Snowball Shuffle 8K

This race was a part of Run With Jess's Winter Miles challenge. It's a virtual 8K race. I was lucky to work this race in due to the unseasonably cold and snowy winter we're having.  Treadmills are really getting boring!!  But the weather actually warmed up on the day I planned to go out, and I managed to finish!!  Love the medal!!

Happy New Year 2014

Reflecting on 2013:  

2013 was the year of the set back for my racing, starting with a stress fracture early in the year. It forced me to find other activities in addition to running.   I found Zumba which keeps me moving and is a ton of fun too!!  

I worked in a handful of races during the year, mostly shorter distances with a new PR for the 10k at the Marine Corps 10k.  I only managed to run 1 Half out of 3 I was registered for :/. 

I also volunteered with a women's training group in the Summer. Hope to do that again!!

 

2013

1 - Fun Run (Drenched 5K)
2 - 5K (Virtual Runs)
2 - 5K - 26:20

1 - 5M - 46:49

1 - 10K (Virtual Run) 
1 - 10K - PR 59:41 MCM 
1 - 10M  1:43:11
1 - HM (13.1) 2:18:07 

So, what's next???  

Now for 2014 goals:

My plan is to get back to running consistently at least 3X a week, running shorter races (5K & 10Ks) mostly. I have 2-3 Halfs I'd like to run with that Sub-2 hour goal still hanging out there.  I want to remember I run for fun and fitness!!  

Happy New Year!!  Here's to happy and healthy running!

Wattle Waddle 5 Miler - November 28, 2013

The Wattle Waddle is a great Thanksgiving Day Race. It's the only one in our area that is a 5-miler.  It's fun to start off the Holiday with great friends, but for some reason, it's always so cold for this one!!  I was so happy I had bought those hand warmers!!  They were much needed!!  This is probably the last race of 2013, and I was able to finish it with friends and a smile!!

Women's Distance Festival 5K - August 10, 2013

Womens Distance Festival 5K - Frederick MD

This year I had the privilege of volunteering with the Frederick Steeplechasers Running Club as a mentor to other runners training for a 5K.  This was great opportunity to get out and help other runners find their love for running!  We trained over the Summer months and were actually quite lucky with the temps for our training runs.  It was an awesome training group and I was proud to be a part of their success!!

  

 It was a humid morning, so I didn't have my best 5K time, but I enjoyed being out there cheering on all our runners in the training group!!

An added bonus is running into High School friends after the race!!

Jenni & Lynne

 5K Time:  27:32 (8:51 pace). 

Marine Corps 10K - October 27, 2013

Marine Corps 10K - Washington, D.C.

New PR for the 10K distance - 59:11

Drenched 5K - July 13, 2013

Drenched 5K - July 13, 2013

The Drenched 5K was a new race that was held in Clarksburg, MD.  What better way to run a hot Summer July race, than to have water shot at you ??  Well, given it had rained for days with cooler temps, I was never so happy to see blue sky and sunshine!!

I met up with Elizabeth on race morning!  Always fun to have a friend along for races!  I don't think I ever race alone anymore :)

Elizabeth and me pre-race!

This race had a lot of energy at the start!  Great DJ, and having water balloons launched at us got the 1st wave pumped up and ready to go!  I decided since this was just a fun run, to go out in the 1st wave group.  That was the best decision as I saw later groups bottlenecked on course!

The 1st wave getting hosed!!  I'm in there! LOL

 The slip'n'slide was probably my favorite part of the course!  I slid right into the photographer (although I can't find the pictures :/)  But here is what I looked like after it LOL  Bubbles :)

After the race, I found Elizabeth (who finished her 1st 5K), and we headed back to the bubbles for some good photos and fun!

After I got home from the race, my husband helped set up a water trap for me.  The kids were really enjoying this WAY too much LOL

Michael barely let me get the car in the driveway before the attack!

The kids got good and "Drenched" before we called it a morning and went in for hot showers :)

So for anyone considering the Drenched 5K races, just make sure you go out in a very early wave.  They had a ton of bottlenecks for the later groups.  They needed more water features during the course, and they needed to tell the spectators to spread out !  Other than those issues, I had a great time with during the race, and then line dancing afterward, grabbing a beer and a hamburger, and just enjoying myself!

Paws & Claws 5K - June 29, 2013

Paws & Claws 5K - June 29, 2013

The Animal Welfare League of Frederick hosted their 1st annual Paws & Claws Run!!!! This was a   5K Run or 1 Mile Walk to benefit the AWLFC cat & dog programs!   374 runners and walkers (and dogs) turned out for this inaugural event!  I don't tend to run too many races in the Summer months, but the Lillard's group running for Sophie and Madigan were going to do this one, so I definitely wanted to join them to continue to show my support!   A great group turned out for the event!!   Here is the link to learn more about how you can help support them as well:  http://sophieandmadigansplayground.org/homepage.php

For a late June morning, it was actually pleasant out, just a little on the humid side.  This was my 1st 5K race for 2013, so I really had no goal other than to push myself and see where I was in timing.   I was pleasantly surprised that I only missed my 2012 personal 5K record by 10 seconds!!   I finished the Paws and Claws 5K in 26:20.  I came in #34 overall, and 3rd in my "new" age group of 40-49 women :)

For an inaugural event, this was very well run with a lot of vendors.  It was a lot of fun to see all the dogs out running today too!  I am happy to support the AWLFC!  Our cat, Tippy, was adopted from them :)