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| Race Reports for the C25K: Share Your First Race Here!!! (Read 239 times) |
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posted: 9/21/2008 at 8:28 PM |
| Good job!! Yay for PRs!! |
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posted: 9/21/2008 at 8:45 PM |
Congrats, erendis!  |
2008 Goals:
1. Finish C25K
2. Race <30 minute 5K
3. Complete One Hour Runner |
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dani_marie |
posted: 9/22/2008 at 12:37 AM |
| Erendis - that is fantastic! You did so well, plus it sounds like you had a great time. |
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posted: 9/22/2008 at 3:02 PM |
| Good job Erendis! My first 5K is in one month and I can't wait! |
Cyndi
One Hour Running, Week 6
www.brokenscale.blogspot.com
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erendis view log |
posted: 10/18/2008 at 4:34 PM
modified: 10/19/2008 at 2:03 PM |
Race #2 was this morning- Plymouth MA 5k
Cold snap made warming up a tad painful- plus the race was down along the waterfront so there was that breeze that makes you feel like you're naked. It was a fundraiser for the hospital, and I'm pretty sure the hospital club had never hosted a race before, so it was frustrating getting our number- lines were not clearly marked, and pre-registration was actually slower to get through than folks registering that morning because they didn't alphabetize their list. So they had to scan the whole long list for your name- ugh.
When the race started though, we had a great run. It was MUCH hillier than I thought it was going to be - 3 or 4 rather steep long hills. I had to take a few breaks on the ups as a result because we're still not quite ready for hill training. Even so, we had our best outing yet! 35:48 unofficial time- another PR!
I guess the great thing about being a beginner is that it's rather easy to make each race a new record, you can only get better right?
official post: 35:41 place: 109 out of 250 but there were walkers too- looking at times there were probably 150ish folks who were running/jogging. |
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
Pablo Picasso |
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posted: 10/19/2008 at 4:24 AM |
Wohooo! PR's are good anyway they happen. What is it about health races that makes the weather do that? I did a race for the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and it was pretty brisk wind on that day. Felt like it was ripping into me and it took a good chunk of time to get warmed up to comfortable. Send an email to the organizers of the race with both positive and negative feedback so they can be better next year!  |
"If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it. - Priscilla Welch
* New Runners: Check out the C25K & One Hour Runner Support Group*
1 summer race done. 1 fall race done. Looking forward to the Resolution Run Dec 31! |
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posted: 10/25/2008 at 7:34 PM
modified: 10/25/2008 at 7:38 PM |
| Quote from CyndiKo on 8/18/2008 at 6:13 PM: This is a great thread and I hope it's still around when I get to my first race in October! I can't even imagine being in 'racing' shoes right now so hearing about your good experience is just what I need.
These were MY words way back on August 16th, congratulating Meg and Ernsberger on their first races! And now here I am...with my own first race report and I can't believe I actually got to this point!
My full detailed report is on my blog, so feel free to surf on over if you want all the gory details! I am really happy with my result, and I put in a hard effort to get my official time: 33:46!!!!!
Race time temp was 52, with a slight breeze coming off of Lake Erie. The course was awesome for a fall morning run - down around some old century homes/mansions along Lake Erie, beautiful tree-lined streets, perfectly FLAT the whole way...it was wonderful. I tried to enjoy the scenery, but very quickly I realized I had started out WAY too fast, even though I was trying very hard NOT to start hard. How does that happen? So lesson learned number one: work on pace through the race! I had also hit my puffer before I left the house, so my heart rate was already up...not sure if that was a good idea either.
I started in the back of the pack of course, and ran with a group of 3 other women for a bit. Two of them picked up speed and I stayed back with the other lady. I could tell she was just as much a 'newbie' as me, as she was not very chatty (neither was I ha ha!) and I could tell she just wanted to get through the miles the best she could! I started pulling away from her after a bit and she waved me on. I was alone the rest of the time! At one point I thought I was going to need a walk break to get my heart rate settled, but I was able to do some deep breaths and get my pace slowed to about 11:50 for a bit and that seemed to work. Otherwise, I was not going to be able to get through it all. At one point I checked my Garmin and I was surprised to see I was cruising along at a 9:50 pace!  That's great, but, I certainly can not sustain that at my current running level! My heart rate was up to 170 UGH, almost my max, so THAT was not good. So all my 'speediness' made for the hardest run I've had since Day 1 Week 1, that's for sure! But I felt great at the finish, and I am happy with the result! I guess I know now I can kick it when it's game time! :) It's funny how every time I consciously tried to slow down to save my energy for the finish, I felt like I was STROLLING...it was very strange and kind of threw me a little bit.
It's also wierd how I ran 3.1 Tuesday night and although the last 1/2 mile was *hard*, it was overall a comfortably 'fast' run. I have not run since then, ...and today was much harder! It was probably a combination of things, like still having the remnants of this chest thing, hitting my puffer too close to start time, very high humidity from rain last night, PMS....this is the first run I've ever felt like I needed to chill out afterwards! (As I say on my blog, I've come full circle, from 5K to Couch! )
Don't get me wrong, I've got a respectable time to show for my effort, I just didn't expect it to be so challenging! Lesson learned number 2: NOW I know what 'race pace' is! It is definitely NOT the pace we run in our daily training runs. Next time I will be 'mentally' prepared for the effort!
The great part of all of this is that my family was there at the finish, lots of kids along the route cheering from their porches and bedroom windows, 'Batman' escorting the stragglers to the finish, and most importantly, I set a goal 3 months ago to do this, and now I've accomplished it!
So for all the new runners - keep going! Believe me, if I can do this, anyone can! I can't wait to move on and set some new goals!
I'm ready to move on to Week 4 now of OHR and looking forward to starting to increase my base running time. I will rest tomorrow and Monday, and get back at it Tuesday! Next 5K will hopefully be a Turkey Trot race in Virginia, where we are going to visit family. I've got two sisters in law that run, (way faster though!), so it will be fun to have someone else to race with! Wonder if my time will improve in 4 weeks? Hmmm.... |
Cyndi
One Hour Running, Week 6
www.brokenscale.blogspot.com
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posted: 10/25/2008 at 8:26 PM |
| Awesome, Cyndi! First races are special; consider getting a frame for your bib. Your second race will be different because you know what to expect. My second race was a Turkey Trot too. |
"If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it. - Priscilla Welch
* New Runners: Check out the C25K & One Hour Runner Support Group*
1 summer race done. 1 fall race done. Looking forward to the Resolution Run Dec 31! |
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posted: 10/26/2008 at 8:25 PM |
My first 5K racewas today!!! I finished C25k awhile back but have been fighting injuries and wasn't convinced that I could actually do a 5k until recently. So finally I entered one. The weather couldn't have been much worse. It was about 39 degrees out and winds gusting to 40 mph.
I wore underarmour leggings and top and a wind proof jacket that was supposed to keep me warm down to around 30 degrees (according to the lady in the store). I went outside before I left the house to see if I would be warm enough and went back in and put more layers on. So I ended up with my underarmour layer, sweatpants, arm warmers, windproof jacket, ear warmers, winter hat and gloves. While we were waiting for the race to start I had to wear my husbands jacket to stay warm.
Everyone started faster than me, and I ended up running the first mile faster than I usually do, under 11 minutes. I realized I needed to slow down the rest of the way. Most of the people who were going to pass me probably already had, so I could just run at my own pace and ignore everyone else. I passed the same people 2 or 3 times, as there were several that would run then walk and run again. I'm not used to running any hills - its very flat around my neighborhood - so that made it tougher for me. Add to that the 40 mph wind gusts and I had to walk a few times, which I had hoped I wouldn't have to do. At one point near the end I was going up hill and a big gust of wind came that was so strong I wasn't sure I was even going to be able to walk against it.
I ran the last few hundred yards of course so I could run across the finish line. My unofficial time is 38:11. A little slower than I had hoped as I would like to be able to do a 5k in under 35 minutes, but given the conditions I think I did alright. At least I finished! |
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posted: 10/27/2008 at 5:17 PM |
Congrats All4mine! You did great given the conditions you had to work against - that's all that matters! And hey, we only get stronger and faster from here right?
I just discovered today that my 'official' time on the race website is listed as 37:50..... A whole FOUR minutes more than my Garmin result. That puts my average pace at about 12:12, which, frankly, every time I checked my pace, I never even SAW the number 12 on my watch , so how can I 'average' that?
I'm trying not to get all over excited about it...what I DO know is I ran harder than I ever have in 3 months, my body is STILL feeling it today and I'm proud of the accomplishment! |
Cyndi
One Hour Running, Week 6
www.brokenscale.blogspot.com
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posted: 10/27/2008 at 8:34 PM |
Amazingly, my watch was only 1 second off from my official time, which surprised me. We had a very small group, only 72 people, so I guess it didn't take me as long to get over the start line as I thought. I count my stopwatch as more accurate because when there are large groups of people and they aren't using chips, it could take a few minutes to cross the start line.
Whatever the time, it was a good experience and one thing I have learned is I need to practice on more hills! |
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posted: 10/27/2008 at 10:01 PM |
Sounds like there were a few of us that ran our 1st 5k this weekend!! Yay everyone! We did it!! 
My 1st 5k was this past Saturday. I wasn't too nervous. I wansn't aiming for any time or to beat anyone else and I didn't really expect anything so there was no pressure. No matter what I was going to PR.  My husband and some friends ran it, a couple friends watched. It was nice to have so many people there for support. It was a small race... just 250 runners and walkers at a community college. My biggest problem before the start was deciding to run in a tshirt or my long sleve running shirt. It was barely 40 degrees with a good wind so it was really cold when you were just standing there... but I was worried I would get too hot. I decided to go long sleve since that is what I have been running in lately. Good choice, the wind made it super cold. I did get warm toward the end... but not bad at all.
Although I didn't have any goal besides to just finish and run the whole thing without walking. I wanted to be around 34:00 since I had been running the 5k distance in about 34:30. I started out in the back and when we started I had a personal debate about if the speed I was going was too fast or if was about the same as what I normally ran. It was hard to tell with everyone running around me. I was worried becuase my husband had talked to me about not paying attention to everyone becuause the majoity of people go out too fast. At about half way through I realized... I went out to fast. I felt like I should only have a half mile left and I still had the hill left. I just kept thinking... I can do this, I did it last week, and I only have a mile left. I lost my watch and I never noticed the mile signs so I had no idea where I was in the race or how I was doing time wise. In a way nice becuase I ran with how I felt but suck becuase I couldn't tell where I was.
When I had about a quarter of a mile left my husband met me and ran the rest of the way with me. He started talking to me, asking me how I was feeling. It was nice. I didn't really talk and he didn't expect me to. Then he started picking out people in front of me saying "you can take that lady in black, you can take her, come on that's one more place." after that lady I got, "ok you can take the guy in orange, pick it up just a little bit." After that man, there were three people in a group quite a bit ahead and my husband said. "You can take all three of those people. easy, that's three more places you get. you can do it." SO I sprinted hard core and and since I was the last of our group to finish they were all screaming for me as I came around the corner telling me I had them, then after I passed them more people started yelling for the people I just passed so I ran harder becuase I didn't want to loose those places. I couldn't breathe I was running so fast... but it was all of 15 seconds and then I finished!!! It was great. Official time of 31:54!!! I couldn't believe it. I knew that since I went out fast I maybe hit 33:00... but I never expected to get below 32. One of the girls I passed congratulated me and told me I had a great kick at the end. That meant a lot. I tried to thank her and I think I said nice run back... but I was trying to catch my breath. I never would have passed those people if my husband wasn't there. So I owe a lot to him. He was such a great motivator. He then told me I didn't run hard enough if I had that much of a kick at the end.... I said I ran plenty hard. He didn't think I was going to be able to pass those people.
So I totally surprised myself. I shouldn't have been since it seems like every week of C25k I was surprised I could run as long as I did. Now I have the race bug. During the race there were moments where I thought I was stupid for doing it... and then I finished and I was so happy with my time it makes me want to work for a 5k under 30. I can't wait until spring!!
Thanks everyone for all your wonderful advice and support throughout the program!!I couldn't have done it without you! |
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posted: 10/27/2008 at 10:33 PM |
Great job Mimi! You guys are all so fast compared to me. I would like to be able to break 35 minutes, I'm not even going to think about breaking 30 minutes.
Mimi it looks like you and I are from the same neck of the woods - I'm from Grand Forks ND. It definitely was cold and windy this weekend, wasn't it? I don't know about Duluth, but here the weather was awful on Sunday. |
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