Christmas in July 10K Race Recap

The Christmas in July Race Series is set in Lisle, IL.  It was a weekend event with the 6 hour, 12 hour, and 24 hour race starting the evening of Friday July 17. The 5k race was also run on Friday night.  The 10k race was run on Saturday July 18 at 7:30 pm while the 24 hour racers had 2.5 hours left.

Packet pick-up was at Dick's in Lisle and I picked my packet up Thursday day.  They also offered race day pick-up.  I noticed there were no lines for packet pick-up the day of the race and I will save the drive next year and get my packet race day.  The goodie bag included a long sleeve technical shirt, a winter hat, and local race advertisements.

The weather forecast for the race was 90 degrees and humid.  It rained Saturday afternoon causing a slight temperature drop, but it was still warm.  I think the weather scared most registered runners off as it was a small field of people at the starting line.  I was very surprised to see so few people show.  In the Chicago area, July is usually very hot.  That is what you signed up for and you should adjust accordingly.

The 10k course was the 5k loop run twice.  The course took you through the Lisle Community Park which was surprisingly large.  It was an asphalt path that twisted through wooded areas and the various sport fields at the park.  There was also a short section run on the street.  The event was very well staffed and there were many police officers blocking off streets to traffic.

Due to the heat, I decided to try to get a nice lead on the pack during the first loop and maintain the lead during second loop.  My first three miles splits: 7:12, 7:17, 7:36.  There was an open circle at one point that allowed me to see who was behind me. I could only see one guy in my sight and decided to slow my pace to allow me to finish strong and to keep my lead.

The second 5k felt faster knowing what was already ahead.  My mile splits: 7:48, 7:56, 8:19, 7:41 (last .23)

Coming down the finishing shoot I had a huge smile on my face and I was happy to see my family!  I had just won overall female!

My official finishing time was 47:53.

Awards were originally supposed to be at 8:30 after the first finishers came through.  Because of the small field, they waited until about 9 to start the awards.  There were some major issues with their timing chips and after 3 attempts (and 30+ minutes later) they were able to start announcing overall and age group winners.

The awards were amazing.  They did a great job finding unique and different nutcrackers.  One of the them was an astronaut!  I was very pleased to get a glittery nutcracker myself.  I believe the overall male and female winners also get free entry into next year's race, but I didn't confirm it with the race director.

Overall this was a fun, local race to run.  I loved that it was close to home and the course was very well marked.  Even though I lost track of the runners ahead of me, there were plenty of signs to direct me where to go.  It was overall very well organized besides the chip timing issue.  The Christmas theme was fun and they did a great job along the course sticking with the theme with different Christmas inflatables and lights.

I was happy with my time and my first place finish despite slowing down my planned pace due to the heat.  My original goal pace had been 7:15/mile.  This is a local race that I would love to participate in again!

Weekly Mileage Round-up

My mileage definitely dropped this week from last week.

Monday:
My body was still feeling the effects of the wall painting and epic house cleaning so I rested today. 

Tuesday:
I ran after work today and was not feeling the run.  I had orginally wanted to run 6-8 miles, but quickly into the run I shortened the distance.  I ran this run without music and did not focus on my Garmin. I tried to keep the pace at an easy run pace since my legs felt heavy.

4 miles

35:36

8:54/mile

Post run I lifted weights and focused on biceps, triceps, and shoulders.

Wednesday:
Wednesday was a little cooler and I was able to take Peyton for a run after work.  This run was a little slower than our usual pace. Peyton must have been planning on an "easy" (for her) run.

3 miles

23:08

7:42/mile

Thursday:
Rest day!

Friday:
I was super busy Friday so my workout was short and sweet. I took my mom to the doctor in the morning, and after a 5:30 am wake-up call I was pooped.  I ended up going for a 2 mile walk and made it home just before it started to pour.

Saturday:
My race was scheduled for 7:30 pm, so I had to do some planning regarding food and activity during the day. I went for a walk early on in the day and listened to Rich Roll's podcast.  He interviews different people across nutrition and endurance sports. He advocates for a plant-based diet and it is very interesting to me how many ultra runners and endurance athletes also adhere to this type of lifestyle.

The time came for the race and I warmed up and stretched prior to the run.  My race recap will be put up soon!

6.23 miles

47:53

Sunday:
I went for a shake-out run later than I had intended so it was already very hot. This forced me to really slow down and to run at an easy run pace.

5 miles

45:07

9:01/mile

Total mileage: 16 plus walks

Strength workouts: 1 

Not the best week but my body was needing a break.  This week my goal is to get back into spin twice this week, strength training at least two times, and then a long run this weekend.

How was your weekend?

What are your goals this week?

What fruit have you been eating a lot of lately? (I'm going grocery shopping and looking for different fruits to snack on)

Christmas in July 10K Quick Update

I won!

My first ever ran that I actually won.  I am stoked!

That is the best trophy ever. A glittery nutcracker.  I plan to leave it out on display year round.

A full recap to come up in the next couple of days.

For now, I will refer to myself as "First Place Meghan."

(A Very Late) Weekly Mileage Round-Up

This post is a few days late due to master bedroom painting, going to a Cubs game, and being just plain lazy, so here it is. Last week's weekly mileage. On a Tuesday.

Monday:
Mondays are my day off so I try to get a longer run in.  I managed that AND at a great pace too! This definitely sent me off feeling good about the week!

10 miles

1:21:22

8:08.mile

Monday evening I went to a 45 minute spin class and then did lat pull-downs, rows, and tricep presses at the gym. I had way to much energy today.

Tuesday:
The weather was much cooler last week (I'm talking high 60s) so I finally was able to take Peyton with me for a run.  She obviously has not lost any fitness in the time she took off from running.

3 miles

21:14

7:04/mile

Chris and I played tennis for a good hour before dinner.

Wednesday:
Wednesday I took as my rest day. Working two days in a row is hard. (I'm just being a jerk. Come August 17 my butt will be kicked when I try to get back to 5 days a week.)

Thursday:
I ran my easy run Thursday. I wore my HRM and aimed to keep my bpm around 150.

5 miles

43:28

8:41/mile

158 bpm average

Friday:

Is it weird that I don't remember this run?  Apparently I ran 10 miles? My body must have blacked out Friday.

10 miles

1:23:20

8:20/mile

I spent the rest of the day cleaning the master bedroom and putting painter's tape down so that I could paint on Saturday.  I met Chris at the gym after he got off work and I did more strength training. This time I focused on chest, back, and legs, cycling through all three to rest each body part. 

Saturday:

I hadn't done leg strengthening in who knows who long and I was sore from Friday's workout. I wanted to run to shake out my legs, but once I got going I felt much better.  A shake-out run turned into a tempo run to prepare me for this Saturday's 10K!

7 miles (1 mile easy, 5 miles tempo, 1 mile easy)

54:30

7:47/mile

I averaged 7:10/mile on my tempo and I feel ready to run fast!  After my run I quickly showered, Chris and I picked up a few things at the farmer's market and then I started painting.  3 hours later it was a huge difference!

Now we are researching painter's to do the main level of our house for us. We have high ceilings that will require scaffolding and we also have to paint around the kitchen cabinets. I want nothing to do with that and I'd rather pay to have it done nicely.

Sunday:

Sunday was another rest day and I cleaned up any paint bleeds underneath the painter's tape.  We went to the Cubs/Sox Crosstown Classic at Wrigley Field.  

It couldn't have been a better day for a baseball game! 

We headed to Atlas Brewing Company after the game for dinner and saw this on the way:

Truth.

We were all exhausted after the long, busy weekend and crashed on the couch.

Puppy cuddles FTW.

Friday Things

There is more craziness going on in this little part of the internet.  Between work, chasing after two dogs, cooking, attempting to keep the house clean, runs, spin class, and drinking crazy amounts of coconut LaCroiz (the BEST flavor), there hardly has been a moment to breathe.

I've been quietly stalking the Fox Valley Marathon registration page and debating with myself if I should run the half or the full.  I have 10 weeks from Sunday to train.  If I decided on the the full marathon, my training would focus on getting mileage on my legs without much speed.  Half marathon training would focus on speed with the goal of a major PR.  I'm leaning more in the direction of the full marathon as speed at this time does not sound appealing.

Despite my busy schedule I have been able to maintain 20-30 mile weeks with runs ranging in distance from 5 miles up to 12.  I've also been toying around with tempo runs and speed work to get myself ready for my 10K next Friday.

Today's run was a comfortable 10 miles.  I had no goal pace other than to run at what felt like an easy pace.

10 miles

1:23:20

8:20/mile

I've also started running more with my HRM and I averaged 166 bpm on this run.  This run was at a comfortable pace for me and I felt like I could keep going once I finished.

Running news....

THIS article was a great read.   It explains the difference between pushing hard and over training.  I can really relate as I'm starting to think more and more that I have over trained for my last marathon this past May (I've been doing a LOT of reflecting on that run lately as I decide what race to do next).  The biggest takeaway I took from this article was to reflect on my runs in my running notebook to better keep track of fatigue, aches and pains, etc.

I really wish I lived near Atlanta for this casting call.



In other news.... We booked a trip to visit a good friend in San Franscisco! We have never been and are looking forward to doing very touristy things.

This weekend's project is finally painting the master bedroom.  The painting tape is up and is ready to go for tomorrow's painting marathon.


What have you been up to lately?

Are you training for a race or running just to run?

Thursday Rambles

Where has this week gone?  I worked Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today.  I am sure glad I am off tomorrow.  Working inpatient acute rehab is exhausting.

Peyton feels the same way.

Augie is Peyton's shadow.  She does everything Peyton does.

My running has really fallen by the wayside.  I managed a 6 mile run (51:27)Tuesday and a 5 miler (40:37) today.  I am going to get back on track starting tomorrow.  This is my only 4 day work week this summer, so the extra time will give me the boost I need to get back to training.

Speaking of running, I have signed up for a 10K on July 18.  It will be the second 10K I have ever done.  Short races are not my favorite because 1. I don't like to pay for a distance I easily manage on a training run and 2. Short races are hella hard.  I have some speed work at the track planned for the next few weeks and I'm hoping to place in my age group.

What race are you running next?

What's the best part of your summer so far?