Kirtland Strides of March 5K Race Report

Some things just turn out better than you expect they will. The Kirtland Strides of March 5K was one of those things. It's close to home and for a good cause so my husband and I had it on the race calendar as a tentative. After running St. Malachi a couple weeks back and both running PRs, we decided to keep it on the calendar as a good possibility (assuming we both felt good about it closer to race date).

Saturday we discussed and both felt positively that the weather and conditions should be plausible for a decent race. We decided to run it assuming we felt fine that next morning so we went ahead and got our race stuff ready the night before and headed to bed at a reasonable time. We woke up and felt okay. I didn't feel very nervous, which was not the case with St Malachi. We got dressed in our race gear, ate some granola and headed to the Holden Arboretum, where the race was starting to register.

Once registered, we headed back to the car to pin our bibs on, get our stuff ready and did a mile warm-up at a 9-minute pace just to warm up. When we lined up I wasn't feeling a victory but was secretly hoping to place at least in my age group. I lined up in front and tried to fight my desire to take off too fast at the start as I have a tendency to do. My first mile was a wee bit fast at 6:45 but reasonable. For a little bit I thought I was second place female as I had passed one female and only saw one more ahead. Not the case. We hit the turn-around since it was an out and back and I realized I was in third. Still third overall is good I will take it! So the trick was just to hold onto it, which is always easier said than done. I bonked a little around mile 2.5 and stopped for a few seconds. I thought to myself you had better get moving again because if you loose third because you are a sissy and walk that is not cool. So off I went. The course was a little hilly so it wasn't the easiest 5k ever but that just makes placing even sweeter.

I came in third with a time of 22:33 (not a PR but a good time for me now). Second place female was 21:34 - about a minute ahead. Also almost ten years younger ;) First place female was 19:19. Not bad for early season. As you can see from my smile I was happy to place. A special thank you to my my sponsors especially Swiftwick for keeping my feet happy and PowerBar Team Elite for fueling my workouts and of course Rev3 Triathlon and my Team Rev3 teammates for all the support! You guys are awesome!

Steve was 11th overall to my 21 and placed third in his age group with a time of 20:03. All in all we were happy with the result. Especially since we have not been doing speed and have been focusing on longer endurance runs and also lots of biking and swimming.

After the race we ran another eight to make our goal for the week. Next up is a half marathon in a couple weeks. Hoping to have another PR and who knows if I am lucky maybe I will place again. Watch for the race report in a few weeks.

New Sponsors For Team Rev3

It's been a stellar couple of weeks in terms of training and racing. I feel so fortunate to have so much support behind me this year with Team Rev3 and of course my husband, family, friends and coach! Being on a team definitely has its perks too outside of the new friends and guidance received. Rev3 has put together a terrific list of sponsors for us including themselves!

• Powerbar - As part of Powerbar's Team Elite, we have access to a generous amount of Powerbar's products! I just got two big boxes of goodies last week to help fuel all that running, biking and swimming! Everything is delicious. Especially loving the orange recovery drink right now!
• Pearl Izumi - Our Rev3 kits will be provided by PI as well as some other awesome goodies like shoes and more apparel!
• Swiftwick - Our awesome sock sponsor is providing free and discounted compression footwear. I raced in a pair already and love them!
• Blueseventy - Our official swim and wetsuit sponsor has provided a nice discount on their merchandise. I just ordered a new wetsuit and expect it to arrive anytime now!  
• SBR Sports (Foggle, TriSwim, TriSlide) is providing for all of our swimcare products like Foggle, which is a must for keeping goggles clear and the shampoo/soap/lotion are awesome at getting the pool smell off!
• NormaTec MVP will be helping us out with compression boots to help those TIRED legs recover after long workouts. Can't wait to try these out!
• Blue and Argon 18 are offering discounts for the team members who want to purchase a new bike.

The more I engage in this sport, I see how much it takes to be successful. It takes a lot of dedication, planning and focus and it also takes a lot of fuel and gear. Thank you Rev3 and all team sponsors for your generosity this season! It is very much appreciated and needed!

St Malachi Race Report: Luck of the Irish

I'm happy to report that the first race of 2012 is now in the books! And fortunately it went better than I expected! After suffering from tendonitis in my right foot and then facing some  other health issues for a few weeks, my training wasn't exactly ideal for racing. I was only able to get in one interval workout about two weeks before the race so I was nervous about my performance. Okay, that's putting it mildly. I pretty much freaked out Saturday morning before the race.

I talked myself down from the ledge with a little help from Steve and we arrived at the race site around 9:15. Plenty of time to get ready and warm-up for the 9:45 start. We ran a mile slow just to loosen up, hit the very long lines for the porta-pottys, split a bottle of water and lined up close to the front. Although according to Steve not close enough as we spent the first couple minutes passing slower runners.

My first mile felt good as I kept it at a comfortably hard pace but did not go all out as I have the tendency to do. I knew I would need to save a little for the end of this race as it probably one of the most challenging 5-mile courses around Cleveland. Miles 2 and 3 were the same. I saw Steve as I headed for the turn-around. He was about 1/4 mile or 1/3 mile ahead. I skipped the water stand and went full speed ahead. Was a little fatigued around mile 3.8 before the flats under the bridges but held steady. After the brutal uphill climb back onto the bridge I had to collect myself for a few seconds and then I choked it up to finish strong in 35:55. Definitely better than I expected at a 7:11 pace. Although not nearly good enough to rank in my age group. I was 14th out of 260. Not bad I suppose for the season opener. Special thanks to Swiftwick for helping my feet stay happy! Swiftwick is a team sponsor this year of Team Rev3 and provided socks for the race! Love them and will be wearing them at EVERY race this season!

Steve was waiting at the finish and we grabbed some food then headed over to the after-race party at McCarthy's. The bar was packed as you can imagine since 3500 people run the race and most go directly after to the bar.  Here's a pic of me and Steve after the race. Don't worry we freshened up and changed into some dry, clean gear after the race. I always do because otherwise I smell like a big, sweaty 200+ # man.

It was nice running into friends and celebrating with some hard-earned beers. I was happy to have my Bell's Two-Hearted Ale! Jill and Beal were enjoying their Summer Shandies!