Petco 5K9 Powered by Purina

Good Morning! 

I didn't do much running last week, my grand total was 11 miles.  So far this week isn't looking too great either, boo.  Last week I was feeling a little burnt out and decided to take it easy.  I also have this hacking cough that just won't quit and it kept me up most of last night, amazing.  I am going to need to get creative this week to get my runs in and will be making friends with my treadmill again.  Actually I am not worried about my mileage right now since I feel like I've been hitting it hard most of the year.  Sometimes I need a break from the 5:30 wake up.  

I did do a 5K with Katie and Maverick on Sunday and it was a lot of fun!  The Petco 5K9 Walk/Run was held in Portland at Columbia Annex Park in North Portland.  I wasn't sure how I would feel going into it since I hadn't ran much earlier in the week.  Katie picked up my race bib and swag bag for me and had it waiting for me when I met up with her and Maverick.  That bag was full!  

Katie's swag bag picture but you get the idea 

I absolutely love when races offer the participants a free race photo.  I think this is a huge benefit to someone registering for a race.  They had photo booths for all of the race participants and printed the picture right there for you to take home.  Kuddos to this race for offering that!  

I should really have opened my eyes for the picture 

This race was open to anyone not just runners with dogs.  Katie and I ran the 5K with Maverick and it was so fun to see so many different dogs out there running.  All of the dogs had huge smiles on their faces and it was fun to watch them all come through the finish line.  Whenever I run with Katie and Maverick it makes me realize how much I want a dog to run with.  While Lucy is my favorite little pug I can't expect her to be able to go out and run with me, she's a walker.  I definitely see our family adopting another dog one day and I look forward to getting him or her out there to run with me.  

Earlier this summer Purina sent me some of their new dog food line Dog Chow Light & Healthy.  

Now I wouldn't call my little Lucy "light" but she is healthy and happy.  

And adorable 

We like to go on walks and she loves to run circles around the house and in the backyard.  Just like people, dogs who are exercised regularly and fed a healthy diet are happier dogs.  Lucy has always eaten Purina and I feel good about the product they sell.  Healthy dogs are happy dogs!  Purina also sent me a pet pedometer.  Lucy is going to wear it for a week and then we are going to have Maverick wear it.  I am interested to see the difference between the two!  We both already know Maverick will have a higher number but it will be fun to see the difference between a pug and lab.  

Every time I run a 5K I am reminded that I really do enjoy them.  Don't get me wrong the half marathon will always have my heart but really pushing it for a 5k just feels good.  Plus I am done in less than 30 minutes, always a plus.  Don't forget The Color Run 5K is coming to Portland in just a few weeks, don't forget to use this code to get $5 off!   

**Purina sent me a 4lb bag and some samples for me and my dog friends to try.  I've always used Purina with Lucy and felt safe using their product.  I didn't receive any financial compensation for this post and they did not sponsor me to run the Petco 5K9, I paid the registration fee myself.  I do believe that keeping yourself and your animals fit and healthy is important.  All opinions are my own**  

Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon Review

Hi! 

I hope you had a great 4th of July!  We are pretty wiped out over here from all the fun, we had an amazing Independence Day.  Hence why this post is going up after 9 on a Friday night and it has taken me over an hour to just get this written down.  This mom is beat! 

Yesterday morning Katie and I had an early wake up call (4 AM) so that we could run the Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon on Sauvie Island.  Luckily I was able to get to bed early the night before because dark o'thirty isn't anybody's friend.  

Terrible Selfie 

I didn't know what I was going to wear until I started getting ready for bed and it was time to lay everything out.  I bought some cheap necklaces from the Dollar Tree and put my headband together with what I had around and possibly stole some bows from the girls.  I wore my white Lululemon Pace Setter skirt, my Portland Fit tech tee from last year and of course my Mizuno Wave Riders.  

I needed to get there early because I didn't pick up my bib at the packet pick-ups and bib pick up started at 5:30 AM.  Luckily I have the bestest friend in the world and she picked mine up since I got stuck in the parking back up.  A lot of people took the shuttle to the island but I am el cheapo didn't want to pay out any more money to ride the shuttle and figured I would just get there early enough to park.  There was plenty of parking that I could see and I would have been stuck in the traffic even on the shuttle.  

Pre-Race

I was parked by 5:50 AM and had an hour before the half marathon was set to take off.  We sat and kept warm in the car till it was time for the marathoners to take off at 6:30 AM.  Both Katie and I were surprised at how few of them there were, probably less than 200 total.  

Then we figured we should get in line for the porta potties along with everyone else running the half.  I don't think the lined moved the entire time we stood in it so we just gave up.  

Race

The race started on time which was nice but Katie and I both agreed it should have started in waves.  The island is small and uses a two lane road and we were only using 1 lane for the race.  We were backed up for the first 2 miles and did a lot of swerving and walk/jogging.  It was fine because neither of us were going for time and ended up stopping at the mile 2 aid station to use the porta potties.  .  

Yes I ran with my parade flag the entire race, win! 

There were 7 aid stations for the half and I stopped at 6 of them for water and one for a snack.  I am realizing with each half marathon I really need to be ingesting more calories.  I brought 1 Peanut Butter GU and ate half of a sample size Cliff Protein bar, wasn't a fan of either.  The race pretty much lived up to its name minus one little hill on the out and back and the miles seemed to click off fairly quickly.  Like I said earlier we weren't running for time, just out for a fun run celebrating the 4th together!  

  

Post-Race

The finish line had another aid station with plenty of water for everyone and of course our medals! 

They had fresh strawberry shortcake and hot dogs for all of the runners and surprisingly the line for hot dogs was insane.  Katie and I were perfectly content skipping the dogs and heading straight for dessert!  The race started and finished at the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island and we wanted to check out their cute little country store.  I found the cutest little tiny straw bales for sale and had to buy a few!  

Katie and I both said we would run this race again.  I am not sure what the situation with the porta potties was because there were a lot of them but the line just didn't move.  I would also suggest starting the half marathon in 2 or 3 waves just to spread us out a little bit at the start.  Other than those hiccups I thought the rest of the race was great, they had plenty of volunteers to help with traffic and at all of the aid stations.  The course was scenic and passed by really quick.  They had kiddie pools filled with ice water for runners to use post-race which I though was awesome if you are into that sort of thing, which I probably should be.  Plus the store sells teeny tiny straw bales, what is there not to like?!  

My actual photographer friends are all groaning at me right now 

  

Happy Birthday America! 

Tell me about your 4th of July!  

What was your favorite part of the day?

If you did a race tell me about it, please!  

Do you ice bath?  

- I have once and it actually did wonders, I need to make them more routine.

   

Rum Run 2013 Review

Good morning! 

Workouts 
Saturday - 7.5 miles 
Sunday - Rum Run 5k 
Monday - Rest 
Tuesday - 5 miles 

I hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend!

My Grandpa served in the Air Force for over 20 years he wasn't a pilot but worked as an interrogator because he was fluent in French, pretty cool right?!  He set a great example and both of my cousins and now my brother are serving in our Nation's Armed Forces.  

We took the Jeep out on Saturday up to Lost Lake on Mt. Hood with our friends Katie & Bryan.  It isn't a huge lake, probably 3-4 miles around, it is really beautiful and serene.  

Sarah wouldn't take a picture with us because she is a jerk she was too busy playing in the lake water.

Sometimes Katie is nice to Bryan...sometimes.  

Okay onto the reason you probably read this post, the race report!  

Sunday morning I picked up Riley at 7:45 so we could be at the race by 8:00.  The Rum Run is held in Tualatin which is only 5 miles from my house.  It was really nice to have a little more time in the morning and not have to leave at 6:00 am.  Once we got there finding a parking spot was a breeze and we walked to the starting area.  

Pre-Race 

What I like about this race besides it being so close to home is how easy and laid back the feel of it is.  You can pick up your packet the day before or you can easily grab it race morning and still have time to run your goodies back to your car.  There are plenty of porta potties and the lines for them move very quickly.  The race starts and ends at the Tualatin Commons which has a man made lake in the center.  The announcers are always letting people know how much time they have to get to the starting line and they separate the crowd into waves a minute apart to help with congestion.        

Riley and I before the race

Race

Riley and I started with the 10 minute milers because I wasn't sure where Riley would be comfortable and I didn't want us to be trampled.  Well I underestimated that girl because she really took off and we were passing runners left and right, my bad!  The course takes you through Cook Park and then a residential neighborhood where you are basically running downhill back to the lake.  You finish the last quarter mile or so of the 5k by running around the lake and finishing right in the commons.  There are a lot of volunteers and police making sure everyone stays on course and drivers are aware of you.  There is also a lot of signage directing people.     

You all know that girl! 

Post-Race

Once you finish the race there are lots of volunteers handing out water and leis.  With your registration you get a ticket for a beer, a 10 Cane Rum Mojito and Hawaiian Chicken and Rice.  We finished at the same time as Katie and her dad so we all went in before the crowd to get our Chicken and Rice.  We sat by the window and could watch the other runners finish their race which was pretty cool.  Since I was the responsible adult (ha!) I gave my alcohol tickets away, said goodbye to Katie and her Dad and took Riley and myself to Starbucks.  An iced coffee taste so much better after a run!

In a Nutshell

I really like this race and would like to do more runs with the company that puts on the Rum Run.  They are really organized and the race always has great energy.  I love this course in particular because of the majority of it being downhill, talk about a self esteem boost!  I actually PR'd at this 5k and had no intention of that whatsoever.  Riley and I finished with a time of 27:07 and both of us weren't even that worn out at the end, seriously who am I?!  I will do this race again next year and will be looking to run another Energy Event in the future.    

How did your runs go this weekend?  

Do you notice the company putting on your race or do you even care? 

- I have just started paying attention and am starting to notice different quirks about each company 

Favorite post-run/race food/drink, GO!

- Iced Coffee/Coffee 

Portland Rock and Roll Half Review

Good morning!  

Yesterday was Portland's 2nd Rock and Roll Half Marathon and also my 2nd Half Marathon, coincidence?!  I ran a really great race and am looking forward to even more Half Marathons in my future! 

I got there early and found a spot in a parking garage pretty quick.  As soon as I walked out of the parking structure there were 3 porta potties calling my name, that sound have been a good indication to the future of my bathroom issues.  90% of everything was all set up by the time I got to the waterfront and there was a lot of great signage directing everybody.  Katie got there just a few minutes after I did and we checked a couple things at the gear check.  Gear check was super simple because everything was organized by last name and it was really spread out.  I wasn't there when Katie picked up her bag but I can guess it went quick.  After we checked our bag it was time for another potty break and then I finally got to meet my Facebook friends Amanda and Jill!  We got a picture by the pro photographers but not with our own personal cameras, fail!  Amanda was our group leader last summer for our 60 Sweaty Days of Summer challenge and really helped me learn to love all things Chalean.  It is always fun to meet someone in person who you have connected with for so long over the internet.  We visited with Amanda and Jill and then realized we needed to get to our corrals.  I had changed my corral so I could at least start the race with Katie and I am glad I did.  We ran together for the first 2 miles and I knew if I didn't slow down and let her go ahead I would never keep the pace.  I let a few people ahead of me and started slowing down without telling her, LOL!  It is one thing to keep up with her during a 5k I am no where ready to try and keep up with her for a half marathon, one day though.  In case somebody was curious why...  

Remember now?

My race plan was to keep it around a 10 minute mile and get water at every other water station.  At mile 2 once Katie started getting ahead of me I realized I needed to pee (sorry) and I wouldn't be able to ignore it for the next 11 miles, UGH!  I passed the 5k mark and remembered there was a bank of porta potties coming up so I jumped off and went pretty quick.  After that the next few miles clicked off fairly quickly and I was just enjoying the run and felt comfortably hard in my pace. 

My splits for miles 1-10 

1 - 9:46 

2 - 9:46

3 - 9:54

4 - 9:41

5 - 9:45

6 - 10:20

7 - 10:20

8 - 10:44

9 - 10:22

10 - 10:07

I started feeling like I needed to pee AGAIN around mile 10 but I just ignored it because I was determined to not stop.  I was really hoping to beat my 1st half marathon time which I thought was 2:20 and some change.  The entire race that was the number in my head I was hoping to beat which is funny because my actual 1st half marathon time was 2:29:46, oops.  I am actually glad I didn't have the correct time because it pushed me harder.  I told myself earlier in the race that at mile 11 it was going to be time to really dig deep and push it and that is what I did.  

Miles 11-13.1   

11 - 10:10

12 - 9:57

13.1 - 9:45

Final Chip Time 

2:16:24, average pace 10:25

IF* I wouldn't have stopped to go to the bathroom around mile 3 I probably would have hit 1:15:24 but that is okay!  I seriously need to get the bathroom thing figured out though, more than likely just too much water.  I really liked this race and felt mostly prepared for all of the hills, minus the last climb right before mile 12, that one made me angry.  There was a good climb up Hawthorne for what seemed like forever but I just kept telling myself how much I love hills.  Funny how a little mental game can help you through some tough spots.  I only noticed the bands in the first part of the race because after that I was pretty focused and inside my own head.  There seemed to be a lot of turns and I know that can bother some racers but for me it was okay, didn't love them didn't hate them.  

The finishers chute was a little congested but that is to be expected.  They were handing out chocolate milk, Jamba Juice smoothies, Powerbars, bagels, bananas, the usual.  Of course there was water and we also got our medal which is one of my favorites so far!  

    

Katie had a really awesome race and got a sub-2 hour half marathon!  Her official chip time was 1:57:58!  
  

I am really proud of how far she has come in her running and fitness levels, she is always keeping me on my toes and working towards my goals!  

Plus let's face it, I could afford to take some photo taking tips from the girl.

You can go here if you ran Portland Rock and Roll yesterday to check out your results and pictures.

Who motivates you to want to keep working hard?  

How was your run/race this weekend?  

Do you take a rest day after a hard run or do you do your recovery run the next day? 

- I am taking today as a run rest day but will start my Push Phase of Chalean.