On the Run: Corktown Race 2015

On Sunday, March 15th I ran the Corktown 5k, my first race in over 4 months.  This was a race of firsts for me.  First pain-free race since injuring myself by running the Novi 1/2 Marathon last May.  First time racing with Brian (we ran side by side from start to finish). First team event with my gym, Detroit Tough.  Most importantly, this was the first time in years I raced completely happy and carefree, not trying to push myself too hard or worrying about what place I finished.  

For those of you not from the Detroit area, the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day basically IS St. Patrick's Day.  That's when Corktown celebrates with the race at 10am, followed by the parade at noon (drinking and shenanigans all day).  I ran the race for the first time last year but have never been to the parade.  Honestly, I'm not up to dealing with all the craziness!  

Brian and I parked at Mudgie's to stay warm and have some pre-race coffee.  I've never had coffee before a 5k but hey, there's a first for everything!  From there we could walk the few blocks to the gym to meet everyone, take a group photo, and head to the start as a team.  I loved that Brian got to meet a lot of my Detroit Tough family for the first time!

We had just enough time to get in a warm up run, do some run drills (high knees, butt kicks, walking lunges), and squeeze into our corral with a few minutes to spare before the start.  This race is huge so they have several corrals based on your finish time.  We were in the first one but toward the back.  Brian's goal was to finish in 25:00, which would be a PR for him.  My goal was to make sure he did just that.

Because of the rush at the beginning, we started out faster than planned.  Brian was doing great so we just kept it up.  I chatted the whole time, waved to people, thanked volunteers.  The people-watching was great - lots of costumes and crazy get-ups.  We paced a guy in lime-green spandex and an orange mullet for most of the race.  It was awesome.  He beat us - but not by a lot!  We ended up finishing under 25:00.  Brian beat his Mustache Dache time by over a minute and he also beat me by 1 second!  He was NOT letting me win this race.  haha.  

We got our medals and saw a whole group of Detroit Tough friends waiting for us.  
Like Megan - my amazing new friend!  We also saw several fellow RUNdetroit Flight Club friends too!



After the race we headed back to the gym for a potluck brunch - and a little monkeying around!

Running a race with my friends and family - after so many months of injury - filled me with such joy and happiness.  No nerves, no stress, no worries.  Among the (many) things I've learned from my injury, one lesson is this: not every race has to be your own.  Race with and for someone you love.

Time

24:44

Pace

7:58/mile

Fuel

banana

Tunes

none (first race without music!)

Boston Marathon Countdown: 4 Weeks

4 more weeks!  The Red Sox tickets have arrived!  The Duck Tour has been booked!  And the running continues.  The past 2 weeks of training have been pretty intense.  In week 11 I hit my highest mileage ever - 70 - capping it off with the Corktown 5K. When you take it one run at a time it doesn't seem so bad but by the end of the week I was pretty beat down.  I also had a late night of speed work at the track, consisting of the following workout:  1 mile warm up, 5 x (400m-800m) at 5K pace, cool down

Even though week 12 was only 57 miles it felt like a lot more than that!  I probably need a rest but that's just not in my nature.  I was feeling a hamstring pain on most of my runs so I dialed back the pace a bit and didn't do the full mileage on some days.  I wasn't able to make it to yoga, which didn't help.  I finished out the week with another 5K and was able to put in a much better performance than I did at Corktown.  (Race report coming up). 

Here's a look at the past 2 weeks mileage:

Looking ahead, I have Rock CF 1/2 marathon coming up on Sunday.  It's not my goal race so I won't taper for it and will continue to stick to my Boston training plan.  I will, however, get in daily stretching for my hamstring (and my weekly yoga session) so that I hopefully won't have issues with that.  Fingers crossed for warmer weather and sunshine!

Happy running!

Previous Boston Marathon Countdown Posts: 14 Weeks, 12 Weeks, 10 Weeks, 8 Weeks, 6 Weeks

Boston Marathon Countdown: 6 Weeks

Spring is in the air!  Although I had to take my runs inside a couple of days last week due to sub-zero morning temps, this week we've seen a major warm-up.  The snow is starting to melt, roads are clear and dry (no sidewalk running yet), and the sun has been shining.  The upcoming week is looking fantastic weather-wise.  I just might be able to break out my new Guides, which thus far have only seen the treadmill and indoor track!  

I hit my highest mileage to date these past two weeks, with 64 and 63 miles.  In week 9 I went to an indoor track for my first real speed work session.  I had no idea what I was doing but was with some very experienced track runners who coached me along.  We did the following interval: 

1 mile warm up, 2 x (800m-600m-400m-200m), 1 x (800m-600m-600m), cool down

The plan was to do 4 intervals but the track was closing.  I was okay with what we did, considering this was my first track workout and I was holding a 6:30 pace (translation - I was DYING!).  Since one of my goals for the year is to run a faster 5K, this is definitely going to be the way to do it! Now I just need to make sure I do it on a regular basis.

I've been getting my weekly tempo run in on Saturday at RUNdetroit, thanks to a fast running partner.  We do the run together at or faster than my marathon pace for the full 10 miles, talking the whole time.  No recovery.  On race day we'll really fly when we AREN'T talking to anyone!  haha

Today I finally got in my first 20-miler.  I've done two 18's, both in brutally cold and snowy conditions.  Today was sunny and dry - wahoo!  I went back to Kensington Metropark to run the hills and although I obviously slowed down on the inclines, I managed a 7:49/mile overall pace.  It's no marathon pace to be sure but for a training run, I was okay with it. And I felt good at the end, so even better!

Here's a look at my daily mileage from the past two weeks:

Next week I have another 20 miler but it's the same day as the Cork Town 5K, so I'm trying to figure that out.  I'm excited about the race because I've never run it before and I hear it's a lot of fun.  We'll see how it all shakes out.  I'll keep you posted!

Happy running!

Previous Boston Marathon Countdown Posts: 12 Weeks, 14 Weeks, 10 Weeks, 8 Weeks