Being Patriotic for the 3rd time

The 4th Annual Patriot 5K race this year is the 3rd race that I joined since I started running. I love this race so much for 3 reasons.

First... convenience. By that I mean driving convenience. Gray, Maine is not really close to where I live but I like driving there because traffic is easy and light. It's not a city so I'm very confident in driving there.

Second... the "race" itself. I love how organized the race it. From the parking - which is a huge thing for me to race packets to race proper to post race activities. The Organizers as well as the volunteers are great. Even the people living around the lake are awesome. They are courteous, very supportive and welcoming. Love them.

Third... the "course". Running around the gorgeous Crystal Lake is one of the perks of this race.  I think the course is moderate for the fact that I did not crawl to the finish line. LOL.

So yes, I did it again for the 3rd time. Though I my PR didn't really improve since the last time I ran this race I was still happy that I made it and yes, I met the older lady who I met here during my 1st race... and who beat me to the finish line. Yes, she beat me again. What do you expect? At 39:14 time and a 12:38 pace, that didn't mean anything to a 60-ish year old lady who trained well. LOL. I ranked 596th out of 776 participants. Yeah, this race is getting popular each year.

Well, will see if I can improve on my PR next year. Smiling here.

2nd Year and Counting

Yes, this is my 2nd Year Running Anniversary!

 

The Great Scot Trot 5k is the very start of my running career. No, there isn't a running career. I was just dreaming. LOL.

I just can't believe that I still enjoy running. Never in my mind would I ever dream of running but here I am on my second year and not dreaming of adding more distance if I wouldn't chicken out. Hay,

So, just like the 1st Year Anniversary, it wasn't that significant in terms of my net time. I clocked in 37:36 which is a minute less than my Mary's Walk last week. What an improvement, huh. And a pace time of 12:08 placing me 147th out of 195 participants.

[I look like I am constipated here, LOL]

 Despite the "numbers" I am still proud of myself to be able to make a huge change in my lifestyle. So yes, I will continue running for as long as I can!

For Mary

I didn't get the chance to run in February. So much for promising myself to run 2 races every month, huh. For some reason I can't find any 5K race last month so I totally didn't run. Well, I did some running around my neighborhood but that's all about it and it wasn't even on a regular basis because weather is not really very cooperative this time of the year yet. Good thing I have 2 races this month.

After a month of no races and no training, I braved the Mary's Walk and Kerrymen Pub 5k yesterday. The weather was not to bad and just the same the event was well-organized and the crowd was awesome.

I didn't expect to really do good here since I don't have the proper training. And if there was any training at all, it was on the race day itself. LOL

So yes, out of 1224 runners and walkers, I placed 1145th with a total net time of 39:13 which gives me a pace time of 12:38.

Oh well, you get what you get and don't get upset. I didn't, I just helped myself with a plate of Chinese food and some Olive Garden's spaghetti and salad. wink*

Running for the birdies and close encounter with the Walking Lady

This year, my goal is to run 2 races every month. So far, I was able to do it. I started last March when I celebrated my 1st Running Anniversary. The Snowy Egret 5k at Scarborough is my 8th race for 2012 and my 2nd race for the month of May.

This is my first "trail race" for this year [and hoping to do more]. I didn't know it until I ran the race. It was a nice nonthreatening course. Though it was a little humid, the shady trail kept us cool.

The race is a replay of my Maine Mall 5k experience in terms of "running". I ran this race again when I was passed by an elderly lady about sixty-ish years old who was just walking the whole time.

 

Let me tell you about this amazing woman. I saw this woman probably more than 5 times already since I started running. She seems to be all over the place. LOL And each time that we ran, she would just be walking the entire 5k race. She walks with grace like a royalty. She walks in a choreographed rhythm as if she was walking on air. She is fast and unstoppable. She never shows tiredness. She is relaxed and poised.

The race course had a one long straight route where we turn around at a certain point. On my way back I saw her from a distance in her signature graceful brisk walking coming my way. I continued jogging while a woman kept passing me by just like the one at the Mall race. By that time I was already contemplating to do the trick I did before but not really sure if I really want to or not.

 

After about 5 minutes of not-stop steady jogging, I realized that the walking lady caught up with me and she was walking right beside me and started talking to me when an spectator said... "good job" to us. It was then I realized that I was really jogging slow or maybe she was really fast. Well, I wasn't really threatened by her until that Maine-Mall-part-2 woman caught up with me again. Just in time, I saw that I was already almost 500 feet from the finish line. So, I sped up agian... sprinted... and ran as fast as I could passing again a couple of people on my way to the finish line.

I clocked in 36:08 at 11:38 pace and placing 181st out of the 225 participants. At the finish line I finally got the chance to talk to this amazing woman and boy, she is one of the nicest people I ever met. She even gave me advice on race walking and told me that she would gladly coach me to race walk. Her name is Debbie.

Getting Patriotic

The 3rd Annual Patriots 5k is my second race. Too bad I wasn't into running yet when they started. This race is also called "Lap around the Lake". The course is a loop around the gorgeous and breathtaking Crystal Lake in Gray, Maine. Last year the lake was covered in thick fog good thing this year we were blessed with warm sunny weather so I really enjoyed the view of the lake.

I remembered last year that I ran with an elderly woman who beat me to the finish line. This year I was looking for her but with a total of 701 runners and walkers alike, I wasn't lucky to find her and I didn't even know if she joined this year. Anyway, I love this race because the organizers are very organized. LOL. The people living around the lake are very supportive and friendly.

The race is awesome. I didn't do any extra-ordinary thing like I did in my last race at the mall because nobody threatened me. wink. So I just jogged my way to the finish line - without stopping except for 3 seconds at the water station.

I clocked in 35:15 which is 5 minutes over my last PR. hayyys. Oh well. I told you I wasn't threatened. I placed 461st our of the 701 participants at 11:12 pace. Next year, I'll try to break that record. We'll see.

I did RUN!

This race is very special to me for 2 reasons. 1. It was at the Maine Mall. [self-explanatory, lol] and 2. I ran! [needs explanation, wink]

Here's the thing. I always brag about my race. What's not to brag? I am so proud of it. As I have mentioned in my "The High-heeled Diva Page" I am not an athlete. I never ran when I was little and was always a loser in "tag-you're-it" games. I am also a self-confessed late bloomer in terms of running. And now that I am enjoying it - I am more than proud!

The Jimmy the Greek Maine Mall 5k for Lyme Disease is one of the most memorable races I had so far. It is the race that made me realized what I am capable of doing. It is the race that I had outdone myself in terms of my assumed physical limitation. And yes, I had to admit that - it is the only race that I actually "RUN"! Really, I ran because I would usually just jog and walk to the finish line.

Let me tell you a funny story. I came unprepared for the race to be honest with you. I just wanted to have some valid reason to be at the Mall. [wink] But kidding aside, I did hope that I would somehow break my PR but didn't have any plan of doing anything stu*id. I just told myself... "okay, let's try to jog the whole race without stopping even for a drink". I thought that would be a good idea... just get it done with and go shopping." So I started with a slow pace as my usual warm-up and then went onwards with my usual steady jogging pace. About half way around the race, a woman passed me and after about 20 yards, she started walking. I was okay with it, at first since I didn't have any plan of passing and outrunning anyone this time. I just wanted to get over it.


But within about a mile stretch that same woman would do the same thing over and over again. And over and over again I passed her too since she would be walking out of exhaustion after exerting all her effort to outrun me. At first I was thinking she maybe just doing an interval run. But then, I also thought, "why would I do an interval run when I am in a race?" Oh well, I just brushed the thought off and continued running. About 300 feet from the finish line I heard her footsteps again. This time, I was already irritated so when she was about a foot away from me, I sped up. I sprinted to the finish line passing 3 people ahead of me. I ran as far as I could without looking back. I crossed the finish line breaking my last PR by almost 3 minutes. I clocked in 34:57 at 11:21 pace. I placed 202th out of the 244 participants and yes... she ate my dust!

Oh boy, the crowd went crazy when they saw me speeding up and passing 3 people. They were cheering and it felt so good.

See my big smile after I sped up to the finish line, passing 3 people ahead of me and outrunning that woman who ate my dust? LOL

Yes, I ran, this time. And maybe, I would be running too [since I realized that I can really run] in all the future races I will be joining in. After all it is a running race, isn't it? How cool is that?

My 2nd 5K

I know, I have not written here for awhile. I can come up with lots of alibis but I chose not to. The weather is mean up here in Maine and training plans are always messed up. Anyway, I finally did my second 5K today, and that is something worth writing about. Yes, today I joined the 2nd Annual Patriot 5k "Lap Around the Lake" in Gray Maine.

I set out early today so I can have enough time to people watch. This is one of the things I enjoy doing before the race. I arrived about 45 minutes early and I got the best parking. That is very very important.

I picked up my bib about 30 minutes and did not wait one second to pin my number on my belt.I had enough time to check out the porta-potty twice. Whew, blame it to the tea I drank at breakfast. Then, I people watched. I watched kids doing the hula hoop competition... people doing their routine stretching... volunteers doing their tasks diligently... and yes, fashionista runners cruising along in their best trendy running outfits.

So why do I "people watch"? It relaxes me. It gives me time to weigh myself... gives me time to psyche myself up that I can cross the finish line without embarrassing myself... gives me a chance to look for someone I can run with and hopefully make a friend after the race... and yes, gives me an idea of the latest trend in sports fashion runway. wink.

SO... we started on time. I met someone who looked less threatening... so I thought. She was alone or shall I say without anyone she was talking to or someone she seemed to be running with because most of the runners there seemed to be in a group. So I decided to run with her. She is in her 60s. There, I have someone who can keep up with my "slow pace"... and so I thought again.

As we started running we started to get to know each other. We just chatted during the first few yards but since we were running it was hard to really talk. As we went a little further, we kept quiet. And she was nice enough to tell me... "I can't talk while running because I am concentrating on my breathing." Good point! Then I replied... "Yes, I understand. Maybe we can talk again when we walk.". Then she replied back... "Oh No, I don't plan to walk!" Bam!

She didn't walk. She ran all the way to the Finish Line. Leaving me behind. hahaha.

Well, I did a great job running today. I am so proud of myself despite my funny experience with Alice. I finished 318th among the 405 runners who joined the race. That is historical for me. I was not the 5th to the last to cross the finish line and I clocked in 36 minutes and 45 seconds which is more than 6 minutes less than my first 5k which is 40:48.

I am so proud of myself for doing a great job today. To think that I didn't get the chance to really train due to bad weather I still did it in less time of my original PR. I met a new friend and learned new things about running... one of which is to run on an easy pace and don't walk [if you can]. I didn't realize that I can ran without stopping. Well, I was able to ran without stopping for the first mile and a half but I had to walk for 2 minutes because my shin was kinda bothering me.

I guess I ran most of the time today compared to my 1st 5k. I did walk for a total of about 5 minutes for the duration of the race. And yes, crawling to the finish line was never an option.

I Finished my First

I finished The 8th Annual Great Scot Trot at 40:48! It may not be fast. Well, it is actually slow. But hey, at least I finished it.

Yeah, I finally did it. I finally did my very first 5k. It was awesome. I enjoyed it and I am craving for more.

It was kinda chilly but the sun was out and the sky was blue. I went an hour early so I didn't have to line up to get my number. And yes, I was hoping I could find some familiar faces that I can run with. It was more of psyching myself up to ease my anxiety attack.

The Kids' Fun Run kicked off first about 45 minutes before the 5k. I was thinking... I should have joined that instead. It seemed that I would qualify - height-wise. And maybe they will not ask my birth date. LOL. Oh well, I was really nervous. Seeing those runners flooding the lobby of Bonny Eagle High School was kinda overwhelming and intimidating for a first-timer like me. But then, I saw some familiar faces from the Crazy Fitness Fun and I kinda warmed up and relaxed a bit.

We started on the dot. There were not a lot of runners compared to Mary's Walk but then, it was well organized. I started slow and easy. After 300 yards, I kinda picked up my pace but it didn't last long. I saw some of the runners were already more than a hundred yards away. I tried to go fast but I couldn't catch my breath so I just walked.

I walked, jogged, ran [a bit], and could have crawled if I was not too embarrassed. But hey, I made it. And I was the fifth wasn't the last one who crossed the line. Now, I am looking forward to my second 5k.

I made it to the finish line. I made friends. And I made myself so proud.

Now, it's time to put my stilettos on and head to the Mall. LOL