Full recap to come tomorrow.

New Nike Half Zip from Pacers, Race Bib Pinned and Ready To Go

Sunday: Still not feeling well, I almost bagged my long run on Sunday. I got a second wind late afternoon though and decided to head to the gym and just see how long I could make it on the treadmill. I figured that way if I wanted to drop at mile 6, I wouldn’t be 6 miles away from home. It ended up going great though and I made it for the whole 1 hour and 45 minutes I had planned. I kept it at an easy 8:27 pace with a 1.0 incline for the first hour and 20 minutes before starting to up the pace every five minutes. For the last five I upped it each minute so I could reach my goal pace of 7:30 – even if it was just for a minute I felt good to end the run at that pace. I finished up with 12.55 miles for an average pace of 8:21.

Race Calendar Updates

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

At the beginning of the year I wrote a post with a calendar of my races for 2013. The problem with trying to plan things out a year in advance as I like to do is that I often have to make changes. I’ve already had to do some rearranging due to conflicts this month. I was extremely bummed to miss the Four Courts Four Miler since I’ve never been able to do it, but it coincided with a noon Syracuse game against Georgetown at the Verizon Center that I was going to. I knew with the 9 a.m. start time there was no way I could get back down the hill to Rosslyn, showered and ready in time for enough pre-game fun. Turns out there were not enough pre-game drinks to make that game watchable, but at least we got our revenge in the Big East Tourney.

Before I digress too much, which tends to happen when I talk Syracuse hoops, I did find a replacement race this month for the Four Courts Four. I’m running the Rev3 Run Rogue 5k in Fairfax this Saturday. It’s a fun race that I also ran last year and it supports an awesome cause – brain and breast cancer research.

I’ve also made a couple other additions. I added a sprint triathlon in June because I finally found one that lets me do the swim in a pool! I also added my first-ever track race in July. After reading about the Bring Back the Mile Campaign and seeing one of their events was right here in Arlington, I decided why not give it a shot. I have no idea how to run in a track race so I’ll probably get smoked, but I’m still pretty excited! Any advice you all have would be appreciated.

One final tweak is more of a hope at this point. During the first week of January, I impulse-registered for the Honolulu Marathon on December 8. They had a one-week only $55 entry fee deal for the normally very expensive race. Looking at last year’s Hawaii travel packages offered through Marathon Tours, it might be more affordable than I originally thought, so this may actually happen! It’s too soon after the Marine Corps Marathon to actually race it. I raced two marathons in October of 2011 and don’t have any desire to take on that pain again, but sounds like it’d be a breathtakingly beautiful run.

I also might throw in a 10k around Hains Point (either the Run for the Parks 10k in October or the Veterans Day 10k in November) to try and reach my goal of breaking 44 minutes on a nice flat course. I’m hoping to volunteer at packet pick ups or race day for a few others like the Crystal City 5k Fridays and the GW Parkway 10 Miler, so hopefully I’ll see some of you out there. Let me know how your race calendar is shaping up as we finally (hopefully) start to get some spring-like weather soon.

2013 Race Calendar

February 10 – Love the Run You’re With 5k

~~March 9 – Four Courts Four Miler~~

March 23 – Run Rogue 5k

April 7 – Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

*April 28 – Nike Women’s D.C. Half Marathon*

June 2 – Reston Sprint Triathlon

July 24 – DC Road Runners 1 Mile Track Championships

July 27 – Crystal City Twilighter 5k

*October 27 – Marine Corps Marathon*

December 8 – Honolulu Marathon

~~December 8 – Jingle All the Way 8k~~

*Goal Races*

Guest Blog: The Musings of An Athletic Supporter

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Today’s post is brought to you by the one and only Croutons Stuck in Futons blogger , also known as my boyfriend, Ian. He cheers me on at all my races, hears more than he probably wants to about my training schedules and writes about his experience as a race spectator below. Enjoy!

Guest Blogger: Ian Gallagher

Ian in serious coaching mode.

Hello Heart and Sole readers!

Before we jump right into the ins and outs of being a seasoned observer of running, I thought that I would tell you a little about myself. I am different from my significant other in many ways. I do not run recreationally or competitively, but I would run hypothetically depending on the scenario*. I played Lacrosse in college and still coach the sport. In the past year I have been accused of time travel, coached in and won a National Championship, moved halfway across the country, and had my car pummeled with pig feces.

Let’s talk running.

*For example, I am afraid of snakes.

Living with the Author of this blog (I have been solemnly informed we are not roommates) means that I have gotten to know quite a bit a bit about fitness with the benefit of not having to participate myself. I do a lot of shuttle driving to and from various events, stand at a lot of finish lines, and take pictures of my girlfriend’s shoes so she can display them online. (And I get accused of being the weird one!) Rest assured that there is little glamour in the fitness blog creative consultant market.

Colleen wrote yesterday about competing in her first race back from physical therapy. Obviously a big achievement for her and I was not surprised at how well she did considering how much effort she put into getting back to form.

I was ecstatic. Once again I was able to lace up a comfortable pair of shoes and participate in a 5K in my accustomed manner, being a fan.

Post Race at Pentagon Row Ice Rink

3 Tips on being the best athletic supporter possible:

1. Bring a camera. This is essential! I take pictures for this blog but whenever you hold a camera up everyone gets out of your way. Instant front row seats. The bigger the camera the better. For Colleen’s next marathon I am bringing a tripod.

2. Understand the event. Runners know roughly how fast they are going to run a race. Ask and do some quick math. Colleen ran a looped four mile race on New Years. Took pictures and cheered at the start and away they went! I was able to efficiently eat a plate of cheese fries at a local sports bar and be back yelling for the finish. Standing in the cold doesn’t have to part of your race experience.

3. Cheer on random people. Being a race fan can be a lot like the golf fans in Happy Gilmore . You can tailgate, yell for strangers, and goof around while anywhere from a handful to thousands of strangers wear their hearts on their sleeves in competition. The runners even seem to get a kick out of positive reinforcement! I know, it is a little surprising considering their brutal idea of ‘recreation’.

Race Recap: Love the Run You’re With 5k

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

Sunday marked my first race of 2013 and my first real race back from the injured list. I ran in Pacers Love the Run You’re With (LTRYW) 5k for the first time and loved it. I didn’t PR, but that wasn’t the goal for this race, and I was very pleased with my finish time of 22:56. I’m making great progress and am on my way to getting back to where I was at, and hopefully even better!

After hearing about the bone chilling temps from last year’s race I was sure glad how nice of a day it turned out to be. Temps were in the 30s and the sun was shining. I wore my Reebok long sleeve as a base layer topped by my Reebok 1/2 zip jacket and my Nike Pacers Ambassador t-shirt. I also had on an Under Armour hat, a neck gaiter, gloves, Nike pants and Zensah compression sleeves. I was WAY overdressed and started overheating about a half mile in. This does not happen to me often. I’m getting way too used to running in cold weather.

Ian got up early with me to drive me to the race, take pictures and cheer me on – more impressive than usual since we’d gone to a great Mardi Gras party the night before and had a few hurricanes! It’s always nice to have someone waiting for you at the finish line. Champps (that’s how they spell it) opened up for runners before the race so I was able to hang out in there and stay warm until about 15 minutes before start time.

The course was an out and back that started near the Pacers in Pentagon Row right next to the ice skating rink. We ran by the Pentagon Row shops before turning onto Army Navy Drive and going straight up a steep hill. It wasn’t as bad as I remembered from the days I used to run those roads when I worked in Crystal City, but I was certainly breathing heavy. At the top of the hill we were treated to a long, gradual descent (all I could think was oh man, I have to come back up this!), and then some flat and some rolling roads to the turnaround.

My first mile was a bit faster than the rest, but my splits were relatively close to even. I ran mile 1 in 7:13 followed by miles 2 and 3 in 7:22 and 7:26. I finished with a kick to the finish at a 6:23 pace. I was really thankful that I’ve been working on my form both going up and going down hills. I felt like I was flying coming back down the steep hill before turning onto Joyce St. for the final kick to the finish. I leaned forward and let gravity take over, but remembered to land as softly as possible so I wasn’t pounding my legs into the ground.

I crossed the line in 22:56 for an average pace of 7:23 per mile. (My watch was pretty close to that showing a 22:55 finish for 3.14 miles at a 7:18 pace.)That put me in 160th place out of 1,721 overall and 48th out of 1,083 females. I had a blast running this race and will definitely sign up for LTRYW again next year. There were some great costumes and themed running outfits, and free bloody mary’s at Champps after the race topped off a great morning!

Did you race last weekend? Let me know how it went!

: Start Line

: Start Line

: Lead Scooter

: Start

: Winner – way ahead of me

: Running to the Finish

: Running to the Finish

: Running to the Finish

: Post Race at Pentagon Row Ice Rink

: Bloody Mary’s – Why is mine so much smaller??

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I have the first week of training for the Nike Women’s D.C. Half down and things are off to a great start! Both of my speed workouts went well and it felt good to get out there on Saturday for my first long run in quite awhile. I flip flopped my weekend runs to accommodate the Love the Run You’re With 5k on Sunday, which was a blast. I ran 25.2 miles last week. Here’s the day by day training breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class in the morning. Late afternoon I put in 35 minutes on the elliptical followed by 5 minutes of jump roping and a lower body workout.

Tuesday: Instead of hitting the track, today’s speed workout took place on the hills. I totaled 5.2 miles with six hill repeats in the middle charging up the same hill that will be the finish line for the Marine Corps Marathon in October.

Wednesday: Today was another cross training and strength day so I got in another spin class at Revolve in the morning followed by a leg workout in the afternoon.

Thursday: I hit the treadmill for an early morning 6.55 mile tempo run. I felt great from start to finish on this one, which was very encouraging. I started off with a one mile warm-up at an 8-minute pace then increased the speed every five minutes peaking at a 7:13 pace before cooling down for a quarter of a mile back at an 8-minute pace. I stayed on the treadmill at a walking pace for a bit until my heart rate came back down, and also stared horrified at the person on the treadmill next to me who had dropped their iPad mid run and completely cracked the screen. Ouch! I continued to make fun of this all week and karma struck when I dropped my phone on Saturday and cracked my screen for the second time. Luckily it’s not as bad as the first time I did it!

Friday: Rest day. Looking back at my workout spreadsheet (yea, I know, total nerd) I realized it’s been much too long since I’ve taken one of these. I’ve done a lot of recovery days, but haven’t taken a full rest day in awhile, and I know that can be just as important to reaching my goals as the working days.

Saturday: I set out on a chilly but sunny morning and battled 20-30 mph winds, but overall felt it was a successful first long run. I ran 10.35 miles at an easy pace. The toughest parts were getting over the Key and 14th Street Bridges – felt like the wind was going to blow me over!

Sunday: I put in 3.1 at the Pacers Love the Run You’re With 5k in Pentagon City. The weather was great this morning and I really enjoyed the race. I’m not all the way back to where I was, but I felt really good about my time and the progress I’m making. Check back tomorrow for a full race recap!

Running to the Finish at Love the Run You’re With 5k

Shoe Showdown: Newton Gravity vs. Nike Free 5.0

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

I LOVE running shoes. They’re one of my favorite things to buy. I think most runners would agree – you can never have too many in your closet! I currently have six pairs in my rotation. Two of them are probably ready for retirement, but sometimes it takes me a little too long to throw them out. I know this isn’t good for my legs, but sometimes I get attached!

I’ve been wearing my Newton Gravitys and Nike Frees for the longest, so they’re my back up shoes right now. I leave the Nike’s at work in case I forget my sneaks and want to go for a run at lunch or at the end of the day. I left my Newton’s at home after Christmas so when I visit – especially when I fly – I don’t have to stuff a pair in my carry-on.

Here’s how they stack up…

Newton Gravity 2012

: Newton Gravity’s

: Lugs on my Newton test pair

Just The Facts:
$175
Women’s Size 8
7.6 oz
3mm heel-to-toe drop

How they Lace Up:
Putting on my new Newton’s was love at first step. I got to try them out in a series of four Friday 5ks wear Newton reps showed up with tester pairs, but it only took 2 weeks – and 2 PRs – to win me over. They’re incredibly light and breathable. Like all Newtons they feature their trademarked Action/ReactionTM technology and a biomechanical metatarsal sensor plate. Check out the lugs on the bottom that make them so unique and while still providing cushioning, give you a very engaging and responsive feel making you more efficient and costing you less energy with each step. The sensor plate lets you run more naturally since it allows you to sense the ground better making your stride more efficient and more stable.

These shoes are prefect for neutral, midfoot strikers like myself. They can also help encourage a midfoot strike if you’re looking to transition, but you should definitely take it slow and only run a couple miles at a time in them until you build up and strengthen the different leg muscles you’ll engage.

Newton’s bright colors are super fun, and combined with their patented technology they make me feel like I have an extra bounce in my step. I ran my fastest 5k ever in them, and yet they also were supportive enough to carry me through a marathon (also a PR) and all the long training runs along the way to it.

Nike Free 5.0

Nike Free 5.0s

Just The Facts:
$100
Women’s Size 8
7.4 oz
7mm heel-to-toe drop

How They Lace Up:
The Nike Free’s are super light and feel like there is barely anything on my feet. They’re also incredibly flexible. I think they’re a good first step into more minimalist shoes. Most of my runs in these shoes were on a treadmill since they were my back up pair at the office for when I’d fit in runs at the gym there. I was stuck doing most of my runs for that training season on the treadmill though, including three of my 20-milers (ugh!) so they saw plenty of miles.

After wearing heavily cushioned shoes for years, I was warned to ease into these, but I loved the light weight barely there feel right from the start. Again, these are best for neutral runners. The heels don’t have a lot of cushion either, so if you’re primarily a heel striker these might not be a good move.

Showdown – The Verdict:
Both shoes were great to me, so this is a tough call, but the Newtons win out. Both were pretty breathable, but the open air mesh upper of the Newtons dried a bit faster. The Newtons also force you to focus on your form a lot more. It’s easier to slip into a heel-first strike with the Nikes, which isn’t easy on the foot with their lack of cushioning.

While any specialty running store would lecture me about not choosing a shoe based on color, the Newtons fun, bright colors are definitely a plus! Sometimes it just comes down to feel and my Newtons felt great on every run, gave me support without weighing me down and most importantly – made me feel fast!

Back in Action: Fairfax Four Miler Recap

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Colleen Lerro

2012 was a great year of racing for me until I was slowed over the summer by an injury, but after a couple months of physical therapy and steadily getting better I figured what better way to end the year than with a race. Pacers put on the New Year’s Eve Fairfax Four Miler complete with great swag – I love my sweatshirt!

Driving out to Fairfax during rush hour for the 6 p.m. start time has never been easier. Apparently lots of people in this area still hadn’t gone back to work or got sent home early! I’ve just started running again over the past few weeks and was given the green light by my physical therapist for this race as long as I just ran and didn’t actually try and race. I’m still going a bit slower than I would like, but am working hard on getting back to full strength, fixing my form and gradually building my speed back up again.

I lined up at the uphill start line a bit further back than normal so I wouldn’t be tempted to sprint out at the start, and took it nice and easy out of the gate enjoying the festive atmosphere at this race. The course looped through Fairfax rather than an out and back, which was a nice change of pace from most shorter races I’ve done. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the race and have a good time.

I didn’t look at my watch at all during the race because I was worried it would make me want to speed up, but checked my mile splits after and for the most part kept to my plan of a fun race with an easy pace. I finished mile one in 9:13. I did a lot of weaving through mile two and felt like I was going a bit faster than I should running it in 7:51, but evened myself out for the second half running miles three and four in 8:33 and 8:16.

My watch had me finishing at 4.1 miles likely due to my weaving in and out of people instead of just running in a straight line, but regardless I finished with a respectable time of 34:23. I came in 339 out of 1,156 runners overall, 114 out of 616 females, and 28 out of 95 in my age group. It felt so great to be back out there, and I can’t wait to be racing at full speed in 2013!