Race Report: Corporate 5K 2012

I got a ride home from a coworker and we hung around my apartment until the rest of the team arrived. It's always fun catching up with everyone outside of work and posing for silly photos. About 1 hour before the start, we walked about a mile to the starting corrals to hurry up and wait. Despite there being about 14,000 people, I spotted several people I know in the crowd. That always amazes me. We were towards the front, but it still took us over 5-7 minutes to cross the starting line and I saved every ounce of energy until then when I finally started running. It was pretty crowded, but I was still able to maneuver pretty well. The wind made it feel cool while we stood around, but I warmed up quickly once I was moving. I chose not to do intervals and instead ran most of the way except for 30s at mile markers 1 & 2 and the 2 water stops.

That strategy worked pretty well and earned me a course PR from last year's time by 2 minutes and  about a minute slower than my 5K PR. I'll take it! However, I think I'll stick to 4:1 for the 5K in two weeks, at least to start. I was battling a small side stitch most of the way, but was able to focus on my breathing and not let it affect me too much. I wasn't trying to PR, but I wasn't out for a leisurely stroll either. I kept up a steady comfortably hard pace the whole time. 

The first mile sucked because I wasn't warmed up and my outfit was uncomfortable: my top kept riding up and my skirt sliding down. I finally got it positioned properly and forgot about it. I was pleased I ran the first mile in 10:30 without really trying to push the pace. Mile two went much better, probably because I had 2 short walk breaks, a shot block and some water. Despite the two walk breaks, I ran it 30s faster than the first. The third mile was about the same, with 2 short walk breaks, and I was able to hold the pace I managed during mile 2 and even speed up a few seconds. I was in the groove now and this mile felt great. As I neared the finish line, I kicked it up another gear for the final tenth and finished strong in 31:38.  Splits (from watch): 10:36 - 10:05 - 9:56 - :58. Runmeter Splits: http://j.mp/HvvSSG.

I still hate 5Ks, but I'm bringing it for a sub-30 at Run for the Trees in 2 weeks. We had 20 registered this year, and 13 were able to attend and complete the 5K! We're already plotting for next year :)

Race Report: Corporate 5K 2011

I love this race! With over 14,000 runners and walkers, it's amazing to be running in a constant sea of runners and be part of something so huge. Our team this year had 29 registered and 25 made it to the start and finish line tonight! I'm so very proud of all of them.

I finished the race in 33:42 @ 10:47 pace. This is a course PR and a much better finish time than I expected considering my foot was bothering me while standing at the start and my legs felt really tight for the first mile. I was struggling a bit during the first mile, but I guess that's because I was running faster than I thought =P It  was very crowded and hot, but I found my groove and ran the whole thing minus 2 brief water breaks. I'm shocked I finished only ~1.5 minutes slower than my 5K PR and a course PR by over a minute. Splits: 11:09 - 10:53 - 10:18 /mile. 

They did a great job organizing the start this year with runners lined up on Central and the walkers lined up perpendicular on Eola drive and starting after all the runners. This helped ease some of the congestion and ensure the walkers didn't get trampled by the speedy runners.  I also loved this year's course. It was a nice rectangle and most of it was on paved roads and very little bricks. My group started in the front of the 25+ min runners, so we were essentially in the middle of the pack, and it was an awesome sight when I turned onto Robinson and could see the wall of people in front of me. The weather cooperated too with a nice breeze, but it was still very humid because of all the people and during parts of the course when houses blocked all the wind. 

But the best part was the after party at my place where we hung out, ate yummy food (and we still have way too many cookies leftover) and shared race stories. It's always great to hear the enthusiasm of all the new runners who finished their first 5k tonight and had a great time! Yay! Thanks CDL for another great year!

Friday Five: Corporate 5K Quickie Race Report

I need to write a proper race report for last night's Corporate 5K, but I have 100+ photos to go through and videos, and a busy day ahead, so I'll do it this weekend. In the meantime, you get a mini race report Friday Five style :)

1. According to Track Shack, the race had 617 teams and 12,633 runners/walkers!
2. Team Stats:
• 34 registered participants; 31 completed the race (we had 9 last year + 1 cheerleader)
• 12 completed their first 5K!
• 7 returned from last year, and our cheerleader Sammy did the race this year
3. One of our runners, Bob Reed sang the national anthem at the race with his quartet Makeshift. View the video on YouTube.
4. Per my garmin, I ran 3.13 in 34:37 (11:03 min/mile pace). My clock time was 43:20 as it took almost 9 minutes to cross the start line. Read my mini race report on dailymile.
5. Below is a group photo of most of the team before the race. You can see more photos on Flickr, and I'll be adding more to that album soon.

not pictured: Alison, Beth, Bob, Danny, Don, Manny, Matt, Patricia, Regina, Shannon

Three Things Thursday

This will probably not be a regular feature, but I'm giving it a try today since I have things to say :)

1. I've had 2 great swim workouts this week, and I'm finally getting the hang of bilateral breathing. I can only do it for 1 lap (50 yds) at a time and then I need a break, but that's progress! I also need to use a pull buoy or I get too tired/out of breath after one length, but that's ok. I'm focusing on building muscle memory for now and will work on doing it without the pull buoy later.
   
2. Tonight is the Corporate 5K, and I'm really excited! We have 34 people in our team and most will be coming over to my place for a post-race potluck. For many of them, this will be their first 5k race, and that is super exciting! I plan to take a deluge of photos before, during, and after to document this milestone for them, and Jason will be running with the helmet cam again :)
3. Because of a busy week of getting everything ready for the Corporate 5K tonight and Relay for Life tomorrow, we've not been able to bike to work this week. However, I managed to get in a 1 hour yoga workout yesterday that included abs and upper body strength. I really need to revise my training schedule and find time for core and upper body strength training at least once a week -- ideally twice.
   

So that's all for this quickie post. I hope to post a race report tonight or tomorrow morning with lots of photos and videos. Go team Online@UCF!

Final Corporate 5K Training Session

Today was our last training run before the Corporate 5k on Thursday. Our group has come a long way in just 2 short months, when running for 1 minute seemed like an eternity for most. Today those who've been following the Couch to 5k program ran 5 km in 41 minutes with only 2 minutes of walking. I'm so proud of what they've accomplished, and I can't wait to share their first 5k race with them.

This is only a fraction of our Corporate 5k team. We recruited 34 coworkers, friends, and family who will be running and walking this race. I live 1/4 mile from the start, so we'll meet at my place for a pre-race group photo, walk to the start together, and have a post-race potluck at our apartment where we'll share race stories and watch the slideshow of all the photos and videos we've taken during training and the race. I can't wait!

Vote for our Corporate 5k t-shirt design

Victor designed our Corporate 5K an awesome team shirt (see design below) and now we need your help to win the best shirt design contest. Visit the Corporate 5K Blog and vote for "UCF CDL" in the poll to the right. Everyone can vote, even if you are not participating, so spread the word!

Last Pre-Marathon Run and Corporate 5k Update

It is Thursday, which means corporate 5k training after work. The group is on week 2 of C25K, which means a total of 9-10 minutes of running that we do on a 2.5 mile loop and walk the rest. Since I pushed it a bit at the race on Sunday, I just did that on Tuesday with them. However, today I wanted to do one last run before Sunday's marathon, so I ran the 2.5 miles on my own at 5 p.m. before I went out with the group at 5:30 p.m. The run felt good, but I'm tired of the weather being hot one day and cold the next. It's so unpredictable that I pack a huge bag of clothes for every weather just in case.

Corporate 5k training and recruitment is going great! We have a consistent group of 9-10 show up each week to run/walk, and everyone seems to be having a great time.  I'm documenting everything with lots of photos and videos to edit into a video after the race. Many have posted little profiles on our team blog with their background and goals. I hope to also record little video testimonials in the coming weeks.

As of this afternoon, we have 19 officially registered for the race and a few more are joining tomorrow; it's pay day! :) That's already more than double the size of our team of 9 last year, and it's not even March yet! It's great seeing our little team grow every day and motivating others in our department to "learn to live well" :) I'm excited to see our team continue to grow and getting everyone across that finish line on April 15th!

Corporate 5K Training Day 2

Today was day 2 of corporate 5k training, and we're still having fun :) We had 9 people again, but Corey, Jen, and Baiyun joined us instead of Bob, Daniel and his dad. The boys did their own thing, and I led the girls. We covered 1.86 miles in 31 minutes. I think we ran an extra minute and walked a bit further. Next week we are going to tackle the entire 2.3 mile loop.

I'm going to switch to galloway run/walk/run intervals instead of c25k because it will be more flexible to accommodate our diverse group. My plan is to start each session with a 5 minute warm up walk, then run 1 minute and walk 2 minutes until we get close to the end (talking extra walk breaks along the way as needed by the group), and finish the loop with a cool down walk. We'll build onto the distance over the next few weeks, and maybe switch intervals to 1:1 as everyone's endurance increases and they become more comfortable with running.

I'm excited to see our team grow each week, both in numbers of participants and in their abilities. We now have 13 registered, plus my parents makes 15. Below is the group that showed up to train today.

Corporate 5K Training Kickoff

Today was our first group training session for the Corporate 5K, and I'm really pleased with the turn out. We had a total of 9 people show up (including me and Jason), and I know a few others could not make it but will join us in the future. Recruitment is also going very well, and we already have 11 officially registered, plus my parents makes 13. That's 4 more than last year, so I'm confident we'll reach our goal of 20-25.

Everyone met at Partnership II in Research Park after work. Jason and Bob ran a 2.3 mile loop around Research Park while I led a group of beginners using the Couch to 5K program. After a 5 minute warm up walk, we alternated running for 1 minute and walking for 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes. My group covered 1.5 miles in 26 minutes, including the warm up and cool down walk. I think everyone had a good time, and I hope to see them back on Thursday.

The photo below is the whole group after we finished. Notice that they are still smiling! Yay! :)

See more photos on flickr

Organizing the CDL Corporate 5K Team

For the 2nd year in a row, Jason and I are organizing a team at work to participate in Track Shack's Corporate 5K. We had a team of 7 (plus my parents and cheerleader Sammy) participate last year, including three completing their very first 5K. Our goal this year is to recruit 20.

We had a great kick-off meeting on Monday, and as of today already have 5 people registered for the race. We're turning it into a wellness challenge, to promote our theme, "Learning to Live Well," and involve everyone who wants to participate any way they can -- walk, run, or cheer us on while following their own wellness journey.

New for this year, we're designing team shirts and organizing group training sessions for runners and walkers. I'll be leading a group of beginners through the Couch to 5K program. I'm always excited to introduce new people into the wonderful world of running, so I'm really looking forward to this. Our apartment will be race day headquarters for our team, and we'll have a little post-race party there to share stories, photos, and food. We've setup a blog, twitter account, and facebook page to keep everyone updated and motivated.

If you are organizing your own team at work, what are some of the things you are doing to help recruit runners/walkers and keep them motivated?

Race Report: Corporate 5K w/CDWS

WOW! This was the biggest race I've ever run! Last Thursday night (6:45 pm) me and a team from work ran the Corporate 5K. We had a group of 9 running it, 7 co-workers and my parents, and we had a blast. I'm actually really impressed with how well I did considering I was dodging people the entire time.

My Garmin says I ran it in 34:45. My clock time (not chip-timed) was closer to 44 minutes because it took us almost 10 minutes to cross the start line. I ran most of the race and just stopped for 1 minute after mile 1 and 2 and at the water stops.

My dad was actually behind me the whole race and caught up to me just before the 3 mile mark. I tried to keep up with him but I just didn't have it in me, so he finished just before me. There went my one chance to beat him in a race! =P

Jason ran with a flip cam taped to his bike helmet and recorded the whole thing, so he should have some footage up someday from that as well as all the still photos.

After the race, everyone came back to our place for pizza and beer and to relive the event. We watched Jason's footage and looked at all the pics. Everyone had a great time and I'm so glad we did this and had 2 team members run their first 5k!


Stats:

• garmin - 3.16 in 34:45
• clock - 43:50
• mile 1 - 11:04 (clearly started out too fast)
• mile 2 - 11:36 (faded a bit; this is where most of the walking happened I think)
• mile 3 - 10:33 (found my 2nd wind and tried to beat dad)
• finish - 9:40 (1:31 - gave it all I had to try to beat dad, but it was just not enough)

Many more race photos on flickr.