Red, White and Blue Shoes 5k

So, it's taken me a long time to write this post but that's just because I've been doing this:

yes, I am THAT sexy

So back to the review... I LOVE THIS RACE

1. It's at Furman University which is absolutely gorgeous. If you've never seen it, here is a pic of the campus:

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2. It was probably the flattest course I've run in a while. I train downtown and it is hilly, hilly, hilly, hilly... So the one hill towards the end was a piece of cake

3. I totally PR'ed. I ran it in 27:53 (according to my Garmin) which is fast for me and exciting because I've been trying to get faster over the past few months. The official time was 28 something but it was a gun start so i'm going with my Garmin... Woot woot!! I read so many blogs where their times are like, 22 min, 25 min, etc etc. I don't know if I'll ever be there but to be reaching a goal of mine which is 27 minutes, I feel pretty good about it. 

4. This was Go Run's goal race which means new people ran their first 5k. And then some PR'ed their first 5k. I love working with new runners because seeing people accomplish something they didn't think they could is very rewarding. 

A few pics from the race:

that's my mom with the Go Run shirt on!! This was her second 5k, plus she's done an 8k and a 10k. She's also signed up for the RnR Savannah Half Marathon!!

One of our leaders, Holly Di Giovine in the back 

Our other Go Run leader, Melissa, and our endurance group leader, Nova Robb

Woot Woot Denise!! She's signed up for the RnR Savannah Marathon - but she's no newbie, she's done a marathon before 

Helen - she ran the Candlelight 5k with me 2 weeks ago (in the GO Run shirt)

I'm the tall one :). Mom's to my right and Helen is to the far left

Holly (in white) and Melissa (in the sassy glasses) created Go Run and made an awesome beginner 5k program. I'm using Holly's marathon training program for the RnR Savannah this year. Nova (with the visor) leads our endurance training group, Val (white shirt at the bottom of the pic) is a triathlete who completed her first half ironman earlier this year leads the Go Run group in Greer and I'm beside Holly. I lead the Wednesday morning speed group. 

Fun, fast race.. definitely doing it next year... 

Swim clinic and brick workout

As I was saying Wednesday, last night was the first of three clinics for the You Go Girl Triathlon. I'm kind of excited about this triathlon because it was made specifically for people who've never done a tri and want to see what it's all about.

Last night was the first night and we focused on swimming. Here is what was on the agenda:

You Go Girl Training Clinic 1:  Wednesday, June 29^th, 6:00-7:30 pm

Discussion

• Introduction to triathlon
• Virtual triathlon swim: what to expect
• Swim tips: common complications and how to correct them

Practice/Workout

• Swim: practice what was discussed during swim tips
• Swim: practice changing lanes
• Swim/run practice:  (50-100 meter swim + 0.5 mile run)

What to bring:

Swimsuit or triathlon suit, goggles, swim cap, running shoes, socks,  shorts/t-shirt IF you plan to throw them on before running—we won’t be changing between!

I am so happy they are offering these clinics because I learned so much information last night. Kendra has been doing triathlons for 4 years and she is currently training for her second half ironman. She told us about her first tri and all of the mistakes she made. I thought that was cool because she was helping us feel comfortable. None of the people in this clinic have ever done a tri. In fact, a lot of them hadn't even been in the pool yet. So I was like, okay, at least I'm not the only one. We talked about transition, we talked about changing lanes, etc. and as it got time to get in the pool and practice, I was getting nervous. The lanes look small when you've got all these people swimming in it and what if I run into someone, what if the person behind me gets mad because i'm not going fast enough, what if I have to stop, blah blah blah blah blah, freaking out, freaking out, freaking out, freaking out...

I got in the pool and started swimming behind this girl. Normally when I swim, my breathing is wild, I have a hard time getting it together, and I have to stop every 25 meters. I was so focused on not running into anyone, i didn't even think about my breathing... in a good way. I was swimming pretty smoothly and the only time I had to stop was when the girl in front of me stopped. And she stopped a lot, so I was fine. Once I got out of the pool, I felt much better about the swim. Not that I swam super fast or anything, but I was able to get through it without getting injured and 100 meters went by pretty quickly. My ADD my actually come in handy for this!

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This morning, I did a brick workout, kind of. I took a spin class and then ran a mile on the treadmill. It takes me about a half a mile to get through the weirdness I feel in my legs from switching to the run, but after that, I feel pretty good. I ran a mile in 9:45 which I felt was pretty strong for having done a 45 minute spin class.

My training this week has looked like this:

Monday: 4 sets of 30 second sprints, 4 sets of 60 second sprints, a warm up and cool down mile - 3.5 miles total

Tuesday: Holly's boot camp - i was supposed to swim but I didn't :(

Wednesday: 10 sets of 60 second repeats with a 90 second - 120 second recovery - warm up and cool down mile - 4.6 miles total

100 m swim with the group and 100 m on my own

then a 5 minute run after the swim

Thursday: Spin class and a 1 mile run

I hope to swim tomorrow and I have a 5k on saturday (Red, White, and Blue Shoes 5k) plus I'll add 3 miles to finish my long run

Next week: I will be at the beach so it'll be interesting to see how I keep up with my training during vacay... very interesting... 

5k for Kenya

Today was the 5k for Kenya. We started at University Ridge downtown at 8:30 am. This race was special to me because the cause is so important. All of the proceeds go to the The Kenya Initiative which provides food, water and jobs to refugees in Kenya. It was a very small race and the first year it's ever happened, so operations were small. I would say 50 people ran and it was an out and back. My time was amazing, but I kind of think it may not have been quite a 5k. I have no way of knowing as I didn't bring my Garmin and my RunKeeper Pro lost signal halfway through the run.

5k for Kenya
time: 27:22
How i felt: my legs were on fire including my shins

I have taken too much time off after my half and now I'm paying the consequences. My legs are sore from running this week and I've only run 8 miles :(. I'm going to give myself a break and just allow myself some time to get back into it. Wednesday, all of us NYC Marathon lottery participants find out our fate!! In the meantime, here are some pics from the race:

Brian placed in his age group - and he's doing a funny pose

The top 3 females... my friend Holly is to the left in all black

There were lots of doggies...this one was cute

Race sign (kinda self explanatory) 

My running group!! Holly, Brian and Me. Um...ignore my terrible hair

Holly celebrating her medal 

pre-race Brian... very serious

On a side note... I spent some time with the Stick tonight to help my little calves... why oh why are they so so sore... hills much