New Training Coach and Biggest Little 5k Recap

Last weekend I ran the Biggest Little 5k. I always hate the chance to pass up a cheap 5k on the weekends (this one was only $25). I should have had some sense of how things would go down just by the start time of 10:00am in 80 degree weather.

At packet pickup, they told me the t-shirts have been lost in the mail along with all of the samples. So the only thing I got at the pickup was my bib. Lucky number 666.

The day of the race at the start line, I was greeted by a cloud of smoke from spectators. The person starting the race was thanking us all for coming and then randomly said "begin". Everyone just kind of stood around looking confused. He said again "start". Again, everyone was standing around. Finally, he said, "start means go". A few people started walking past the start line a little confused, and then finally everyone took off running. I was confused myself. Usually we sing the national anthem, or at least have a countdown to the start. Because of this delay, everyone had 10sec added to their overall time (it was not a chip start). The run itself was hot and kind of dreadful. The course was poorly marked, and there were not any volunteers along the course except at the aide station. Luckily, a lot of 5ks around Reno are held on this exact course, so I knew where to go. I don't really have much more to say about the course. I did ok and came in at 25:48 (25:36 according to my watch). They gave out prizes for the top 3 overall, which kind of sucks because the top 3 were all men. I don't think I would do this race again, but since it is the inaugural year, it might be better next year after they get feedback.

In other news. I got a running coach! I joined a program called Endurance Fitness and Scientific Testing (EFAST). It includes a personalized training plan and a 1 or 2 days a week run team. The run team is awesome, because it is highly coached and I receive a lot of feedback on my form and speed. At the beginning of each run we perform running drills and at the end we have a team stretch and core workout. I have heard a lot of positive things about EFAST and how much people I know have improved upon joining. I am excited to be part of this and see is I improve any. I just finished my first week in the program. It was a tough first week. The week included track intervals, a hill run, a progressive run, and then a long run. I have to admit, my legs were like lead all week. I am used to running easy almost every day.

Have you ever joined a coaching program?

Blogging is not a Talent of Mine

Okay, so I am probably the worst blogger in the history of blogging. I have noticed I have really only been posting when I have a race recap, or once a month, whichever comes first. I started writing this blog so I could keep track of my training and I don’t know, maybe look back down the road in a few years and reflect on how my running obsession began. But, according the frequency of my entries, it doesn't look like I’ll have much to reflect on. I did the same thing when I tried to keep a journal when I was younger. I wrote in it about once a year and it was always about some new boy I had a crush on. I digress. I think one of my New Year’s Resolutions this coming year will be to blog weekly. Anyway, a lot has been going on in my little world of running. I scored another 5k PR in the Trick-or-Treat 5k on October 29^th. It was a little short of a full 5k (I think it was 3 miles on the dot), but I will take a PR anyway I can get it. So…my new PR is 25:19 (8:07/mi)! I can almost take the sub 25 minute 5k! I wont get a chance to try out another 5k for some time because 5k season in our area is definitely over.

I am only signed up for one more race this year, the Turkey Trot. It's one of the bigger races here in Reno with over 1,000 participants. It will be my first 10k ever and my longest race to date. Because it's my first 10k, I'm not taking it too seriously. I just want to get a feel for the race distance. Best part about this race, is I get a free sweatshirt, rather than a t-shirt, AND it was only $25 to sign up!!! This could potentially be my last race for a while. My hubby and I are looking to start a family pretty soon. I really hope to keep running throughout pregnancy, but I think racing will be out.

How many times can I change subjects in one post? Three. I'm changing subjects again (but that's what happens when I have a lot to say and don't post enough). I have started running with a new group last week. Northern Sierra Endurance Training, they are a free running/training group here. I love free! They typically meet on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Saturdays and have 3 different distances you can run depending on what you're training for. I met up with them last Tuesday and Saturday. I ran with this group once before a few months ago and I was scared to go back. The group took off at a pace faster than I could keep up with. One of the guys in that group didn't want to leave me behind, so he ran with me the entire time. I felt bad because I knew I was holding him back. This time however, there were 2 newbies to the group who were running the same distance I was, so we agreed to stick together. They were a perfect pace for me! I decided to make Saturdays my long run day rather than Sunday, so I chose the 8mi distance. There was one other guy who was running that distance and he didn't want to run by himself, so he said he'd run at whatever pace I wanted to. He forgot his glasses, so I was appointed navigator. Bad idea!!! I have never ran a new course without getting lost! And true to form, I got us both lost. I missed a turn somewhere (there were over 16 turns to make total) and we had to backtrack. So our 8 mile run, turned into 9.25mi. Oh, well. He had good spirits about it. I felt good about this run because the last time I ran more than 6mi was over 3 months ago. We averaged 10:07/mi while talking, with hills. I know that may not be a fast pace for some, but it was a fast training pace for me to be able to talk all the way through.

All right, enough of the chatter.

Do you still have any races you are signed up for the rest of the year?

The Joy of Racing

I am going to be very sad once this racing season is over because I have really taking this racing thing head on, some might even say obsessed. I have only been consistently running since February and my first race was March 17th. Since then I have ran 10 races and I still have at least 3 more planned for the rest of the year. A lot of people say they run for sanity, health, etc. Is it bad to say that I run to race? Racing is so exciting to me. The competition, the atmosphere, the goal of trying to better myself. I think Oprah Winfrey said it best when she said:

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it”

This quote is so true. This is why I love running/racing. How I compete at a race is a direct correlation to how I’ve trained. Unlike in other team sports where you are depending on others, it’s only you. I’m not saying I don’t love team sports (because I do), but there is no one else to blame. If I don’t do well, it’s all on me. I consider myself to be a very independent person, and running is a great independent sport.

On that note of not blaming anyone or anything for my perceived failures, I have yet another race recap to talk about.This past weekend I participated in the Race to Benefit the Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit 5k and 10k. This was the inaugural year for this race, and like most races, I couldn’t resist the allure of a free technical t-shirt and cheap entry fee ($25). This was a very small race with only 162 people doing the 5k and another 79 doing the 10k. I opted for the 5k. Since this run was put on by the Reno Running Company, they were giving away gift certificates for AG winners 3 deep. The course was definitely not flat by any means, so I knew I would most likely not PR, but since it was such a small race, I thought I had a shot at an age group placement. This race started about 15 minutes later than it should have. One of my friends and her husband were running in the race so I lined up with her near the middle back. The race started about 15mins late (better late than never I guess).  The first .75mi was downhill. I should have taken the opportunity to use the downhill and go out really fast, but again my fear of going out too fast got the better of me. My first split was 8:14. The course was a lollipop shape through a neighborhood. It wasn’t pretty or scenic, and like I said previously it was not flat. The next mile was 8:41. Since this was a lollipop course, I would have to go back up that huge downhill in the beginning of the race. It was tougher than it should have been. I struggled the entire way up, but still managed to eke out an 8:44 for the final mile and 7:35 for the last .1mi. My friends husband was already done and relaxing by the time I got to the finish line. This was his first 5k and he still managed to place first in his age group and 12th overall. My results…not so good. I placed 32nd overall and 4th in my AG (for the 4th time, will it ever be my time to get an AG placement). However, upon a closer look I noticed something about the girl in 3rd place.

Place	Name	City	Bib	Age	Chiptime	Guntime	Pace
1	Lauren Tomory		308	26	20:28	20:29	6:36
2	Eleanor Su	Reno	215	23	23:03	23:05	7:26
3	Hayley George	Witon	119	26	26:52	26:55	8:40
4	Lynsey Day (me)	Reno	104	28	26:48	26:57	8:41

Do you see it? She had a faster gun time than me, but I had the faster chip time. Normally I wouldn’t put up a fuss, but there was a gift certificate to my favorite running store on the line, So I went up to the women who was posting the results and asked her if they were going by gun time or chip time. She wasn’t sure but said I should go talk to the people doing the timing. I went to them, and they said they were pretty sure it was going by chip time. So I told them that my chip time was faster than the girl in 3rd place. They told me to go talk to the race director. I found him and asked him the same question. Chip time, or gun time? He told me they were going by gun time because he didn’t think it was fair that if someone showed up 5 minutes late to the race and crossed the finish line after everyone else should deserve an award. In the nicest way I could I said, “So, even though I was on time for the race and ran the course 4 seconds faster than the girl in 3rd place, but obviously started behind her, I don’t deserve 3rd place in my AG?” He just said that they were trying to be as fair as possible and that awards should be given by who crossed the finish line first. Seriously??? Had I known that, I would have started up at the front. I have to say I feel pretty cheated out of an AG and a gift certificate. I was a good sport and still clapped for her when they called her name.

So, 26:48...not my best, but also not my worst. I guess that is about my average for a 5k. My Garmin put me at a 8:30 pace because it said I went a total of 3.15mi. I honestly don’t think I will be running in their 2nd annual race, but it was still a race, and I still had a great time.

Running with the Cows Race Recap

This was my first 5k since the Safe and Healthy Homes 5k I did in the middle of May.


This was an interesting race. It was held in Fallon, NV (about an hour from Reno). This 5k was
a 5k for the rest of us". The way this 5k was set up was that runners started in waves according to their weight. The more a person weighed, the sooner they'd start. Each group started 2 minutes after the previous group, and the timer officially started with the last group starts. I was in the very last group, so I started 12 minutes after the first group took off. This was fun because, I was able to pass a ton of people. It's a good ego booster. I wish I would have kept track of how many, but I didn't. This was probably the first race ever where I wasn't passed.

I have 3 complaints about this race:

1. It was way too hot! I know this wasn't the race directors fault, but it was a scorcher. I felt like I could have went a lot faster had we had some shade along the way.
2. There were about 6 or 7 turns on the route. I think the best races are comprised of one big loop, or out and back. The entire time I was wondering where in the heck I was going.
3. This was supposed to be a "flat and fast" route, not so. According to my GPS was a slow incline the entire way. I hate any type of incline. I am horrible at hills.

The cool things about this race were:

1. It was only a $20 entry fee.
2. We got Tech shirts and not the cheap cotton shirts.
3. Everyone got finishers medals.

 I had a lot of expectations for this race because I just finished running the Reno Tahoe Odyssey. Which is a 12 person team relay race that covers 178 miles. During my legs I was consistently running sub 9 minute miles, so I really wanted to finish this 5k with an average of sub 9:00/mi. Mission accomplished. I finished with an overall time of 26:27. A new PR by 1:43 minutes! This averages out to 8:32/mi. Since I started running in February, I have shaved off about 5 mins from my overall time. 

I am excited for my next race, another 5k on June 23rd.