Oh June!!! My new favorite month, racing my new favorite distance---13.1!!!
Whitewater Run for the Soul 5K
June 1, 2014
June 1, 2014
I ran this race last year and loved it so much! It's un-timed and basically just to enjoy the love of running and being healthy. Plus you get some awesome Schwag!!! This year instead of t-shirts we received a gym bag filled with goodies!!! So nice!! I really like this race! The course is through a beautiful area in Whitewater that follows a trail past 2 lakes. It's peaceful and serene! Until you get to the cheerleaders!!! I love this race because it is non-competitive and shows people the love of running and being fit! It is great that there are so many cheerleaders along the course to encourage you. Even a more experienced racer like myself truly enjoys the cheering!! It makes me push myself even harder! The only downfall to the race this year was the lack of marking on one part of the course. Several of us ended up running of course down a residential street making our distance about 3.6 miles instead of 3.1. My time was not a PR for sure because of that, but I was really using this as another training run for my half anyway. Official time for this race was 37:16. Looking back, I was on course for a PR for this race, but the lack of markings changed that. Not a big deal! I really was there to have fun and enjoy the company of other runners! Plus the door prizes afterwards make it all worth it. This year I received a pink insulated lunch bag with a pick water bottle filled with Bath and Body Works lotion and shower gel! Really nice stuff!!
Coming to the finish! Feeling strong after hearing my babes cheering for me!!
Down by the pier after the race, cheering on other runners!!
Fort Atkinson Half Marathon
June 21, 2014
June 21, 2014
Honestly, this is my new favorite distance! I loved every moment of this race. The course was amazing and incredibly well-marked and stocked with water, Gatorade, gels, and supporters!! Since this was my first large-scale race I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, my kids and I went to packet pick-up the night before so I got my bib, shirt, and goodie bag. Pretty nice stuff!! The bag is awesome!! I took it with on vacation when we were out exploring and it was fabulous!! I also used it for the kids' swim lessons in July!! Super nice.
The kids and I also drove the course so that I would be familiar with it. This really put my mind at ease. They already had the markers up so the kids had a lot of fun looking for the arrows! I felt much more prepared for the race because of this. I was so worried about getting lost and running all by myself. I really had nothing to worry about though. There were plenty of runners who were my pace! I loved it! I knew that I needed to start out slower and try to keep an even pace to be able to make it the whole 13.1 miles. I came out a little faster than I probably should have, but then I found my happy pace. My average pace was about 11-11:30. I made sure to walk through all the hydration stations and I used my Hydration belt with electrolyte tabs throughout the race. I also made sure to grab a chew every 3 miles. These were great. They were a little large for my mouth but they had caffeine in them to give me a boost of energy to keep going. Without popping these are walking through the hydration stations, I don't think I would have finished as strongly as I did.
The course was beautiful! It was an overcast morning and the temperature stayed relatively cool. I was glad that I tied a towel to my hydration belt since I sweat like a pig. I will definitely do this again for the next one! The course took us on some rolling country roads, but overall they weren't too bad. My training had prepared me for running hills, although there was one last hill about a mile from the finish line and that was a rough one. It's challenging running up a hill, even if it's not too steep, after running 12+ miles! I made it but, boy, was I thankful for the downhill after that. I loved the last mile of the race because it ran right through a part of town where my husband and I used to live and utilized part of the bike trail that I used to run all the time when we lived in Fort. It brought back so many wonderful memories and helped fuel me to the finish!
Another thing that I loved, loved, loved about this race was all the supporters!!! There were some groups that moved along the course with signs and bells, cheering for all the runners! I loved it and needed it towards the end. They definitely kept me smiling throughout the race. The best motivation though is always seeing my family cheering for me at the finish line! They always make me feel like the most important person in the world!
I finished with a time of 2:25:23. My goal was to finish in 2:30 or less, so mission accomplished!! I was so excited to see my time. I'm so proud of myself for being able to finish this distance! Two years ago when I started running, I would have never imagined myself running a half marathon. I am proud of my accomplishment and am ready to tackle the next one!
The kids and I also drove the course so that I would be familiar with it. This really put my mind at ease. They already had the markers up so the kids had a lot of fun looking for the arrows! I felt much more prepared for the race because of this. I was so worried about getting lost and running all by myself. I really had nothing to worry about though. There were plenty of runners who were my pace! I loved it! I knew that I needed to start out slower and try to keep an even pace to be able to make it the whole 13.1 miles. I came out a little faster than I probably should have, but then I found my happy pace. My average pace was about 11-11:30. I made sure to walk through all the hydration stations and I used my Hydration belt with electrolyte tabs throughout the race. I also made sure to grab a chew every 3 miles. These were great. They were a little large for my mouth but they had caffeine in them to give me a boost of energy to keep going. Without popping these are walking through the hydration stations, I don't think I would have finished as strongly as I did.
The course was beautiful! It was an overcast morning and the temperature stayed relatively cool. I was glad that I tied a towel to my hydration belt since I sweat like a pig. I will definitely do this again for the next one! The course took us on some rolling country roads, but overall they weren't too bad. My training had prepared me for running hills, although there was one last hill about a mile from the finish line and that was a rough one. It's challenging running up a hill, even if it's not too steep, after running 12+ miles! I made it but, boy, was I thankful for the downhill after that. I loved the last mile of the race because it ran right through a part of town where my husband and I used to live and utilized part of the bike trail that I used to run all the time when we lived in Fort. It brought back so many wonderful memories and helped fuel me to the finish!
Another thing that I loved, loved, loved about this race was all the supporters!!! There were some groups that moved along the course with signs and bells, cheering for all the runners! I loved it and needed it towards the end. They definitely kept me smiling throughout the race. The best motivation though is always seeing my family cheering for me at the finish line! They always make me feel like the most important person in the world!
I finished with a time of 2:25:23. My goal was to finish in 2:30 or less, so mission accomplished!! I was so excited to see my time. I'm so proud of myself for being able to finish this distance! Two years ago when I started running, I would have never imagined myself running a half marathon. I am proud of my accomplishment and am ready to tackle the next one!
These are me about half way through the race.
Almost to the finish line!!!
Finisher!!!!
So proud of this medal!!!
#June100Miles Challenge
I also decided to participate in a challenge group through ilovetorun.org where you log 100 miles within the month of June. All you had to do was log 100 miles or more and post to their facebook page by June 30 and you would receive an awesome belt buckle in the mail.
Is this not the coolest belt buckle!!!!!
I ended up logging 124.7 miles for the month of June! This was a fairly simple challenge seeing as I was training! It was good motivation to get out and run though when I felt like skipping (this rarely happens though!). I will however, proudly wear this belt buckle as much as humanly possible. I love it so much and it was so simple, that I signed up for the #July100Miles Challenge!!!! Glutton for punishment!!!!
Well there you have it! My first half marathon recap. Next month brings more training for my next half marathon!!
Keep on running!!
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