Running for a Cause and Celebrating Life

As I mentioned in my last post, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and this past weekend I had the opportunity to run in the Women's 5K Classic, a race that benefits breast and female cancer research and education in the Lehigh Valley, PA.  I ran this race with my sister and met a few of her friends there as well.  [A little history:  This was my sister's very first race last year!  She signed up for a 5K training program last summer and this was the goal race.  As you know, she later went on to run 2 half marathons!]

Jillyruns/IG

 

 

The morning of the race was pretty chilly in PA, but I knew I'd warm up right away so I opted to wear shorts and a tshirt.  Being the usual clueless human being that I am, I didn't even think to bring a PINK tshirt home for this race.  Nearly everyone running this race was wearing pink.  The starting line was literally a sea of pinkness.  And then there's Jilly wearing her drab gray Runner's World Half race shirt from last year.  Oh well.  I think it made it easier for my brother-in-law and nephew to pick me out at the finish line! 

 

 

 

This race did not go as well as I'd hoped.  Truth be told, I haven't been training for speed at all this year, and I've been taking it kind of easy since my half marathon last month, however, I finished at least 30-45 seconds slower than I normally run a 5K.  The course was very hilly (my sister said they changed it and it was hillier than last year's) so that was part of it.  [I've also been on a new migraine medicine the past couple of months which has honestly been wreaking havoc on my body!  It's made my workouts and running seem harder and actually made my headaches worse so needless to say, I will be discontinuing it! Anyone else here deal with migraines on the reg?]

 

I started off fast, probably too fast.  My first mile split was 8:14 which is speedy for me.  I then proceeded to POSITIVE split the crap out of this race! Hahahaha.  2nd mile came in at 8:29 and mile 3 was 8:33.  In other words, how NOT to run a 5K.  There were 5 hills in this 3 mile course.  Trying to run fast while also running up and down constant hills is not fun.  By the last hill, I was so nauseous I was pretty certain I was going to puke.  Well, thankfully that didn't happen, but I was not feeling good.  I got some proofs from the race and it's pretty obvious I'm not feeling like a ball of sunshine and rainbows here:

 

 

 

I crossed the finish line and thought, as I do after every 5k, 'Thank God that's over'!

 

Official time:  26:13.  (146/1984 runners; 12/67 in 35-39 age group) And that my friends, is my slowest 5K ever! Yippee! 

 

However, the point of this race was not the running at all.  I ran this race for a cause far greater than a PR.  There were many breast cancer survivors in attendance who walked, ran or spectated, and there were markers along the course dedicated to women who lost their battles against the disease.  That sobered me up real fast.  I am running for people who can't, and for people who may never be able to run again.  There will always be another 5K.  I will have the chance to run, or improve my times over and over again (God willing) but this race was about raising money and awareness for a disease that has taken the lives of far too many women and I'm glad I could participate in that cause.

 

 

In addition to running that race, I had a lot going on back home this weekend.  I took part in celebrating two family members' birthdays.  One was turning 2, the other 89. 

 

After the 5K on Saturday, I headed to my cousin's house to attend the birthday party of one of my godsons.  Watching a 2 year devour birthday cake is up there on the list of most entertaining things ever.  The kid doesn't know many words, but he definitely knows the word "CAKE".  He was literally shouting it out over and over between bites, which then devolved into hysterical joyous giggle fits.  It was outrageously cute. 

 

 

It should really be socially acceptable for people of all ages, and not just toddlers, to dive head first into our birthday cake and eat it with wild abandon.

 

 

On Sunday, my parents invited everyone over to their house to celebrate my grandfather's 89th birthday.  To tell you the truth, I can never keep track of my grandparent's ages, but I had no idea he was that old!  He is still so spry and youthful.  He exercises, golfs and still volunteers at the local library. 

 





 

 

 

He celebrated with cake and like any good Italian, a shot of Sambuca.  BARF!  My Pop Pop has added a shot of Sambuca to his coffee for as long as I can remember.  At every holiday or family gathering, he offers his cherished drink to everyone at the table, and we all refuse.  Nonetheless, everyone in my family always has a bottle of it in their house, specifically for Pop Pop!  The smell alone of that licorice flavored spirit makes me want to vomit.  After cake, my cousins, aunts and grandparents sat around and engaged in some light dinner convo on the topic of Ebola.  Good times.

 



 

Running the breast cancer 5K and celebrating the birthdays of those I loved this weekend made me a little more grateful for my health and my family, and made me say a little prayer for those who are not so lucky.

 

 

If you haven't checked out my last post yet, you can check out Skechers limited release breast cancer awareness products here.



 

Anyone running in any races to benefit breast cancer initiatives this month?

Tell me about your last 5K race!

Baltimore Women's Classic Recap

On Sunday I ran my 3rd Baltimore Women's Classic 5K.  I find myself looking forward to this race every year.  It's an all-female race, and proceeds from the entry fees benefit women's cancer initiatives.  The atmosphere is fun and friendly and filled with camaraderie.  Women of all ages participate and there are many mother-daughter teams that run together.  There are also really nice perks like a finisher's medal, long stemmed rose, and cold towel at the end; things you usually only get at the half-marathon level.  There are many women for which this is their first race ever, and the BWC aims to celebrate the accomplishments of them, and all runners who complete the course.  And although I didn't coach this year, I still saw a few familiar faces throughout the course, including one of my favorite fellow coaches from last summer.

Going into this race, I knew I had PR'ed here last year, so of course I would have loved to better my time this go-round, but truth be told, I've done ZERO speed work at all this year (my one and only attempt at speed work occurred last Thursday when I decided to just go out and run a really fast 5K.  I logged my fastest mile ever at a 7:15 split and I nearly peed my pants when the Map My Run computer lady shouted that out!), plus I've only been running a couple times a week lately.  With boot camp taking up a large portion of my workout schedule, plus the shoe drama I've been going through for weeks, my runs lately had been fewer and shorter. 

If you recall, I tried out a new cushioned shoe (Brooks Glycerin) and some Newtons (read about my experiences here).  Well, I finally settled back on my tried and true Vomeros, but this time with Spenco Total Support insoles.  (The purpose of them is to bridge the space in my super-high arches in hopes that will alleviate the strain on shins.)  After trying 2 pairs of shoes, I really didn't want the running store to have to continue to send back shoes on my behalf!  Honestly, if I could get a job testing running shoes somewhere I would be in heaven and perhaps after trying out hundreds of shoes, I'd be able to find the perfect fit, but right now I'm hoping the new Vomero + insole combo works some magic!

Jillyruns/Instagram

 

 

So far, I've run in them 5-6 times and [KNOCK ON WOOD, times a million] I haven't had any shin issues.  *Keeping fingers crossed*

 

So other than not be prepared to run this race fast, how else did I feel about it?  Well, I worked Saturday night until 11:15pm, which ended up giving me about 5 hours of sleep so it was a no go on the 'well rested' part of the preparation as well!  And lastly, I forgot to buy bagels which is what I always eat before races so I had to improvise.  Lo and behold, a Kaiser roll with jelly.  Pre-race fuel of champions?!  I mean who wouldn't want a toasted hamburger bun for breakfast.  I know what YOU all are having tomorrow morning.  You can thank me later for that "recipe" ;)

 

 

 

I don't run 5K's very often so I always forget that you're supposed to warm up beforehand.  In longer distance races, the first mile or two serves as the warm up, but when the race is only 3 miles long, you need to be running like a bat out of hell from the get go!  So, once again, didn't warm up and for some reason I got a cramp after mile 1?!! Ahhhhhhhhhh, that rarely happens to me.  I'm pretty sure I was under-hydrated and just really sleepy from working so much Fri and Sat night.  And not warmed up for the pace at which I was running.  Ahh well.  So, I ran the remaining 2 miles with a cramp and feeling like I was running REALLY slowly.  I only heard them yell out my first mile split which was around 8:05 and didn't glance at my Garmin the rest of the race.  So I felt like I was going to come in at like 26 or 27 mins. 

 

Well imagine my surprise when I crossed the finish line in 25 something.  Whaaaat?!  I finished in 25:37 which was only 20 seconds slower than last year's 25:17.  Not too shabby for being pretty unprepared.  I know lots of you out there are probably waaaaaaay faster than me (uh, Lauren from Breathe Deeply and Smile finished a full FOUR minutes faster than me in 21:36!!! Incredible!) but 8:15 min/miles are fast for me!  Now if I can just find a nice flat 5K course somewhere, perhaps I'll break 25 mins one day!!  Oh and for reference the first place finisher came in at 18:03?! Is that even human?! 

 

Jillyruns/Instagram

 

 

Hope you all had a great first weekend of summer!  The Summer Solstice makes me infinitely happy :)

 

 

Run any races this weekend?

 

Do you enjoy the 3 miles of pain known at the 5K?!?!

 



 

 

 

 



The Race of Life...and my Weekend Race Recap

It's been awhile since I ran a 5K race.  The only other one I did this year was the Baltimore Women's Classic in June (recap here), since it was the culmination of the training program in which I was a coach.  5K's are fun because they're so short, but this also makes them painful!  I somehow forget this every time I sign up. 

 

Jillyruns on Pinterest

 

I innately love to run.  I just do, and this is why I do it.  But I wouldn't say I'm a racer.  I don't run to race. I run just to RUN!  If that makes any sense.  I think I shared previously that I was briefly on the track team in high school.  I credit that experience to introducing me to the sport and sparking a love for running that I never knew existed inside me.  But I quickly burnt out from track because of the racing aspect.  It took much of the joy I experienced from simply running and turned it into a lot of pressure (internal and external).  So although I admit to racing against myself many times, hoping for a new PR, I don't set out to be competitive amongst others.  I'm simply not that fast! HA 

Jillyruns on Pinterest

So back to the race....I signed up for this local 5K a few weeks ago on a whim.  Since this is my off season, I didn't want November/December to be filled with any kind of training schedule or race goals when it came to my running.  I am doing a lot more cross training now and just running whatever mileage feels good to me that day/week.  However, I remembered that even though the BWC 5K kind of hurt in June, that I really had fun doing it.  Someone told me about the race this weekend and it was right in my backyard so I thought why not?! 

It was chilly yesterday morning - mid 40's - and I wasn't sure how to dress.  It was the same temperature a few weeks ago when I ran the Runner's World Half, and I ran that in a t shirt and shorts, but dressing for a half marathon vs. a 5K is a whole different beast.  Just when I'm starting to get warmed up 3 miles in, the 5K is over!  You see what I mean about torture here?!  There is no room for easing into your race in a 5K, you have to go off like a bat out of heck from the start.  In any case, I decided to go with capri tights and a long sleeve tech t shirt (and my compression socks).  I was definitely cold in the beginning, but warmed up slightly by mile 3, or in other words, by the finish line!  Because I don't race 5K's regularly, I have no strategy for them, other than to run faster than I normally would.  So I set my Garmin at the start and this is how my splits fared:

Mile 1:  8:24
Mile 2:  8:22
Mile 3:  7:52

Negative splitting at it's finest!

In fact, according to my Garmin I had my fastest mile split ever in yesterday's race! I know sub 8:00 is not fast for most people, but for me it is!

 

 

My official chip time was 25:21 which was fast enough for me to place 1st in my age group (I was also 5th female overall)!  Yeehaw!  Oh the joys of being in the over 30 running crowd :)  So I got this nice little ribbon at the awards ceremony after the race:   

 

 





I felt good throughout the whole race.  No pain in my legs or knees anywhere, no cramping, and my breathing was easy.  And even though I ran faster than I normally do, I still feel like I held back a bit.  Like I always do in every race.  I'm always afraid to push myself a little bit more, because I never want to get to a point where I feel like I'm going to die, or not have enough at the end of the race.

And honestly, I think this is how I go through life a lot.  I feel like I'm often holding back a little bit, not giving something my all, because I'm afraid I'll fail.  I'm afraid I won't be good enough to make it to the end, to reach my goal, whatever it is at the time.  Even though time and time again, I literally see how strong I am - I accomplish new goals, things I never thought possible - when I begin again on something new, I have these thoughts of failure.  It's just not logical!  I am in fact, my own worst critic.  I am sure many of us are the same way.  I remember reading somewhere that you should try to see yourself through the eyes of someone who loves you.  Whether that be a partner, parent, sister, friend.  They see only the best in you, they believe in you, they think you are the best thing since sliced bread - so why don't you?! 

However, I have seen some shifts in my attitude and perceptions of life recently, and I have started to give more, to fight through my fear in different situations and to go all out.  Perhaps it's because I'm getting older, but I'm starting to realize this is the only life I get.  Just this.  To do everything and anything I've ever dreamed of.  I'm starting to care more about regretting not trying something, than trying and failing at something.  This race was just another metaphor for my life in that I don't want to leave anything in the tank.  In the end - I want to be able to say this:

Jillyruns on Pinterest

 

 

 

How about you?

 

Do you give your all to everything you do?  Or do you hold back sometimes?

 

Any races this weekend?

 



Weekend Roundup - IDEA Blogger, the Taper, My Sister's 5K, and Gag-worthy Broccoli

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  This post may be a bit random but there are a few key things I'd like to share about my weekend.


1.  To start, this happened on Friday:

 

 

I received an email Friday afternoon informing me I was chosen to be an IDEA Inspired Blogger!  I am SO excited!  IDEA is a worldwide association for health, fitness and wellness professionals.  As some of you know, I've been thinking about getting my personal training, group fitness, and/or health coaching certification for awhile now, and I'm excited to be a part of an organization that supports and fosters professionals in these fields.  I also recognize a lot of other bloggers on this panel, so I know I'm in great company :)

 

 

2.  Training and Taper Time!  Only ONE week left until the Runner's World Half! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!  Where did the time go?  This is what my running has looked like the past few weeks:

 

Week 6 (9/22-9/28) - Two runs of 3-4 miles midweek - 13 mile long run (that felt really good!)

Week 7 (9/29-10/5) - Two runs of 3-4 miles midweek - 7 mile long run (that felt like death!)

Week 8 (10/6-10/12) - Two run of 4 miles midweek - 9 mile long run (that felt amazing!)

 

[Plus:  Weightlifting, Bodypump, HIIT, Circuits, and/or Biking on non-running days]

 

A side note about that 7 mile long run in Week 7.  I think I nearly died of heatstroke.  Ugh, it was horrendous.  It was the week we were having the 80-90 heat wave here and I felt shaky, clammy, nauseous and just really NOT good.  I had 9-10 miles on the agenda for that week but I had to stop. I literally felt like I was going to pass out for at least the last mile.  So this weekend I ran 9 which was a bit more than I would have wanted to do the weekend before the race, but I actually felt really, really good so I didn't want to stop. 

 

This week is all about the TAPER people!  I plan on doing 2 very short, easy runs and maybe a day of light weight lifting or biking.  I also plan on drinking tons of water, coconut water, and Gatorade and EATING. ALL. THE. CARBS.  Yippee!!! I can't wait til next weekend!

 

 

3.  My sister ran her FIRST 5K this weekend!!!  Look at her, isn't she the cutest thing ever?!  She's Bib  #3311:

 

 

This race was the culmination of her summer running program.  I am so excited and so proud of her!  I think she has caught the running bug now and I couldn't be happier :)  I spoke to her yesterday afternoon to ask her all about it, and I could hear the sense of accomplishment in her voice.  There is really nothing like running your first race.  She finished with a great time and was already talking strategy for her next race.  A new runner has been born my friends!  Yet another convert to our side Hahahaha

 

 

4.  And lastly just a public service announcement for you.  If you follow me on Twitter, you'll see I posted this photo after coming home from the grocery store ravenous one evening.  When I am hungry I pick up the most random things:

 

 

 

Broccoli souffle just sounded classy and appetizing to me.  (What?!)  Well, I just 'ate' this with my dinner tonight and it was no bueno my friends.  I urge you in the name of all that is good, do not buy this.  You have been warned. 

 

 

Your turn!

 

How was your weekend?  Anyone race Baltimore or Chicago this weekend?  Or any other races?

 

Anyone racing Runner's World next weekend and want to meet up?  Please say YES!

 

What was your latest grocery store fail purchase?!

 

 



 

 



Weekend recap: Baltimore Women's Classic, Supermoon and #Skywire

For the past few months, I had been volunteering as a running coach for a group of women who were training for a 5K.  It was a wonderful experience not only because I had so much fun doing it, but also because I met so many great women!  Well, the race they were training for finally took place yesterday here in Baltimore.  The Baltimore Women's Classic is one of the largest all-female races in the country and over 3200 women raced yesterday!  I knew it would be pretty impossible to find all of the women from the program in that sea of people but surprisingly I ran into a few along the course.  It was a great opportunity for me to pat them on the shoulder and give them some encouragement along the way! One of the ladies thanked me for stopping to acknowledge her and said "I'm going to keep you in my sights Coach!".  I also ran into a couple of people at the finish line in the race village.  As far as my personal race, I didn't really have much of a strategy.  It had been a year since I ran a competitive 5K and I don't really train for fast short distances.  In my mind I was hoping for a sub 25.  Well, I missed it by 16 seconds! Don't you just hate when that happens?!  I was also hoping for negative splits but in actuality I didn't really train for that either.  Negative splits generally just naturally happen for me in my runs because I usually start out slower and gain speed throughout, but it's not something I'm consciously doing.  When I checked my Garmin after the race, I saw I ran a fast 1st mile, slower 2nd mile and my fastest 3rd mile so I guess I somewhat negative split it :)  I ended up 30th in my age group - finishing 199 out of 3211 runners overall. Not too shabby I suppose but the fastest female finisher ran a 16 minute race?! WHAT? Mind blown.

All in all it was a great race and I actually enjoyed the quickness of it and the fun atmosphere.  I'm thinking about squeezing in a few more 5K's this summer before the Runner's World Half in October.  My sister just signed up for a summer training program and will be running her first 5K in the fall and I couldn't be more excited!  I'm hoping to do a race with her when she completes her program.  Ok now for some pics:

Post race - sweaty and smiling :)

 

 

Me, One of our trainees Ashley, and Wendy another great coach



 

 

After the race, I came home and settled in for an evening of Supermoon and Sky Wire.  Let me explain.

 

I am kind of an astronomy nerd so I was excited that yesterday was supposed to be the biggest and brightest moon of the year.  It certainly was beautiful last night but it wasn't one of those low hanging giant orange moons that we sometimes get in the fall that look like they're right out of a movie (Harvest moon maybe?).  So I came back inside and mentally prepared for this madness:

 

 via

 

Did anyone else tune in to the Discovery Channel last night for Sky Wire Live?!  Nik Wallenda is a professional wire walker who decided he was going to walk across the Grand Canyon yesterday with no safety net and no tether.  I have to admit this was incredibly hard to watch.  I was simultaneously watching, tweeting about this (the tweets last night were hilarious), texting with my sister and sweating like a maniac.  I just can't wrap my head around someone's desire and ability to do something like this.  It is completely beyond my comprehension.  However, just because I don't understand it, doesn't necessarily make it wrong. I mean if this guy is truly living out his God given talent and purpose on earth who I am or anyone else to say that it's irresponsible or crazy? I do have issues with him having children and having them watch this, but by all accounts it appears that this is truly what this man was meant to do and I don't think he could stop even if he wanted to.  It seems like wire walking is in his DNA?! In any case, it made me think that if we all tapped into our truest selves and discovered what we were put here to do, we could all achieve things that seem impossible.  This wire walking is extreme, but weren't the worlds greatest inventors, writers, artists, scientists, etc considered crazy or extremist as well?  I guess if we have the courage to tap into our weirdness some pretty great things can come of it.  Whatever you think of this guy, you have to admit he has great courage to follow his dreams. 

 

*Fun fact - Nik Wallenda performed in Baltimore last summer! He walked on a wire strung across the Inner Harbor to celebrate the opening of Ripley's Believe it or Not down here.  I didn't get to see him live because I was working, but I did have a view of the crowd outside my office! You can read the article here.

 

 

My questions for you today:

 

When was your last race and what distance was it? Do you enjoy 5K's?

 

Did you watch Sky Wire last night? What are your thoughts?