Goodyear Half Marathon Run #2 in Akron Rubber Series

This was a 6:30am start, with the parking logistics, we were advised to get there by 5:30am which meant getting out of bed at 4am since I was an hour away. Plenty of parking space but getting to it was a problem, 3 separate roads feeding into a narrow street to the parking garage cause some delay, so race start was slightly delay but no worries. made use of the porta potty then need to find Shelby to make sure she is where I want her to be which is behind the 2hours pacer, most pacers run too fast and then slow down to correct to get the average pace/mile so if she can stay behind them, she will only have to work very hard to pass towards the end to get under 2. Chasing the pacers help keep your mind off the pace and keep it somewhat like a game.

For me I had no plan going into the race, was just going to run by feel, I started out fast but then realized that it was hot and humid and I don't care what my time is so pulled back and then started having fun. There were so many older couples out in front of their homes along this route, this may be the first time for a race in this neighborhood so they seem just as excited as we were, so it was nice to pull back and greet them, thanking them for being out. Also many people were stocked in traffic and I also greeted them and apologize for the delay, it is amazing how people's mood change just from that little gesture. I was little Miss Sunshine and my fellow runner's were wondering why am so happy since it was hot, humid and course was hilly but I can't change any of the 3 conditions so I may as well enjoy myself.

It felt like the blimp was following me throughout the race, the 1.5miles through the proving ground of the Goodyear facility was nice but felt never ending, it was nice to finish, now bring on the food and beer.

So far I have to say Akron has done as incredible job with this races, the first one despite the cold and rainy weather was a great event and this was just as wonderful, well organized, plenty of food, drink and music.

Afterwards, I had to look for Shelby to find out how she did, 3rd time is a charm , I wanted this monkey off her back and boy did she crush it 1:5:49, I was so excited and happy for her and she gets to ring the PR bell woohoo

Now for some fun, there was a great band playing, Big in Japan Band and Shelby and I danced  the morning away drinking Goose IPA, eating Swenson Burger and finish it off with Strickland Custard, this was all before 11am when the band stopped playing. Ahh Life is good, I love this running life

#runakron, #burnrubber

Biggest Loser Half Marathon - Erie, PA

Not quite sure why I decided to do this race except for maybe it was reasonably priced and a short distance from home because I already have a Half Marathon in Pennsylvanian and do not have to run another. Any way...

Drove down Saturday around 1pm, this is an easy drive, under 2 hours, arrived at the Expo, after driving around to find location, I think sometimes assumption is made that everybody knows where they are going, when  an address is giving, especially when address has nothing to do with location and GPS says you are here but where. Expo was small not much going on  there, can't believe the price for some of the skirts and headband, guarantee cheaper that most know brands but doesn't seem to be as good a quality or heavier fabric. Got package and headed off to the hotel to rest before going for dinner, after some driving around with Sheila and Shelby decided on Ruby Tuesday, we all wanted meat not pasta and the unlimited salad was the absolute draw. Had a great steak. Bed by 9pm.

Race morning, up by 4:45am, race start is 7am but this is on an Isle so only 1 was in, decided to get their early to avoid traffic, park, use restroom and get ready, basically to have a stress free morning, Shelby was nice enough to drive. Not sure how many runners or walkers, or those doing 5K and Half Marathon but I know lots of first timers and I think this is what makes this race great, plenty of time to finish the 5k and HM, and their is a strictly walkers division, so no excuse not to challenge yourself and get it done.

Lots of cotton fluff in the air, almost looked like it was snowing, I didn't have a full blown allergy symptoms just some weird reactions along the course, throat closing miles 1-3, itchy face 5-7, watery eyes and running nose 8-12. This is a beautiful location.

Really flat course, except for the white fluffy stuff nothing to complain about, great race, volunteers and aid stations, limited spectator but that was expected since we are in the middle of a park that is on a Isle. Every time I go to this races the goal is to break 2 hrs, whether I am train for it or not it's irrelevant then I just wait and see what the body decide to do, today was no exception.

Shelby basically set the pace, the last time we did a HM together I felt bad that I pushed to pace too early and she wasn't able to meet her goal of breaking 2 hrs even thou she was strong. We were running 9:47 pace which was comfortable and we seem to settle, I took over briefly at mile 7, just to get us out of that comfort pace and told Shelby to get moving, she is a very strong runner but am not sure she believe it yet. Even thou we ran a strong race from miles 7 to the finish, there was no way we could make up the pace for first 6 miles without pulling something, I pulled back a bit but felt quite strong with no noticeably aches or pain, this I was quite happy about since I was just back with the speed work, let's be honest am a lazy runner, I do enough to get by and finish but I guess am going to have to step up my game. Bring it. Official finish time 2:05:00 for a 9:33 average pace I had Garmin programmed differently so had to restart losing some miles, 9/49 in age group.

Got back to the hotel, shower, changed, quick stop at Five guys for some protein and then the drive back home, feeling great and time to get back at it.

   Thanks to PTH for this finish line pciture

Got some great pictures from the Biggest Loser picture downloads, can't believe they are really free, Thanks #BLRWErie, really wish I could sneak in the Rockford one next week before graduation ceremony begins, not sure my in-laws or hubby will go for it, oh well

Canton Ohio Hall of Fame Half Marathon

I think this was a peer pressure race, I wasn't planning on doing this because of the driving distance but my BGR group picked this has a group race and I miss seeing them so decided to sign up for the half to hang with them, glad I did. I think the part of my body that hurts the most is my head from all the screaming.

The alarm went off at 4:30am I was actually already awake waiting for the alarm to go off, I got a really good night sleep since I was fast asleep by 9:30pm after reading a couple of pages of the Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.

Got up and for some reason the first thing that came to me was that I want a egg sandwich for breakfast, oh well. shower and got ready, it really was cold so instead of the capri I was planning to wear switch to a long pant. Yes I did make the egg sandwich using some low carb tortilla wrap that I had.

According to the race organizers, we were to park at Belden Village Mall then take the shuttle from there to the race start due to limited parking at the start. Got to the Mall about 6:15am and waited in line till about 6:45am can't really fault the organizers, there were lots of buses but typical runners we all came about the same time since the last bus was suppose to be at 6:30am , this of cause delayed the race start for about 15mins to make sure every runner made it to the start line.

Got to the stadium, went to gear check and then used the Porta Potty, there were lots of them didn't have to wait in line, before I knew it, it was time to get this party started. The goal for this race was to push and wait for the wheels to come off then hold on for dear life and not walk, this is a rolling hill course. Paris was 2 weeks ago, still jet lagged, trained hard last week but I need to push the body a bit to prepare for The Flying Pig 4 way.

I felt pretty good during the run, was running under 10min/mile except for when I walk thru the water stop which were place every 2.5miles. Felt strong and good, ran without music since I forgot to change battery in my player, listed music on the course only 2 bands and then in some areas spectators had their players blasting. Wasn't really expecting a large crowd support, one it is Sunday morning and then new race but the spectators out were awesome.

The wheels came off at bout mile 11, but I was able to hold on with out walking to finish in 2:10:59 which I am really happy with, was targeting 2:15 - 2:30.

Race was well organized, even thou the start was cold, it warmed up pretty fast, lots of aid on the course and food at the finish.

Athens Half Marathon

Very Very Flat, no expo, small medal, limited spectator due to location, well organized, excellent volunteers. Beautiful day for a run

Athens Half Marathon - Athens OH

Down in Athens with son#2 for a second look at Ohio University, since he was accepted there and he still hasn't picked a college yet. The university put on a very great program called cultural connection, giving us a chance to see and experence what they have to offer. We got there bright and early Saturay mornign after spendign the night in Columbus, son#1 had an award ceremony Friday night that we went to. After the mornign session, we were shuttle back the Univeristy inn which was also complement of the University for some rest and to change for dinner, I decided this was a good time to end into the city to register for the HM.

Drove down to the Hampton Inn, I think the whole thing took less that 10mins and for a 23yr old race there really is no expo, just pickup up packet and go. Met Tony who is an ultra runner and will be doing the Forget the PR ultra on the 27th of April.

Sunday skipping breakfast which was all I was goign to be missing in the OU program, since this is an out and back with a start and finish in 2 different locations, I decided t park the car at the finish and walk to the start, funning enough for a city with incredible amount of hills, severe grade, this race was very very very flat and boy did I hate it, all on the flat bike path.

Very  well organized, great volunteers but limited spectators due to location Wasn't quite sure what to expect since I didn't get into bed until 11:30pm and my son's allegy kicked up big time with all the cherry blossom so he was tossing and sneezing but fast asleep unlike me.

I have to say that all that cycling base building of 3x10, 5x8... actually help with focus when doing a race, just like I have learn on the bike keeping the effort the same should acheive the same power it works for running too. I didn't get a PR but I wasn't pushing for one either since I was running by feel, well aware that I haven't ran past 6 miles since the 25K race, actually after looking at my log, I haven't really done that much running, oops.

My PR is 1:59:xx (2009) I ran this race in 2:03:xx this is my 3rd fastest HM, done 11 so far. Quad problem at mile 10, expected due to flat course, even took a bathroom break so I can run up a slight incline, quads and ankle are sore, didn't do a good job with recovery just enough time to get back to the hotel shower and get on the road. Very dissapointed in the medal.



Next 2 weeks is just tapering and healing the body to get ready for the 24hour race, goal is 100k -100miles but not sure if I care enough, may end up socializing more than running.

Testing Endurance- 8 days

Between life and Aunt Flo haven't been in the pool since thursday.


With the 24hr race coming up fast, I needed to get an endurance sequence going, I know running is going to be hard on my body for recovery so decided to give biking a try.

Goal: In a 8 days period go up/down a pyramid twice, only water during training and no recovery drink during training period. Maintain speed/power as much as possible. No naps , stay active beween training. Keep working out when tired but not through pain. Initial was planning 5 days but since I am biking and not running decided to try for 8 days.

Functional Threshold Power, or FTP is the maximum average power you can hold for one hour, higher is better. MY FTP = 182 from last test

Normalized Power or NP gives you an average power number if you would have ridden at a constant power output.

Training Stress Score or TSS is the amount of training stress generated from a workout. The higher this number the more potential fitness you earned from a workout.

TR = Trainer Road  SP = Spinerval


Day 1: Friday: TR: Tallac-60mins, NP=152 , TSS=69 Avg Speed=14.9

Day 2: Saturday: TR: Tioga-90mins, NP=152, TSS=106 Avg Spd = 14.0

Day 3:Sunday: TR: Clark-90mins, NP=152, TSS=105 Avg Spd = 14.9
                       1 mile all out run = 8:16 pace
                       TR: Goddard-60mins NP=141, TSS = 60, Avg Spd= 14.2

Day 4:Monday: SP Zoot Challenge-42mins, Problem recording on TR, avg speed = 14.7
                         1 mile all out run = 8:57 pace
                          RKS Wrkt #2 = 17 mins

Day 5: Tuesday: SP Sprinting Machine-60mins (made it that) did 1 plyo jump and stayed on bike for rest. Power stop recording 1/2 way what I got for the 30mins NP=134, TSS=55 Avg Spd for total = 13.6 way too much recovery between reps but boy did I need every bit of it.
1 mile bike ride Outside
45 mins walk with DH

Day 5: Wednesday: Ride Fit Warrior-34mins, 1st time doing ride fit and really like it.
                               RKS Wrkt 3 - 28 mins 8kg and 12kg KB

How do I feel - OK, but my immune system is compromised already picked up sore throat and cough so taking vitamin C, slight fatigue and aches but no knee, ankle or IT band pain.

Why am I doing it - Who knows, seem like fun

Hardest Day so far - Saturday, between work and life I couldn't get a workout in until after 9pm and I was already bone tired and just wanted to go to bed.

Inaugural Canton Half Marathon

Not sure  why this picture comes in upside down, done everything I can think of, oh well.

The start was 1 hour away from me and I was thinking start time was 7am but when going thru the bus schedule, SARTA was busing us from the fairground to the stadium, I didn't understand why they were ending at 545, oops race starts at 6am which means I had to be up and out the door by 4am.

I got to the fairground around 515am but then there was a lot of traffic trying to get in, ot took a while for the volunteers to finally work all the kinks out, sat in traffic for about 20mins not worries except when I got out of the car to get on the bus realized I really got to pee and there was no porta potties at the fairground. Luckily it was a short drive to the stadium but then getting there still no potties in sight, finally went into the stadium and used one of the locker room restroom. After taking care of business, went back out to find the 2hr pace group, got in place and with 10mins to the start suck down a gel.

A bit of confusion, since the location we were starting was clearly with flags but we were told to move down the hill to the start location, apparently that was a false location since we had to walk down about 400meters to the real start line, then anthem and we were off.

With the heat advisory, they did a good job having water every 1 mile and add that to neighborhood also setting up water stops, we had plenty to drink. The goal was to run under 2 hours and I had the pace group in my sight, about mile 2 a friend L,I haven't seen in almost 2 my years ran by me calling my name to say hi, wavy exchanged greetings then she and 2 others friends moved on.

Around mile 4, I kind of wonder why I am constantly racing through a race and missing all the fun, this seem to be happening more often, there was quite a bit of crowd out cheering us on, including some wonderful nuns sitting in front of their convent, I decided at that point to make the detour to high five them and get some blessing. Around mile 6, I noticed L walking in front of me, I stopped and asked her what was hurting and she said something about her fingers and feet, the problem with this race was that even thou the sun didn't come out it was still very hot and a lot of people made the mistake of not taking fluid, I decided to run with L to get her to the finish. This was a big decision since I had no idea how long this was going to be, after I made the decision, I reaccess L's condition and determine she is severely dehydrated so needed to get to the next water station and have her properly hydrate, 2 cups of gatorade and 1 cup of water.

The strategy once L was properly hydrated was 4mins running 1 min walking, we were still running a good pace 920-930 but when we walk we were very slow, L was very disappointed when the 210 pace group when by, but I was able to use this to motivate her to keep going, around mile 11 decided we should just start running straight out since we were walking too slow and around mile 12+ when we could hear the announcer in the stadium, I decided it was time to get it over we and see if we can push to come in under 215, so ran the last couple of meters at a 852 pace, just told L don't think just follow and she did great, I was so proud of her.

Finish grab my stuff and had to head home to start father's day celebration, Canton did a great job, lots of people mentioned the hilly trail but to be honest except for one location wasn't really aware of the the rest of the hills. I really expect great things for this race, everything was done just about right,  looking forward to next year.

Finish Time: 2:14:48

Cleveland Half Marathon

Hot, since this was an experiment of one for a back to back trail then road run normally I run road then trail. It was hot and since I wasn't going for a PR decided not to stress myself out and just enjoy the race so switch to heart rate training with the hope of keeping it under160bpm since I wasn't running fast enough to be higher than that, so many runners passing out and cramping up, they kept the EMS very busy. They change the course again because I do not remember a hill at mile 9 and as usual even with all the multiple emails that was sent out not once was a change in course mention,it is really a shame that for an over 30+ years marathon they still cannot get it right. Leg felt great through out the run no issue whatsoever, not a bad run considering I did a hilly trail 10 miler before it. All in all a good run but I think I maybe done with Cleveland for a while.

Chip Time: 2:08:03
Gun Time: 2:12:52

On My Own Two Feet Half Marathon

I really had no expectation for this race, decided to do it to support a friend (Race Director) and her cause, so there was no taper and I spend the day before up until 9pm weeding and spreading/moving around 60+ bags of mulch with many more to go.

This was a 9am race start, thank God for that, got out of bed at 7 and was ready to leave the house by 7:45 with my fresh brew cup of coffee, love my Keurig coffee maker. Even thou I am less than 40mins from Kent, I hardly ever go there and every time I go there always get lost due to the constant road closure, well today was no different, but finally made it there. Wow is it cold, I knew it was going to be cold but based on how beautiful Friday was, this was a significant drop. Initially I had on my craft top but immediately added on the arm warmer underneath and my running vest, much better.

Went around saying hello to some friends I haven't seen in a while due to change in running group and also some ultra runners that normally don't do races like this but came out to support one of their own, which is what I love about the running community.

The race started promptly at 9am, 5k out and back on the bike path, actually I forgot I was in a race and basically chatted with everyone along the way catching up with their running plans and it was a great pleasure to run with Kim (Ultra Trail Goddess) don't get to see her much but it is always that one thing that gets the competitive juice going, felt fine no aches or pain and no worse for wear with all the gardening so decided to see what I can do, and decided to set  a goal of about 2 hours.

I knew part of the course was trail (Towner's Woods)  but had elected to wear my road shoe, not crazy about wearing my trail shoe on the bike path but feel I can handle road shoe on the trail. The  road shoe on the trail wasn't a bad idea except for the constant drizzle which made the down hill interesting but I was able to stay up right and have fun. I had a blast at this race but from all my pictures probably won't believe that I think my face was frozen in place. From the 5k after I stopped chatting, I basically ran by myself and I have also elected not to take my music but then also forgot my headphones. The course is 4.5 miles trail and 8.6 miles Bike/hike path

I am learning to run  my own race, it is so easy to catch up to a runner and then want to match pace with them assuming they are a strong runner since they have been ahead all this time but the point is they may be slowing down and I also do not know their racing strategy, I acknowledge them and pass on their left and move.

I carried my handheld which I was grateful for, there was enough water station but I was somewhat dehydrated and needed to keep drinking, I have been using Endurox R4 lately and seem to like it. After coming out of the woods, kind of realize 2 hours was going to be a stretch since the footing on the way back going to be slippery and the course was slightly hilly that expected so I adjust to 2:10.

Coming out of the woods heading to the finish, I thought 2:10 may not be doable but decided to reach for it anyway, so drop the hammer down and push the pace, I could see the time clock 2:10:35 but also had a UPS truck going by so had to slow a bit for the truck to pass.

Official Result 2:10:59 47/84


Very well organize, love the course actually if the weather had been better I would have gone for the full and paid the difference but once I stopped I was extremely cold and had to get in the car right away for extra layers. Got home took a nice long shower, got something to eat then went to a 2:30pm Yin Yoga class.

On MY Own Two Feet