Runnin' Diva

Diva Dash:
2+ mi w/u
Goals - #1 win race
             #2 - 5k @ sub 18 minutes
Actual: 5k @ 17:43; 1st place
3 mi c/d
Results

It was a brisk morning, last Saturday (1/12), but it didn't stop me from running in the inaugural Springfield Diva Dash. Those that follow my blog know the Diva Dashes are a favorite race series of mine. In most part because KC Running company puts on good races with pretty accurate courses. There are flags at every mile and usually a pretty cool finishing area.
 
This race was originally scheduled for early December, but was postponed secondary to all the snow we've had this winter. Having taken a small vacation from running to recover from all the miles and races of 2013, I'd set fairly conservative goals. I had done a solo 3 mile tempo run at Frisco Trail last weekend, so I had a decent idea of my current fitness level. With weather and racing conditions, breaking 18 minutes (5:50ish pace) seemed like a legit challenge for myself. I was right, I made it about halfway through the race, then heading back up St. Louis street with the wind and cold, it was really hard to stay motivated and make myself hurt. I'm not going to lie, this felt like the longest. 5k. ever.


I'm not too familiar with downtown Springfield yet, so not sure what point in the race this was.

 





Yay! Finish.

 

It was nice seeing my old college roommate, Courtney. She was down so that she could go to the alumni weekend events at MOSO for the women's track team. Marshall and I went as well. . . I sure do miss all my old teammates. I wish some of them would move to Springfield.

 

Nice seeing Courtney. . . even if she did imply that I was a wimp and over dressed for this race ;)
What can I say, I HATE being cold.

 

Week in Review (1/13-1/19)

46 miles

1 day off

1 ART session

13 mile long run

 

I've been struggling to get back into a regular running routine. Marshall and I finally thought this would be the week. However, I started a new pair of shoes and for whatever reason, ended up with a painful bruise on my 1st metatarsal-phalangeal joint (top of foot where big toe bend). I'm not sure how this happened, as I had already logged nearly 40 miles on this particular pair of shoes. I was dressed and ready to run Saturday, but every pair of shoes I tried on put too much pressure on that spot, so I ended up on the bike keeping Marshall company on his run. Anyways, Marshall put some Kinesio tape on it to help with swelling and lymphatics, and I was able to run my long run this morning, but went with a different shoe just to be on the safe side.

 

Despite the lackluster amount of miles, they have all been of good quality (maybe I got a little too carried away). . . I'm waiting for this to catch up with me sometime in the near future. The hamstring has also been feeling better as I've been getting regular ART treatments from Marshall. 

Year in Review - 2013

Posts have been kind of sparse the past month. Marshall and I decided to take some time off running, as I feel like I never fully recovered after my marathon in early October. We kept pushing through because we had a couple local 5ks lined up to run that would take us to early December. The original plan was to keep running until after the Springfield Diva Dash, which was to be held the first week in December. . . didn't happen though. After an early snow, there was nearly a foot of snow on the ground the day the race was supposed to be (not to mention temps were supposed to be in the single digits. . . brrrr!)

Day after Christmas. . . 5 days later we were wearing shorts

After 10 straight days of no running, we are back at it. Easing into it and slowly building mileage. It sucks being out of shape, but I'm looking forward to another great year in 2014! We've been running for over a week now, so runs are starting to get easier (but no warmer, darn!)

Year in Review:
Current miles - 2630
16 races
4 PR's
2nd marathon completed :) (and now pondering which one to do in 2014

• Best race experience? Close call on this one, but I'm going to have to go with USA Championships at the Twin Cities Marathon. I had the chance to line up with some of the fastest Women in the USA (had to be American citizen to qualify for the race). It was a beautiful course with a unique finish running towards the capital building. This was a huge PR for me, and gave me a great sense of accomplishment having spent 9 weeks preparing for it (although, 9 weeks is a little on the short side, I'd rather had about 15-20 weeks as most books suggest

 

• Best run? This is a hard one .....probably my 24 mile run 3 weeks before the marathon. I ran fast enough to be on pace to set a PR from my prior marathon of (3:01:41). I felt so at ease and relaxed that my confidence shot up before Twin Cities.
• Best new piece of gear?  Racing flats - Saucony Virrata. This is my new favorite shoe! The only shoe I've ever been able to run a half marathon in without getting a blister. I even decided to run my full marathon in them and had no problems in that distance either. Not to mention, at only 6.0 ounces, they are light enough for a 5k as well.

 

• Best piece of running advice you received? Give yourself a chance. (Although sometimes this leads to me flying and dying, lol) 
• Most inspirational runner? Matthew Elliott, essentially not well known to the running world. He's a full-time teacher from South Carolina who has accomplished big things this year. His interview with Flotrack after the USA championships in Des Moines was voted best interview of the year. He gets very emotional during the interview just moments after the race where, "I passed the whole damn field man." Check it out here: Matthew Elliott Full-TimeTeacher Gets 4th at USAs

 

• If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? Dream big, you never know until you try