Broad Street Run

My parents picked me up at 6:45 and dropped me at the start line, which was really nice because it meant I didn't have to drive to the sports complex and fight the crowds on the subway. I got there in plenty of time to go to the bathroom and find the starting line water, then came the wait for actually starting the race and for my corral actually starting, and I took off. My knee was feeling fine! Then I got to mile 0.5, and my knee started hurting. But I was committed. To finishing, not to my time. I was just going to do what I could. I decided that between the crowds and the knee I'd just enjoy the race. I stayed close to the sidewalk for high fives and cheers, and waved to people as I ran.

Around mile 2, I saw my parents and husband. So I waved and kept running. This was probably when my knee was bothering me the most, but they said they couldn't tell. As I ran past Temple, I high fived the owl, waved to people in the stands, then high fived the football team. High fives gave me more energy than clif shot blox. There was a bit of a funnel effect to get around city hall, but then I immediately crossed to the other side of the street and it opened up a little bit. Around mile 7, I kept telling myself "just a 5K left, 30 more minutes of running." At this point, though, 30 minutes seemed like a long time. My husband saw me around mile 8 and said I was looking quite tired. I didn't see him, so I couldn't pretend I was excited.

Then came mile 9. I signed up to run with Jimbo's Squad. My boss has been running with them for a while, so I signed up, too. I didn't know anyone else running with them and couldn't find them at the start, but at mile 9, I saw their cheering section. They were yelling for me, and I was waving and fist pumping. At mile 9.5, a guy came up behind me and was like "hey, Jimbo's Squad, can I cross the finish with you?" He was also running with Jimbo's Squad. The clock time when I finished was 1:49:xx, and I was pretty certain I'd started somewhere around 0:20:xx, but couldn't be sure. So, I thought I was close. When I finally met up with my family, my mom had been getting text message updates, but they were all giving her the clock time and giving my pace based on that as well, so I still couldn't be certain that I'd beaten 1:30:00 like I wanted to.

We stopped for lunch, then hopped on the subway to head home. When we got above ground, I had a text from my sister Elaine telling me that she saw a sub 2 hour half in my future. I got really excited and tried to text her back as I was walking down steps, when I thought better of it and waited until I was on the side walk. I was really hopping down the steps, as my left knee wouldn't bend enough for me to walk down the steps like a normal person. She texted me back and said my time was 1:27:46. 8:46 pace! I was so excited! My last 10K was slower than that. Now I really want to do another half, but I totally need to take a few weeks off from running. Maybe at the end of the summer.

Broad Street and Garden Update

First, Broad Street Run. I had been keeping my goal somewhat secret (I had told a few people early on, and more as I got more confident I'd make it) so that fewer people would know if I didn't make it. I'm going to finally state my goal for the whole internet to see, followed up a caveat that I may not make it, and that's ok, and you'll see why.

My goal for the 10 mile Broad Street Run is 1 hour 30 minutes. So, 9 minute miles. Last week, I did 10.3 miles in 1:33, which worked out to a 9:05 pace. And you always figure you'll run faster in a race than you do in training (except the third leg a Ragnar Relay when you have to run 9.1 miles, no shade, 3 hours of sleep, and you've already run a total of 9.1 miles over 2 runs in the past 24 hours; then you run slower), so you'd think I'd be fine. However, 8.5 miles into the run, my knee started really bothering me and I think I have and IT band problem. I bought a foam roller, iced my knee, and took some ibuprofin. My knee felt much better the next day, and I ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill on Monday with no real issue. Then, on Tuesday, I got an ear infection. It really hurt, was making me miserable, and I couldn't even fit my earphones in my ear (actually, the nurse practitioner couldn't get the ear looking at thingy in my ear). So, no running until Saturday, when I decided music or no (no music), knees hurting or no (pain), I had to run. I did four miles this morning, and my knee hurt around .25 miles in. On the plus side, I'm pretty sure I could've made it 10 miles. The pain wasn't too bad. Also, my knee didn't hurt nearly as bad after the run (last week, I limped until I finally got the foam roller, this week, I could walk properly and my knee was just uncomfortable, not painful). So, my current goal for Broad Street is back to 10 minute miles. My run today was faster than that (9:23 pace), and I didn't feel like I was pushing myself, but I'm not sure how much I'll be pushing myself if my knee hurts for 97% of my race and I don't know if I'll have to slow down more as I run farther. Maybe we should say my goal is 1:35 (9:30 pace). We'll go with that. Thanks, internet, for the confidence boost!

Onto the garden. I was finally given the OK to plant this week, so I loaded up everything in my backpack (aside from the watering can and markers for what I was planting [oops]), and biked out to the plot (holding the watering can in my hand while I biked). I planted cherry tomatoes, purple tomatillos (what do you call purple salsa verde?), green beans, sugar peas, brussel sprouts, green beans, lettuce, and zucchini. I still have a bit of space left, so I'm going to look for more seeds, and probably plant some flowers. I really enjoyed bringing home flowers for my dining room table earlier this year, and I think I want to continue that.

New Running Shoes!

I last bought new running shoes back in July. Since then, I've trained for and run a half marathon and the Ragnar Relay Florida Keys. Needless to say, I've known I should get new ones since the relay. In fact, I had toyed with the idea of donating my shoes at the end of the race. But, I didn't. This winter has been so mild (knock on wood) that I've been running more than I planned to do. On Sunday, I went to the gym and decided to do some intervals before weights, but after three quarters of a mile, my shins were screaming.

My new shoes:

I think the color and design makes them look a little futuristic. I'm hoping to break them in tomorrow.

Broad Street Run

The Broad Street Run opened registration today. Last year, it sold out in just a few days, so I wanted to be sure to register today. Naturally, I forgot this morning, thought about it while I was away from my computer, then thought about over an hour after I got back to my computer. Good job, me. I did manage to register, though. Now I have to stop skipping my long runs, though.

This is the first race I'm training for that I'll actually be focusing on being faster rather than just being able to do it. I already know I can run 10 miles, so that's not really a challenge. But this goal time means more running than I usually do (5 days a week vs. 3-4) plus weights and a day of cross training. If nothing else, this will be good for my fitocracy account.