Tuesday, December 14, 2010

(Belated) MBE: 2010 Bests and Worsts

Monday Brain Exchange (MBE) is sponsored by Jill, who blogs at Finishing Is Winning. This week's topic is 2010 Bests and WorstsQuestion: Tell readers about your 2010 Best and Worst races. What made them so great or not so great?

Oh dear, this is like asking a parent to choose their favorite child =P Since I can't choose just one, I'll have a sort of academy awards of races :)
  • Biggest AchievementGasparilla Marathon - you know this had to make the list because it was my first marathon and I had a great time. Not only did I finish it, but I met all my goals.
  • Best Performance: Space Coast Half Marathon - after 6 half marathons, I finally PRed and finished in under 2:30! Hell Yes!
  • Most Fun: OUC Half Marathon - I almost didn't even run this race, but having run another half the previous weekend, I just ran it for fun and to qualify for half fanatics. I didn't set any goals other than to finish, and to enjoy the run. I still did much better than expected.
  • Best Group Event: BCM Relay - This was a 5-person relay that I ran with my mom, my dad, Jason, and his dad. I managed a 5-mile PR without any walking, the energy and support of the race was amazing, and I loved crossing the finish line with my family.
  • Biggest Challenge: Firefighter Challenge and Stair Climb - This was the hardest thing I've ever done, and must harder than I expected, but I'm really glad I did it. 
  • Worse Race: CF Tri #1 - This was the only triathlon I did this year, because the comedy of errors that ensued caused me to break up with triathlon. It was still a great experience because it taught me a lot. 

Saturday, December 11, 2010

New Hope for Kids Holiday Ride

Jason and I were Marshals for the New Hope for Kids Holiday Ride tonight, and it was so much fun. It was awesome to ride around the neighborhoods of Maitland, with a police escort, to see all the houses decked out in Christmas lights and decoration. But the coolest part was that it was fun for the residents to see the parade of bikes roll by decked out in Christmas lights too.

I dressed for the occasion with festive knee high socks, put red bows on my helmet, put blinking christmas lights on my bike frame, and hung stockings from the rear bike rack. Jason towed the trailer with a Christmas tree and Tigger, who wearing his Santa hat.


The ride itself was a leisurely 9 mile ride at less than 8 mph. We had a break after 6 miles at a nearby school, where we could use the restroom and refuel with cookies and sandwiches. We rode an additional 10.5 miles to the start and back with Lisa and Keri, which was easier on the way there when it wasn't as cold and we weren't full of yummy cuban food and sangria from Rolando's. We were prepared with the right gear, so it was a super evening.

I highly recommend this event to everyone next year, but you don't have to wait until next year to see Christmas lights while riding your bike. Join us next week, 12/18, for the Transition Orlando Christmas Light Bike Ride around Downtown Orlando starting at 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Week 48 Recap

Another great week. I already posted about my great race at OUC and becoming a half fanatic yesterday, and today I did plenty of yoga and RICE. I'm still on the fence about the Reindeer Run this weekend because I may have pulled a muscle on my left thigh. It's feeling much better today, so I hope it's just soreness, but it means I'm playing things by ear. I'll see how the rest of the week goes and decide last minute. Now the numbers:

Week Totals (rounded)

  • run - 18 miles
  • walk - 17 miles
  • bike - 6 miles
  • strength/core - 10 min
  • yoga - 1h 20m
  • totals - 41 miles / 11 hrs

Workout Summary

See details on Dailymile
  • Monday - walked 5.5 miles
  • Tuesday - walked 2.75 miles; ran 2.5 miles; push ups/crunches
  • Wednesday - walked 2.75 miles
  • Thursday - ran 2.5 miles; walked 2 miles
  • Friday - walked 2.5 miles
  • Saturday - ran 13.1 miles; biked 5.8 miles; 20m yoga
  • Sunday - 1 hr yoga; walked 1.2 miles

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Race Report: OUC Half Marathon 2010

the outfit - LOVE running in a skirt and knee high socks.
More photos on Flickr
I did it! I completed my 7th half marathon with a great finish time and qualified to join the half fanatics -- this was my 2nd half marathon in 7 days. But most importantly, I had an absolute blast!

Official Stats:
  • chip - 2:31:03
  • pace - 11:31.8
  • clock - 2:32:27
  • overall - 1974 / 2306
  • age group - 165 /202
  • gender - 923 / 1156
Pre-Race:
The best part about this race is that the start is literally 1 block from my apartment. The race started at 7 am, so I was going to wake up 6:15, get ready and walk over a few minutes before the start. Of course, I naturally awoke at 5:15, so I got up and got ready. This workout well because I could meet my Galloway group for the annual OUC group photo. I then went back to my apartment for a little bit to stay warm and eat a few shot blocks before walking back to the start line.

Race Strategy:
I caved and ran with a watch, because with the great weather we had this morning I had a feeling I would do much better than expected and would want to have the data. However, I started slow, listened to my body, and really enjoyed the race.

I ran with Penny, Julie, and Jen for the first half, having an absolute blast, then sped up for the 2nd half since I was still feeling really good. As you can see from the pace chart below, I was on pace to finish in sub-2:30 until mile 10, but I couldn't speed up enough during the last 5K. After last week's performance, I'm thrilled I did this well and still negative split the race. The last 4-5 miles hurt, but I felt really strong throughout the whole race and dug deep for a strong finish. This is only 3 minutes slower than last week, but a course PR by over 7.5 minutes.

OUC HM Splits

Gear: 
shedding extra weight at mile 10I struggled with what to wear since it was 45º at the start, but I knew I would warm up and could run faster if I was a bit cooler, so tried not to overdo it. I really wanted to run in a skirt, and paired with knee high socks it was plenty warm. I loved this outfit and it was so comfortable to run in it. Who would have thought I'd become a girly runner :)

I also wore my arm warmers, buff, headbands, and windbreaker. I unzipped the arms of the jacket early on, turning it into a vest, and stuffed my accessories in the pockets as I shed them. I swapped my headband for a dry bondi band half way through, which was nice. My pockets were all full and bulky, so I was happy to toss the vest to Jason when I saw him on his bike at mile 10.

Post-Race:
After I finished, I stuck around for a bit to cheer others, then walked the 1 block home. I love doing a race this close to home! I was really sore, I so I did 20 minutes of yoga stretches as soon as I got home and that helped a ton. We then went for a leisurely bike ride to lunch at Harmoni, dessert at Delish, and Orange Cycle. After running a ton more errands, we ended the evening with dinner at the Melting Pot. Yum!

Overall Experience:
I'm really glad I did this race--I almost didn't. The weather was perfect, the route is familiar, the medal had a new ribbon, the support at the water stations and from the neighborhood was awesome, and I felt amazing during the whole race. They have music on the course, and many of the water stations were themed. Even the cops directing traffic got into it and cheered us on. I don't remember having this much fun at a race since my first half marathon on the same course.  Now I take a bit of a break, maybe doing some festive 5Ks for fun, then tackle #8 on January 2nd in my quest to run 6 in 6 months.

Friday, December 3, 2010

OUC HM Pre-Race Musings

Tomorrow I will run the OUC Half Marathon for the 3rd year in a row. This was my 1st half marathon two years ago, my 3rd last year, and tomorrow's will be my 7th half marathon. This still astonishes me. Every time I want to feel sorry for myself because I'm not fast enough, or a race didn't go as planned, or I am hurt, I pause and think back to all that I've accomplished in just 2.5 years.

Because I ran a half marathon last weekend, and didn't hold any punches, my plan for tomorrow is to enjoy myself. My primary goal is just to finish and thus become a half fanatic, but I would really like to at least get a course PR (< 2:38:56). I'm still going to run my heart out, listen to my body, and hope for the best.  If I can stand it, I'm going to run naked--that is without a watch or my iPhone. This is how I ran it the first time (not by choice) and I had a great time and did better than expected. I know it will kill me to not have that data to analyze later; I do love my data :) Maybe I'll bring my camera and take photos of the clocks at the mile markers lol

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Three Things Thursday: Name Change, Big Coat, HBBC

#1 - I changed the name of my blog to "See Kitzzy Run" so if you link to me, please update your link text (the url is staying the same). I've always thought that "[Kitzzy] Lifestyle Change" was a bit clunky. While this blog is still about my lifestyle change to a better me, it is predominantly about my running adventures. I'll still post about other aspects of my lifestyle change too, such as green living, vegetarianism, cycling, and living without a car, but most posts are about running so the new name seems fitting. Besides, it doesn't say what I am running towards :)

HBBC Logo
#2 - I've been doing pretty well in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge (HBBC) so far, but I am far from winning. I earned 37 points during the first week, which included the Thanksgiving Holiday, and I've earned 32 points this week so far with 2 more days to go (weeks go from Saturday to Friday). I also earned extra credit points for promoting the challenge and getting family involved with exercise on Thanksgiving, which brings my grand total so far to 74. That's not too bad, and it puts me in the top 25 out of almost 400, but there are a few with over 100 points already. I doubt I'll actually win this challenge, but it's good motivation to stay active and I still have a chance to win prizes by just participating.


#3 - The forecast for this morning said feels like 35º! Yikes! So I broke out the sweater, scarf, and my big coat that anyone in Florida would consider overkill, but I love it and look for any chance to wear. I was going to run to work from the bus, but running after work when it will be a little warmer sounds way more appealing.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

November 2010 Recap

November was an amazing month, and I already know that December will be too. I completed 5 races, I'm on track for meeting my 2010 goals, and got a new half marathon PR! Oh yes! I'm back! =) There's nothing much more to say, so I'll just let the numbers speak for themselves.

November Accomplishments

  1. Space Coast Half Marathon - 2:28:16 (chip) (New PR!)
  2. Tumarac Turkey Trot 5K - 38:21 (chip)
  3. Founder's Day 10K - 1:09:47 (chip)
  4. Founder's Day 5K - 1:09:47 35:02 (clock)
  5. Urban Dare - 2:15:58 (clock)
  6. NaBloPoMo (blogged daily for 30 days)
  7. Began Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge
  8. See Running Progression spreadsheet

    November Stats

    • walk = 62 miles (holy crap, that's a lot of walking!)
    • run = 57 miles
    • longest run = 13.1 miles
    • bike = 160 miles
    • total = 280 miles / 47 hrs (avg 1.6 hrs/day)

    2010 Goals Progress

    To be on track, percentages should be around 92%
    • run/walk = goal met!
      • 951 /  700 miles 
      • avg: 86/mo; 21/wk
      • (ran 652 miles; 48 miles to go; 12/wk)
    • cycling = 84% complete
      • 1473 / 1750 miles 
      • avg: 134/mo; 33/wk
      • 277 miles to go; 70/wk
    • tri 2010 challenge = 2424 / 2010 (goal met!)
    • total exercise hours = 416 / 365 hours (goal met!)
    • 101 things = 34 / 30 done (goal met!)
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