Sunday, April 3, 2011

Spring Forward 15k

A busy week followed by a busy weekend.  Feels like I have not had a break in over a month.  But if life wasn't busy what fun would that be?

Saturday I attended my future sister-in-laws baby shower.  I am so excited for her because she is having identical TWIN BOYS!!  One of the things I am looking forward to when I marry Brian is gaining sisters and nephews because I am an only child.  It was a fun day of family and friends with lots of food!

Just like when Brian's sister had her son last March, I made blankets for the babies! 

Sunday dawned early as Brian and I headed to the 15k race.  I met a friend from running club and we warmed up together.  It was a cold 35F morning with lots of sun.  The plan was to start off slow (8-8:15 pace) and then negative split the second half but that didn't exactly work out.

It was an extremely hilly course and the toughest 15k I have ever run (even tougher than the Boilermaker 15k).  I started off feeling really good at about a 7:45 pace which was too fast but I was feeling good so I just kept going.


At the 6 mile mark I saw Brian and my running coach.  They both cheered me on as I continued to run.  A little after the 10km mark the course started a gradual uphill for almost a mile and it was brutal.  I slowed down and started to get tired.  If the last 5km of the race had not been mainly uphill I think I would have broken my PR of 1:11 from last years Boilermaker.


Although it was hilly, I finished feeling good and not totally spent.  This was supposed to be a training run/tune up race to see where I am at for the half marathon and I think I have that now.



Results:
Finish Time: 1:12:23
Average pace: 7:46
Place: 127/514
Age Group: 4/45

Another race in the books...another step closer to the half marathon in May!

16 comments:

Christine said...

Awesome run on a tough course - you are soo ready for the half marathon :)

Anne said...

You did great on such a hilly course! Congrats!

Aww those baby blankets are so cute :)

Anonymous said...

wooooooooooooot! that's is an awesome race. you did fabulously :)

i feel you on not having a break. this weekend i lied to many people and said i was traveling so i could have a rest shhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Nicole said...

Great job speedy mcspeederson!!! :) Love the pics too!!!

Amy said...

Way to go on your race! You are going to kick butt in the half! Those baby blankets are cute. Did you knit or crochet them?

d.a.r. said...

I only have a little brother, so marrying Z was a blast--he has two sisters, both of whom are married--one bro in law has 5 siblings all of whom are married. There are lots of huge family gatherings, tons of nieces and nephews, and it makes life SO much fun! I kinda love the craziness :)

Congrats on your race!!

Anonymous said...

great run!
and twin boys... exciting.

misszippy said...

That's a great pace on such a tough sounding course! Way to go.

Those blankets are too sweet. I'm sure they'll love them.

Little Miss Runshine said...

Great race!!!
I'm thinking of doing the boilermaker! I have some family members who live around there! :)

Marlene said...

Congrats J! Sounds like you achieved what you set out to do - I love a good tune up race! Good things to come at the HM for sure. :)

Suzy said...

Congrats on a great race. A tune-up race is a great idea. It really lets you know where you are for your half. The course sounds wicked tough though.

Allison said...

Congrats on the great race! It sounds like you are well-prepared for your half.

Kim said...

Awesome job, speedster! Especially with that uphill in the second half. Boo on that! :P

How exciting that your future SiL is having identical twins!!! COOL!!!

Unknown said...

Great race! Sounds like you're right where you need to be for your half!

Anonymous said...

Great job on a tough course! Keep up the hard work and you're going to kill!

Felice Devine said...

Great job! Hills are tough but they make you such a tougher runner!