San Antonio 2012 Race Report

We rocked it!  That's one way of describing the great time we had at the 2012 San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon.  San Antonio is an awesome city to visit and the over 50,000 visitors there all seemed to enjoy themselves.  We went to the Riverwalk Friday night and had drinks at MadDog.  Saturday morning we found Starbucks and then breakfast at Blanco Cafe, very yummy.  We headed to the expo to get race packets, check out the booths, and shop for running must haves. We talked to booths about our upcoming Jingle Bell Run and asked for participation.  We had reservations at Roses on the River at 7 pm and had some great Mexican food and Ritas.  Saturday night was an early bed time, so we could be ready to wake at 6 am.  We walked to the start line around 7 am and wished each other luck while we separated into the designated corrals. There were 33 corrals going off every minute.  I lined up in Corral 8 and stretched what little I could with a mob of people all around.  Our corral moved up and by 7:38 we were off.  The first mile was congested and slow as my garmin told me my pace was a 9:41.  The runners around me were not going the 9:10 pace I was hoping for.  I gentleman in his 70's came flying by me in a red ball cap and a red race shirt from 2009.  I decided to tuck in behind him and visualized a rubber band that encircled the two of us.  Mile 2 was a 9:24, mile 3 and 4 was a 8:56, and mile 5 was a 9:10 pace.  Somewhere after mile 5 I lost my running hero at a water stop and felt the heat and humidity affecting me.  Mile 6 and 7 were around a 9:25 pace, but after that I slowed even more.  Mile 8 and 9 were at 9:47, mile 10 picked up to 9:27, then mile 11 and 12 were 10:06 and 10:09.  I found Suzanne and we ran the last mile in together at a 9:43 pace, then the last .2 miles we attempted to sprint in at a 8:36 pace.  Overall time was 2:05:47.  I had hoped for my first sub 2 hour half marathon but new that the weather wasn't cooperating.  It was 80 degrees when I finished the race.  I got my medal, my food, and my free beer and headed to find my friends.  I videotaped some of the awards ceremony, and listened to country music star Jo Dee Mesina sing on stage.  She had run the half marathon and followed it by performing as the headliner at the concert just minutes later.  Fantastic.  I had a blast with the 14 friends that traveled to this race.  I think I prefer the smaller races with less participants but I had a great time overall.

  

Ready to Rock San Antonio

The San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon is this Sunday.  I will be running the half marathon.  I am really looking forward to a fun weekend with my gal running pals.  I've ran this race in 2009, 2010, and 2011.  It's a fun course with lots of crowd support and great stuff to see.  Running in front of the Alamo is amazing.  I ran the full last year which wasn't great as it got hot and boring, but the half is a good race.  I'm hoping I can break the 2 hour mark and PR at this race.  I don't think the weather is cooperating with that plan though.  I run much faster in very cool temps, if every race was in the forties, I'd be one happy runner.  So far the high this Sunday is the eighties, so it may kill any chances of a PR, but we will have to wait and see.

Race Report- Gator Run

A new half marathon PR of 2:01:25 and an age group award.  I am surprised and thrilled.  The Brazos Bend Gator Run was a great run, many thanks to Matt Ney and Powerhouse Pilates for putting on such a great event.  They had great race swag and yummy food, as well as hot coffee and hot cocoa as it was in the 40's and cold this morning.  I definately had a negative split at this race.  I started the race at a 9:45 pace and saw an 8:45 pace towards the end with an overall average pace of 9:16 min/mile which is much faster than all of my training runs.  January 27th they have an ultra- a 50K that I may have to go for.

Cold Front, why yes thank you

The first real cold front is blowing in today, and this one will hang around more than 24 hours.  Just in time for all the great races this weekend!  The Monster Dash 5K at MacLean park is 10/27 at 8 am.  I have 2 medals from prior years and won the costume contest last year.  League City has a 5K event on 10/27 as well.  I will be running the Gator half marathon on 10/28.  Looking forward to a low of 48 and a high of 60.  Between these three races, I have 350 flyers for our Jingle Bell Run going out in race packets so hope we have some additional participants sign up this weekend. 

Brazos Bend Gator Run

My next big race is coming up, the Gator Run at Brazos Bend State Park.  This race is a half marathon trail run and will be my first time to participate in it.  I'm looking forward to this race for the soft trails, the pretty scenery and of course the race medal.  Trails are a little more technical than road running which will be a nice change.  So far my longest run of late has been a 15 miler so I feel like I am ready for the distance.  And hopefully the cooler temperatures of the fall will have kicked in by then.  I cooler it is the faster I run!  Hope everyone is having a great time training for this race season.  Race date is on October 28, 2012, come out and run with me.

Awareness

So this is day 15 of my food log using the Lose it app on my Iphone.  I don't think I'm overweight or have a distorted self image that makes me believe I'm fat while wearing a size 4.  I just want to be aware of my nutrition and have a lean racing weight for the upcoming marathon season.  My BMI is currently 20.66 This number is awesome when compared to my BMI in May 2009 of over 33.  So relatively speaking I am very happy with my current health and fitness.  Female Elite athletes typically run at a BMI between 18-19.  Will I ever be an elite athlete?  Well heck no, not in this lifetime.  But it couldn't hurt to try to lower my BMI while training for the marathon season and see if it helps me hit a new PR, personal record.  Mostly I compete against myself, to try and improve myself.  It's fun, challenging, and has lots of positive rewards.  So the Lose it App is very helpful and tracks your nutrition as well as goals.  I review it all, calories, protien, carbs, and fat.  I really enjoy putting in the exercise and watching a 10 mile run subtract 1000 calories from a day.  I'd definately recommend this app.

JINGLE BELL RUN TIME!

http://www.raceit.com/search/event.aspx?id=15201

Fall is in the air, and these cooler temps are perfect racing weather.  Make a 5K your fitness goal.  Already an avid runner?  Get your new PR at this fun race supporting the Salvation Army!