June - all for Dad

My June race was back to a local race run by one of the racing stores. My friend Lorna was running it, so we had a good time. We ran with each other, sometimes one ahead, sometimes the other and that made it fun. The race was to support prostate cancer research and promote education, so there were some fun signs.

We also ran with ties and at one turnoff you had to tie a tie on and run the rest of the race with it. We received a mug for our trouble, but it was just a fun diversion. This was a new course for me, and I felt good.

However, the pictures just show why running in tights are my friends. Yikes, I clearly have a long way to go on the thighs.

Nothing super special about this race, just get it done. I finished the 4 miles in 49:52.

May - be this wasn't such a good idea

Pure calendaring challenges made this month's race the one for me. It was a small race around Burke Lake Park, which is local to me and one I have been around quite a few times. The race was hosted by a running group and not by one of the local stores/race management companies. It showed.

We started off by a plastic water bottle and ran until the guy with the ipad said stop. Ha. They did have a timer set up along the road and it was clear this is a group that runs together all the time. I was hoping to make some running friends, but this group was so close, it wasn't easy to strike up a conversation.

So there were about 30 folks racing. One girl I chatted with that had potential, but she was way faster then me. Isn't it funny how we check out potential running buddies? Why was I was looking, well my running buddy from the hood was moving to Delaware. Boo!

Anyways, we started off from our makeshift start line and I was immediately behind. There was one pair that I seemed to be staying current with, seemed like a brother and sister. We made our way around the parking lot and we actually went through another race's balloon arch. I felt strong going all the way around the lake, a strong run/walk pattern and making the most of the downhills.

I finished the 8k at 1:06:08. I was happy with that. Everyone else was hanging around some picnic tables that had coffee and donuts. I checked in and then decided to pack it up and head home. As I was getting settled in my car, I noticed an overweight man making his way up the road. In an impulse I jumped up and started jogging next to him. I was with him all the way in, making some noise to try and get the group to recognize this perseverance in their midst. They didn't leave the tables, but we did get a few cheers.

April - where I learn about running friends

April, it is a beautiful month here as everything starts to bloom and I learned how much more fun races are with friends! I actually had 2 races this month. April 1 brought the Cherry Blossom 5k. I signed up for the lottery with my friend from Ohio who was running the 10 miles. This was all before the goal was a glimmer. The lottery was held in December and little did I know how lucky we were to get spots. I don't think the 5k is all that competitive, but the rest of my group was 10 milers. Anyways, we metro'd to the Washington Monument start together and met afterwards. This was my first big race, as the racing season really kicks off in April here. I was alone at the 5k start, but that was ok. The course was pretty and crowded. There were all sorts of funny people there racing in outfits I would wear to the mall. Well maybe not, but jeans, sweaters....all sorts of things.

I felt good about my race finishing in 40:47. Not quite as fast as January, but so much better then March, who could argue?

I felt weird wearing my Cherry Blossom t-shirt afterwards because it clearly announces the 10 miler part, but in no form does it recognize the 5k piece. I didn't want anyone to think I was claiming to have raced 10 miles! Seems a little silly since I was already registered for a Half Marathon! Part of the comparison game perhaps, which can be a downside of running with friends.

My 2nd race of the month came in the form of peer pressure. A good neighborhood friend had lost a lot of weight and was really getting into running and wanted to run the GW parkway Classic. Again, we ran the 5k option associated with the 10 miler.

Lorna, her husband and I all met to drive down to the buses together. It was nice to not have to be the only once paying attention to logistics. It was a cool morning and damp. There aren't a ton of bathrooms as we were starting much further up the parkway from the main race. I ended up having trouble in the bathroom before and I am quite certain Lorna thought I had fallen in. It chewed up quite a bit of time though, and I apologize for monopolizing a stall when the line was so long. We started off and I ditched the dollar store poncho I had brought along. There were quite a few kids in this race, clearly a youth fitness group with the YMCA or something and some of the kids were in the skate shoes. I was not amused as I puffed my way towards Alexandria.

I didn't see Lorna or Will during the race after they pulled away early, but was happy it wasn't raining and did steal a few glances at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Would I really be running over that bridge come October?? I finished in 39:05 and they were waiting at the finish line for me. I was so happy to be under 40 minutes! We didn't stick around for the post race festivities, but there were beer trucks and other tents being set up for the rest of the morning. Logistics were so smooth, we got home no problem. And I was happy.

I figured I had a extra race stashed away in case I needed it later on in the year to meet my goal. :)

March - and the cocky come crashing down

March, its a fun month, the promise of Spring around the corner and in DC, the warmer weather continued. I signed up for a St Patrick's day 8k. What other type of race would you do in March? It was a doozy. It was my first race downtown and my husband had me all psyched out about parking and getting the metro to Freedom Plaza.

I left earlier then I was planning to and got to the race location way too early. It was a colder morning and I am a new runner, so not lots of beautiful race clothes like I lust after now. Anyways, cold, lots of time and Freedom Plaza. Yup, I pretty much just walked around in circles. We had remnants of the Occupy DC (well on of) encampments there. Apparently they had gotten to the point where they could only occupy during the day and not sleep over anymore. There were maybe 8 tents with various signs in and around them. Weird to see them empty after all the news reports. Anyways, WAY TOO MUCH time passes and the race finally starts. Folks had cute outfits on and I started in the back as usual. I always make some friends there. :)

This race was horrible! I loved racing down the road and seeing the Capital apparently a little too much, as the photographer caught me fiddling with my blackberry to take a picture. (not cute) The route was a good one and one I would run again later in the year (can we say redemption?). I hadn't learned about eating for a race and so the chicken breast and broccoli that was dinner the night before did me no favors on race day. I had my first experience with being dizzy and just not feeling well. I was so desperate for a bathroom, I considered running into one of the Smithsonians or using the porta potty left out by some construction folks. In the end I did neither, but it was a humbling experience after feeling so elated in Feb. I finished the race in 1:20:43 almost 3 minutes slower per mile then before. Lesson learned.

Don't mistake my focus on stats for being ultra competitive. Let's face it at these paces, the only ones I am competing with are the people behind me and myself. I am motivated by stats (somewhat), but what became clearer as I moved through the year, was that finishing a race feeling strong was better then a PR.

3 months in the books and I was registered for several more races to come. My goal was coming into focus as the blossoms were blooming.

February 10k - Walk Like the Wind

Ah February, what should be the hibernating months here in the DC area, was just pleasant. Even Mother Nature was cooperating with my goal. If I could get races in the cold winter months, then the summer should be easy peasy. So this was the month of the rooky move. I sign up for and paid for a race I wasn't even going to be in town for. Oops.


Finding a race in February that wasn't on Valentine's day weekend was not easy. I hemmed and haaed about doing a 10k. really twice the distance as last month? I would be run/walking marathons by July at this rate! Plus all I had was myself and my treadmill, no real idea what I was doing, other then knowing I was SLOW. Any rate, I was spending the weekend most races were held in the Dominican Republic with my sorority sisters celebrating turning 40. I have never taken a girls weekend like this one before (all inclusive yea!) and wasn't going to miss it. The good news about the trip was it motivated me to move my behind. I have some healthy, athletic friends and I was going to be lying on the beach next to them. Yes, that motivated me!

Back to the race, it was a cold day, but not as cold as the original race I signed up for (see lying on beach). The George Washington Birthday 10k was it. The only other race I could see doing logically. It was a nice race, located in Alexandria and you waited for the start inside. I was beginning to suspect I would see people I knew at these smaller winter races and I was right. All of the sudden I run into someone I work with. Really? Nice guy, I didn't really know him that well at the time of the race, but he has become a good friend.

The race itself is basically out and back this industrial road, starting and ending over an overpass. It is nicer then it sounds. I started at the back of the pack, as I always do and started to jog. Well, that worked for about .25 of a mile. Seriously. I just couldn't get going. But if I know anything it is that I can walk fast. So that is what I did. I walked the whole thing in 1:23:23. That is a pace of 13:25 and not all that shabby. I was flying on cloud nine and felt like if I could walk 6 miles, then I could conquer anything this goal had to throw at me. And there is where the trouble began.....

January - New Years Day 5k

I did what any self respecting goal maker would do, I started the year with a 5k. This 5k started at 10 AM - brilliant! I was well hydrated and psyched to run this race. Well..... Run/Walk. The race was full of other resolutioners and I wondered how many of them would be with this by year's end. Would I be sticking with it? I was there by myself, not yet willing to share my goal and how far I had to go with anyone. In the end I ran 40:44, which was a good showing for me, but oh so close to 39:59! Something to shoot for.

2012 in Review

My goal for 2012 was to run 12 races in 12 months with a race a month. I am happy to say I accomplished that goal and am going to tell the story of my year. Meanwhile, I am working on what 2013 may hold. So many thoughts going through my head. As I look through old blog posts I read one from 2009 where I said I just wanted to enjoy exercise. I felt like if I could do that, then the rest would come. In a way, I think I was able to accomplish that goal too.

What I love about the 2012 race goal was that it wasn't so much about the races, but about what went into preparing. That is where the hard work is and frankly where we all have a chance to cheat ourselves if we want to. This year, I did some cheating, but for the most part, was true to myself and learned a lot of fun stuff along the way.

What goals can you set that require more from you?

Without further ado - 2012......