What a Frosty 5K

I ran my final 5K of 2013 last Saturday.
It was the Inman Frosty 5K and I ran it with my friend Erin.
Erin has been my consummate running buddy this year. I've enjoyed running with her and getting to know her better.

Before the Frosty 5K

Erin's 2013 resolution was to run 13 races in the year. A baker's dozen. As it turns out, I ended up part of Erin's resolution. I ran all 13 races with her!
This was my first time running the Inman Frosty 5K, which is in its second year.
Not surprisingly, I woke up to rain, and a cold rain at that. Yep, my final race of the year was going to look a lot like my very first race of this year -- cold and wet. Way to bookend the year, Mother Nature.

I'm in the blue poncho and Santa hat. Looking pretty miserable

 I was also fighting off the start of a cold, so didn't run particularly well. Erin did, which was wonderful. She completed her goal AND in a nice race time.

Erin completes her goal

Looking Poncho-licious

 Despite the rain, and the cold, it turned out 2013 was a great running year for me.
No, I was not running faster. And I entered a whole new decade, and that didn't mean I was winning any awards in the new age group.
But, I returned to endurance running. I ran two half marathons this year, and at the beginning of the year, that was not even on my radar. At all.
I thought half marathons were behind me. I was beginning to think 10Ks were going to be my new "long runs."
Thankfully, my running buddy Jessica showed me that half marathons were not behind me. They were ahead of me. My favorite running was all ahead of me. It's all ahead of me.
So although I've ended racing for the rest of the year -- a little respite before I start again Jan. 1 -- I'm starting to look for half marathons for 2014, ones that will also help me tick states off my bucket list.
Let's just hope I can retire the rain poncho at the end of this year.

First 5K in my 50s

Yikes! Did I actually admit to being in my 50s?
It seems so strange, because I certainly don't feel 50. But here I am.
Saturday I ran the One Love, One Heart 5K at Medlock Park in Decatur with my friend Erin.

Erin and me ready to run

I've run this race for years, since it is about 3 miles from my home. This race used to be in February around Valentine's Day, but several years ago it got moved to the first weekend in December.
This year's race was overcast and cool, about 41 degrees, but it was also a bit breezy, so it felt colder.  Note the gloves in the photo! It threatened to rain, but never did.
I did get to wear my new Skirt Sports capris. I bought several items from Skirt Sports with my birthday cash.
I didn't feel like I was running my best during this race. I hadn't run in 2 weeks and my legs felt a little sluggish. But when Erin and I got to the finish, I realized we had run a nice race.
I didn't win in my new age group, but that's OK.
I'm smart enough to be grateful to be in a new age group. Honestly, I feel younger, and I hope I always remain young at heart.

Final 5K in my 40s

I ran my final 5K of my 40s yesterday.
As of next week, I'll be running races in a whole new age group -- a whole new decade.
I ran the Lakeside Viking 5K, which is not far from my house. I really hadn't expected to run a race this weekend, but Monday on my way to work I saw little signs up around the area announcing the race. I had run it before, so I quickly signed up.
I'm so glad I did.
It was a cool morning Saturday, and a little damp.
I got to the race and realized I forgot my iPod. It was too late to return to the house, even though I wasn't that far away. I just could not have gone home and returned in a comfortable time to make the race. So I decided to run old school, with no music.
In a way, it was better to run without it. I'm so used to running with my set playlists, and I know that they are all about 36 to 38 minutes long. I know what the final song on each playlist is, so when I hear it, I know I need to be close to the finish
Without the music, I could only listen to the cadence of my footfalls and my breathing.
It allowed me to zone out completely while I ran, which I think helped me run a little faster.
I was pleased with my result.
That night my sisters treated me to a birthday dinner, and even picked me up in a stretch limo. It was such fun. They even gave me the perfect gift:

My new wine glass

What I love about this wine glass, other than the bling, is how BIG it is. Because I hate to have to go back for seconds. :)
I just looked up my first race of this decade. I'm a full three minutes slower now. Not bad. I'll take that for my final 5K in my 40s.

Paying the last toll

I got to run today on a stretch of an Atlanta freeway that was anything but free, and often nerve-wracking to negotiate in a car.
Today was the Georgia 400 - Pay the Last Toll 4 miler.
Georgia 400 is a toll road that gets many motorists to the northern suburbs of Atlanta -- 50 cents each way. Until Nov. 22, when the toll, after 20 years, finally goes away.
Race organizers shut down the highway this morning to allow runners to run 4 miles and throw in the final toll, with all of the cash going to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
It was a cool, misty morning. Very gray, but that wasn't too bad for a road race in mid November!

Erin and I at the start

 The race started on Glenridge Drive, then went down the ramp on the northbound side of the freeway.

View down Georgia 400

It was fun that every time a MARTA train went by it would sound its horn and we'd wave to the passengers on board, and we could see them wave back!

Approaching the toll plaza

Erin paying her final toll

Me paying my final toll

What's funny is I started collecting all of this found money around the toll plaza! I was like a kid in a candy store. Dimes, nickels and pennies. I did find a quarter further up the road, but it was likely someone's toll money that fell out of their pocket during the race. I did scoop up some coins, but they all went into the bucket. This was one time when the found money should have gone to charity, and not the pig, although I had found a couple of pennies on the freeway earlier and they ended up in the pig because I couldn't dig them out in time for the bucket.

Photos at the former toll plaza signs

Being silly on the route

Taking heed

Sign of the times

As you can see, Erin and I weren't serious runners on this race, which was fine, but sort of made me regret I'd paid extra to be a timed runner! Oh well. We had fun, and in the end, if you are not having fun on these races, why do them?
I will say this race exacted a bit of a toll on my right knee, though. I could tell I was still sore from last weekend's half marathon. But it was the kind of toll I was willing to pay.

Rocking it in Savannah

I ran my second half marathon of the year this past weekend in Savannah, Ga.
It was another in the Rock N Roll race series, and unlike the Country Music Half Marathon back in April, the weather was near perfect for this race.
My running buddy Jessica and I drove down to Savannah the Friday before the race. We got there in the early afternoon and hit the runner's expo to pick up our race numbers and T-shirts.

Having fun at the expo

Rockin' it, old school. LOL

We had a little fun at the expo, too, taking some crazy photos.
We got there at just the right time. We walked right in with no line or anything. When we left about an hour and a half later, the line was snaking out of the convention center and the cars were lining up to get into the parking area.
We parked downtown next and walked around doing a little shopping before finding Tubby's restaurant to stop for supper.

 

The view of the sun setting near the Talmadge Bridge from our restaurant on River Street

 Savannah is such a great city. When I lived in Southeast Georgia after college, I would drive up to Savannah every now and again. Back then, you could still drive a car down River Street and park in little dirt parking lots right near River Street. All of that is gone!

River Street is still a big tourist area. We were lucky to be eating dinner early so we could sit right on the rail of the restaurant and have a great view of the street below. While we were eating, one of the big container ships from the nearby port went by. It was too dark to get a photo, though.

On our way back to the car that evening, we climbed back up the steep steps to Bay Street. These historic steps would not be fun to negotiate in the rain or after one too many cocktails!

We risked it

 We stayed at an EconoLodge about 7 miles from downtown Savannah. It was much cheaper than staying right downtown and we decided we'd rather spend the money on a nice meal rather than a hotel where we'd only stay for a little while.
Of course, the saying "You get what you pay for" was true for this hotel.
We put in for a 4:45 am wake up call and were flummoxed when we got a 3:45 am call. Turns out, this hotel never changed its clocks back on Nov. 2 in its wake up call system! I can't believe we were the first to tell them about it!
We met up with friends Angela and Jeff, who ran the Country Music Half as well, and walked over to the start.

Heading over to the start

At the Start

Running into co-worker Dixie

 There were about 15,000 runners for the marathon and half marathon. Never ceases to amaze me that out of all of those folks, I manage to run into a co-worker who was there to run it as well!

Beautiful morning for a run

The morning was absolutely glorious, not too hot or too cold. Once the sun came up, it was beautiful blue skies.

Moss draped oaks along the race course

The race course ran through Savannah's historic district three times. We started out on Bay Street, then doubled back along Gwinnett Street to Montgomery then onto Broad. We  then came back on Anderson Street and finished up in Forsyth Park. I even managed to pick up two quarters along the course. I saw another quarter and penny, but it was too crowded for me to stop and collect it.

the fountain at Forsyth Park

Finishers! Angela, Me and Jessica

Me and Jessica

Here we are with our finisher's medals. I didn't finish in my goal time, but I did finish in under 3 hours. I really had hoped to finish in 2 hours 45 minutes, which would have been a full 10 minutes better than my time in Nashville. I realize now that was a bit ambitious, and I was only 1.5 minutes slower than Nashville. All in all, I'm happy.

When Jessica and I finished the race, we were on the hunt for lunch. We ended up at a chain Italian restaurant near our hotel.

How every half marathon should end



The best part was the celebratory glasses of wine and pasta!
We realized at the finish area that because we ran both the Nashville race and the Savannah race, we were going to get a bonus medal.

Run two, get the Rock Encore medal

The Rock N Roll series provides bonus medals for more races you complete in a calendar year. One guy was picking up his 10 medal and it was HUGE. The others were on display and we totally fell in love with the extra bling. In particular, I now must have this:

Grand Slam medal for completing four races in a single year

For me to run four half marathons in a single year is going to be extraordinarily ambitious, but a girl's gotta dream, right?
If I can do it, I would completely rock.

 

 

Anything IS possible

There are times I know I am a complete runnerd.
Who else would run a 10K on Saturday morning and turn around and run a 5K at almost 2 a.m. on Sunday? Well, me.
I ran the Anything Is Possible 5K at 1:50 a.m. this morning. Why 1:50 a.m.? Well, you start the race right before Daylight Saving Time ends in the United States, so you end up finishing the race before you start it. Get it?
I really had no intention of running this race this year.
After all, I had signed up for the Strong Legs Run 10K Saturday morning. I really didn't expect to run another 5K on top of that! But I did!
I convinced my friend Kellie to run the Anything Is Possible 5K last year and she enjoyed it so much she wanted to do it again this year. How could I say no??

Me and Kellie

 To be honest, I was kind of dreading this race. I ran the best 10K time I'd run in years Saturday morning and had a very busy Saturday. I never had time to take a quick nap and feel refreshed for the race.
When the alarm went off at midnight I was not all that sure I was going to get my behind out of the nice warm bed! But I did.
And after the race was over I was so glad that I had.
Kellie invited a couple more friends along.

Me, Sasha, Joy and Kellie

Sisters, Sasha and Joy

Sasha and Joy are sisters and they are just as nice as they can be. There were really good sports to do a 5K in the middle of the night!
We all had fun. Kellie absolutely smoked the race, coming in at 25 minutes.
I ended up running, even though I had fully intended on walking, but my legs still felt pretty good. I didn't too badly, even though I was a little slower than last year.
Here I am coming in at the finish, courtesy of Kellie, who is Ms. Speedy.

At the finish

Today I have taken it easy, enjoying a nice walk with a neighbor.
Next up is the half marathon in Savannah. Will I do better than my time in Nashville earlier this year?
After all of this training, I truly believe anything is possible.

Strong Legs, Run

I ran my fastest 10K race this morning in at least three years.
I did the Kids II Strong Legs Run 10K this morning, held at Turner Field in downtown Atlanta.
I know I've mentioned this before, but downtown Atlanta is hilly. The roads are deceptive when you are in a car, but on foot, it's easy to see.
The race started early, and it was lovely to see the sun shining on the gold dome of the Georgia Capitol.

Morning breaks on a beautiful fall day

I had not run this race before, but some veterans told me the route was changed a bit this year. Turns out some road construction was the cause of that, but the race did turn down Auburn Avenue, an historic African-American area, and we turned a corner right at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached. The King Center is right near by. It reminded me of a half marathon I ran several years ago downtown and when we ran by the church, the choir was out singing. It was incredible!
No choirs today, but it still was wonderful to run by there and be reminded of history.
This race was timed, as many are that I run, but when I read the instructions, it said that it wouldn't be timed beyond 75 minutes. It has been a long while since I've run a 10K in under 75 minutes!
But I did so well in the 10 miler last Sunday, I wanted to try to push myself. I thought I had a shot at coming in right on the money.
Turns out, I was off by just 2 minutes! I came in at 1 hour, 17 minutes. And that's the best 10K time I've had in years. And it turns out the results were published, so maybe I didn't read the instructions correctly. That mistake pushed me, however, so it was a happy mistake on my part.
I even found a penny during a short walk break. I saw another penny, but I had to let it be. I was pushing for time at that point.
As tired as these strong legs are, I've got another race tonight -- that crazy 1:50 am race that starts right before the time change, but more about that later.
For now, I'll just say my strong legs do run.

Running better than the government

This morning was the Atlanta Marathon. Less than a week ago, that race was not on my radar.
But my friend Angela had signed up for the 10 Miler that is part of the race festivities, and since I needed to get a 10-mile training run in for the upcoming half marathon, I signed up.
The irony? Angela promptly got very sick with a sinus infection, so I ended up running it by myself!
I was a little unsure how I would do, but I thought this race would be a good estimate of how the half would go, and whether I would be able to better my half marathon time from earlier this spring.
After finishing five minutes better than my goal time this morning, I feel confident that I can do better in two weeks!
The race started early and was a point-to-point race, which meant I had to get to the finish line to park the car at Atlantic Station even earlier than expected and walk the mile and a quarter to the start at Piedmont Park -- in the dark. Race organizers handed out glow sticks for us so we'd be even a little more visible.
It was cold this morning, but not freezing, as predicted earlier in the week.
Because the race was part of the marathon, there was really great race support on the course. Cheering stations were about every mile and a half.
I tried to take some photos along the way, but it was hard, since I was pushing myself. I even left four pennies seen along the route right where they lay. You know I was determined if I didn't pick up any found money to feed the pig!!
Neighborhoods competed at the cheer zones for cash prizes to their nonprofits. For example, Briar Vista Elementary School not far from my house was a cheer zone, and if they win best cheer zone they get funds for the school. They dedicated their cheer zone as a zombie zone. Folks were dressed up as zombies and there were funny signs.
Actually, there were funny signs all along the route. A couple of the funniest, to me, were the signs that read "You run better than the government" and the similar "Running better than Congress," a take on the recent 18-day federal government shutdown.
Another funny nearer to the end of the course was one that said "This is not time for Walken" and had a photo of actor Christopher Walken on it.
My only complaint was that the second to last mile was uphill, and I do mean uphill!
But, as you can see, all was forgiven once I got across the finish.

Finisher!

My new hardware

In all, another great race sponsored by the Atlanta Track Club.
So what do you know? I do run better than the government!

Run Like Hell, in the rain

Well, what's another 5K in Atlanta if I can't do it in the rain?
Jeez, I should have known the Resolution Run on Jan. 1 in a real downpour was going to set the tone for this year's running!
Saturday was one of my favorite races in Atlanta, the Run Like Hell in Historic Oakland Cemetery. I ran it with my friend Erin. And wouldn't you know, it was a light drizzle and cool for the race.

Me and Erin

A section of Oakland Cemetery

One reason I really love this race is folks really go all out for Halloween and come in costumes. There is a lot of originality in some of the costumes, but I sure wonder how they run in them!
Here's a funny costume of a hospital patient. I ran most of the race near this guy and the butterfly gals who were with him.

Hospital patient costume

Then there were these fun costumes:

Mario Brothers

Minions

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Bud Light six pack

 I saw this Bud Light six pack on the route. They were one of the last runners on the course, and they were about to hit a really tough hill that is part of the  course. I don't know how they were going to make it!
Despite the rain, it was a decent run. It was a light rain, so it wasn't too bad. When we finished, we took a quick peek around the cemetery. Here is the grave of historic golfer Bobby Jones. I think I've posted this grave site before, but those who visit often leave golf balls for him.

Bobby Jones' grave site

Once the race was finished, I was home in time to cheer on my Missouri Tigers, who beat the Florida Gators to remain undefeated. this is an exciting year for Missouri! And the volleyball team beat Florida today to be 23-0!! How about that?
I'm still in training for the Savannah Rock N Roll Half Marathon.
Today's 9-mile training run was hard. I really felt like I had dead legs. I know it's OK to have one crappy run before the big race. I'm hoping this was it.
Otherwise, I'm going to have to Run Like Hell to get to that finish line in three weeks.

The 12th State, or Back to the Homeland

My bucket list is a little lighter after last weekend. I ran a 5K in Nebraska, knocking off the 12th state I've done a 5K in.
I have a little history with Omaha, Nebraska, where the race took place. I was born there and my aunt lives there.
So I signed up for the Komen Race for the Cure in Omaha, hopped on an overbooked Delta flight and ran the race! I also had a wonderful visit with my aunt.
I arrived Oct. 4 to a very small airport, Eppley Airfield. I get so spoiled going through Atlanta, which is huge, that I suppose anything that only has one restaurant and one newsstand in the ENTIRE terminal will feel small to me.

Arriving in Omaha

On Saturday, Oct. 5, my aunt and I did a little touring, including driving by the hospital where I was born.

Where I was born, many, many years ago!

Then we parked and walked all over downtown Omaha. It was sunny and cool when we started but it got much cooler, cloudier and windy as the day went on. But we had fun anyway. We stopped for a bite to eat a Chinese restaurant that has been downtown in some shape or form since the 1940s.

Beautiful inlaid tables were all over the restaurant

The tables all had beautiful inlaid mother of pearl. We both had soup and egg rolls. It was kind of the perfect lunch, since it was so blustery outside.
Then we found the First National Sculpture Parks, which are throughout downtown.

Me with the bison

Me with the pioneers

In the photos of me with the pioneers, the press room of the Omaha World Herald is the building behind me. The Omaha World Herald's main office is an office tower a few blocks away. We had parked in a little park area, sort of at the start of the riverfront area.

Along the little riverfront area

We were going to walk over to the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge but we drove over instead, so I got to visit Iowa as well.
As you can see, there is a line on the bridge denoting the two states. And my aunt says this is the only pedestrian bridge traversing the Missouri River.

In both states

The Omaha skyline, seen from Iowa

 The Iowa side has a nice park area as well, including an amphitheater.
My aunt then was showing me a few more of the sites and she wanted to show me the Joslyn Art Museum. We weren't going to go in, but we were walking around the outside and I could see a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture inside, so we went in. The admission is free, thanks to a generous donor, but we got there just 15 minutes before closing. We did a very brisk walk through some of the exhibits, and I did get to see the Post-Impressionists room, my favorites! Got to see a couple Monets, a Renoir, and several others.

The Joslyn Art Museum

Dale Chihuly artwork

It was fun, even if a bit brief!
The race was cold, and what else?, rainy! I even brought my rain poncho, but left it at the condo. It wasn't raining when we left for the race, which was held at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, which is the convention center.

Ready to start

Bundled up! It was cold

There were a few hills on the course, but not too bad. We did go by some of Creighton University's buildings/campus. That was nice. Otherwise, I didn't recognize too much of it from Saturday's walk. But then, it was raining, so I kind of kept my head down.
In all, it was a great weekend!
At the airport Sunday after the race, I was struck by how small the airport was, but thankfully, there was this:

821 miles to Atlanta, 20 feet to the bar. Ha! 

 I didn't partake, but it was a funny sign.
I've run races in four states this year. I can't believe I got that many in! I really thought I'd sort of get two per year, and it would take me a long time to get them all in. It still will likely take a long time to get them all in, but that's part of the fun
Although I was born in Nebraska, we moved to New York when I was four. But I spent many of my childhood summers in Trenton, Nebr., visiting my grandparents. Trenton is all the way across the state. The very last time I was in Nebraska, prior to this past weekend, was for my grandparents' funeral in 2009. They died within a week of each other at the ages of 95.
It was nice to revisit my home town, none of which I remember. It was even better to visit with my aunt and pick up my 12th state.