Category: Race Recap
Augusta Half Marathon 2013
| February 25, 2013 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Race Recap, Running |
**Congratulations Amy Adelsberger! You are the winner of my Dasani bike and drops giveaway! Please email me at foodfitnessandfamily (at) gmail . com to claim your prize.
Happy Monday folks! We had a great weekend in Augusta, GA for the Augusta Half Marathon. Chris, Em, and I headed up there on Friday night and stayed with one of my college roommates, Erynn, for the weekend. The weather on Friday and Saturday was pretty miserable but lucky for us race day turned out to be beautiful.
I went into this half marathon with a plan. I trained using training paces from McMillian running. I topped off at 11 miles during my training and tapered the week before. I even took 2 complete rest days before the race. I knew going into the race that there were going to be some killer hills. Since Savannah is pretty darn flat this had me nervous. I mean check out the elevation map:
The night before the race Chris and I sat down and I talked through my plan. I knew my “goal” would be to average 10:00 minutes/mile. To get that I knew I was going to have to race smart. I wrote out on my hand goal times for 5K, 10K, and 10 miles so I wouldn’t have to think paces. I also wrote down what miles were uphill and which were downhill. After Presley and I decided to stick together for the half we knew we wanted to start easy, keep steady on the hills, and take advantage of the downhills. I was ready.
The morning of the race my alarm went off at 6AM which is pretty good for race day! Not too early …. just the way I like it 
I ate a whole wheat English muffin with PB and chia seeds and a banana and washed it down with coffee. Erynn lives just a few minutes from the starting line so we didn’t even leave the house until 7:05AM.
Once we got down to the start line Erynn and I hopped in line for the porta potties. The line was short and moved fast which is awesome. The Augusta Half Marathon is a relatively small race and they definitely had enough potties for everyone. This was Erynn’s first half marathon so I was pretty excited for her!
We met up with Presley and a couple of her friends and before we knew it it was time to line up for the 8:02AM start. The Augusta Half Marathon also had a wheelchair division and a 10K option. When the gun went off Erynn was off (she’s SPEEDY) and Presley and I started chugging along.
Mile 1: 9:42
Mile 2: 9:32
Mile 3: 9:37
Around mile 3.5 is where the first small incline started. After that came the monster hill. This hill was the hill of death and sadness. I am not going to lie … it was terrible. Like holy cow. My legs hated me. And it went on …. and on … and on. For over a mile to be exact. This picture can’t capture the horror that we experienced:
Mile 4: 9:53
Mile 5: 10:50 (<–hill of death)
The only thing that got me up that hill was that Presley was suffering with me and also the mantra that “what goes up, must come down”. Once we got to the top we were rewarded with some serious downhill action.
Mile 6: 9:13
After the downhill we had another climb ahead of us. This one wasn’t too bad in comparison to the hill of death but was definitely tough to get through after running 6 miles. I knew that Chris and Em would be at the end of the hill though to cheer us on and wanting to see their smiling faces got me up there.
Mile 7: 10:09
Mile 8: 10:07
This is the first race that Chris has spectated and cheered me on. He ran both the Go! St. Louis and Savannah Rock-N-Roll. It was really neat having someone you care about on the sidelines cheering you on! PLUS, holla for free race photos And Presley you got me good on this one haha.
Somewhere around mile 9 we started running around a pretty lake. This was the most scenic part of the race. At this point though Presley and I were both starting to feel significantly uncomfortable but just kept chugging along.
Mile 9: 9:36
Mile 10: 10:02
At mile 11 my right calf seized up and started cramping right where my calf hits my knee. It was tight and painful. Presley’s hip was hurting too so we decided to stop for a second and stretch. The stretching temporarily offered some relief but my calf bothered me the rest of the way. I think it was a combination of the uphills/downhills as well as the uneven road …. one foot was often more elevated than the other.
Mile 11: 11:04
Once we hit mile 11 at 1:49:45 I knew my allusive goal of a 2:10 finish was in sight. I also knew that there were only 2.1 miles of flat or downhill course ahead of me. I told Presley we got this and we took off.
Mile 12: 9:52
Mile 13: 9:04 (<– !!!!)
Mile 13.1: 7:47
Presley and I crossed the finish line together and I am so glad. I definitely couldn’t have done as well as I did if I wasn’t running with her. We both struggled with a very difficult course and having someone to commiserate with makes a big difference! When I looked at my Garmin after crossing the finish line I realized I did it.
Official time: 2:09:33 … average pace of 9:53/mile. OH HECK YES. Not only was this a 6 minute and 27 second PR from Rock-N-Roll Savannah, I also met my first big running goal of a sub-2:10 half!! Given that this course SUCKED I am so freaking proud of myself, my legs, and most all my heart. I didn’t go into this race expecting a PR. I came in it determined to run a smart race and I think I did that. I followed my plan and it worked it my favor 
Post-race food was pretty good. There were muffins, oranges, bananas, and bagels. There was also a waffle station! Presley and I immediately found Chris and Em and Erynn soon after. Erynn killed it with an official time of 1:51:02!!
Overall I enjoyed the Augusta Half Marathon. If you are looking to run it, find some hills and run them a lot. In a row. For now, I am going to sit back and enjoy my PR while thinking about what my next big race will be Suggestions??
Did you race this weekend? How often do you curse when running hills? I had a few choice words for the hill of death
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Pooler Jingle Jog 5K
| December 27, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Race Recap, Running |
With the Christmas festivities I haven’t had a chance to post my recap of the Pooler Jingle Jog from last weekend so I am going to today because it’s a big one for me! This was the first year the Pooler Jingle Jog was held with all proceeds went to the Empty Arms campaign to help Steve and Leigh White on their journey in adoption. It was a pretty chilly night so tons of layers were needed. We met my friend Cassie and her family. Can you believe her son is only a few months old?!
The race was an out-and-back from the Savannah First Seventh-day Adventist Church. The course went through the neighborhood for full visibility of the Christmas lights. At mile 2 there was a water station with super friendly volunteers which I thought was nice. I didn’t go into this race with any real expectations. One of the ladies from Moms Run This Town had registered and couldn’t do it. A 5K race was on my training plan so I took her spot happily. I figured if I could PR over my last 5K I would be sitting pretty. My legs felt strong and I made it my motivation to not lose sight of Cassie (she was a collegiate sprinter). I ran hard the entire race but crossed the finish line knowing I had more to give. I was shocked when I saw my Garmin:
25:30?!?! My official time was 25:32. I shaved 2 minutes off my PR from last month. Um what?! I couldn’t believe it. I was more shocked when they announced my name as the 3rd place finisher in the 25-29 age group. This was a small race for sure but I have never placed before. They gave out Santa’s hats and certificates and I love it!
I was so excited and I kept saying to Chris, “I ran in the 25′s!”. This gave me so much more confidence as a runner but also reminded me why I love short runs Em was a trooper and the end of race festivities were awesome with hot chocolate, bananas and PB, and more Christmas lights. I look forward to doing it again next year if they do!
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Matthew Freeman 5K Recap
| November 13, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Race Recap, Running |
Yesterday morning Chris and I ran the Matthew Freeman 5K Run for Peace in Richmond Hill. This was the 3rd time the race was held in J.F. Gregory by the Matthew Freeman Project. CPT Matthew Freeman was a native of Richmond Hill and a Marine. In 2009 he was killed in action in Afghanistan. His parents started the foundation to help bring school supplies to the Afghanis based on one of the last things Matthew asked of his parents, to gather some supplies for the kids because all they wanted was pens and paper.
Chris and I signed up with his battalion to run this year. Our sister company is currently deployed to Afghanistan. They did a “shadow run” for the 5K in honor of their own fallen Warriors. One of them won his age group last year and was KIA in February. Those of us here in Georgia went to do the race in support of them.
After a brief opening ceremony and the national anthem, we walked to the start of the trail. Chris and I brought Bailey with us so we started near the back of the pack which was our biggest mistake. As soon as we crossed the timing plates we were barely moving. We ended up having a hard time weaving for the first 1/2 mile to get around everyone. It’s a pretty narrow trail so fitting a couple hundred people on it at once is problematic until everyone settles into their pace.
At about 1 mile in we settled into our rhythm. I didn’t go into this race with any goal in mind. Chris has a PT test today so he was taking it easy so his plan was just to run with me. I decided I wanted to keep sub-9 minute miles and just go with it. Along the course the JROTC from the local high school were out as support. There were 2 water stations on the route but we skipped both of them. I felt great until about mile 2.5 when I started having some pretty bad cramps.
As we rounded into the last straightaway to the finish I told Chris I wasn’t going to be able to go any faster. He said oh yes you are. I’m pretty sure my response was “fine, I hate you” and we sped off.
My Garmin said we crossed the finish at exactly 27:00. Official results aren’t up yet but that’s a shiny new PR! I shaved just about 30 seconds off my last 5K time!! After the race there were bagels, bananas, and water available. We found Emmie (who had hung out with Heather) and cooled down.
Bailey was the first dog to cross the finish line so we told her she won her division. She was pretty stoked. I wore my new “I Run This Body Shirt” from Dorothy at Mile Posts. I freaking love it. Dorothy has inspired me to DREAM BIG. My current “dream” is to run a sub-25 minute 5K at some point. Here’s to making it happen
Overall I really enjoyed participating in the Matthew Freeman 5K Run for Peace and definitely plan on doing it again next year. While I was not a fan of the bottleneck-start of the race, the cause and the enthusiasm makes it worth it.
Did you race this weekend? How did it go?
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Rock-N-Roll Savannah Race Recap
| November 5, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Race Recap, Running, Savannah |
**The winner of my Perribella bracelet giveaway is Brittani S. She has been emailed! Thank you so much for all your entries
Half marathon #3 is in the books!!!! AND it comes with a shiny new PR!!!!! But more on that in a minute Let’s start with the Rock-N-Roll Savannah Expo first! Friday afternoon Chris got off work early and rushed home so we could head downtown to pick up our packets. Since we went on Friday, the website instructed us to park downtown and catch the ferry across the river to the convention center. There was a LONG line of people waiting:
The line ended up going really fast and we only waiting about 10 minutes. Once we got to the convention center it was smooth sailing. Surprisingly, we got our bibs and shirts in about 5 minutes and then headed to see the vendors. I have planned to meet up with Lindsey from Team REFUEL so I went right over to their booth. She was SO nice and I definitely learned a lot about chocolate milk Unfortunately, Emmalyne started breaking down so we glimpsed through the rest of the vendors, grabbed some NUUN, and headed out.
We didn’t get home until 7PM and quickly packed our race gear up in duffels to head over to Heather’s. Even though Heather couldn’t run she was planning on spectating and cheering us and her friend Amanda on so we all had a sleep over at Heather’s Friday night. I laid out my race gear like a good girl so I would be all set in the morning.
(Nike capris, Nike pullover, PACEout tank, Brooks Adrenalines, Smart Wool socks)
Unfortuantely for us, Emmalyne decided she was NOT happy and screamed until 1AM. Major sleep FAIL. When our alarm clock went off at 4:45AM I was semi-delerious. I choked down a English muffin with PB and chia seeds and chugged a cup of coffee. We were off!
Getting downtown was easy and we parked near the finish line due to an awesome media pass I got. Our mile walk to the start got our legs warm. Plus on the way we hit Parker’s and used real restrooms. We got to the start with plenty of time to hit the potties again and headed to our corral (#11).
Before I knew it it was go time. I ran with my friends Bob and Lindsey while Chris took off. The first few miles weren’t my favorite, running near the highway and then through a neighborhood. We kept a pretty steady pace of around 9:36 / mile which felt great. We were chatting and having a good time. I saw Heather around mile 5 and handed off my pull-over.
I felt awesome until mile 7 and then my hip started throbbing which was my major concern going into the race. It became my constant battle the rest of the way. By mile 10 it was just put one foot in front of the other and finish the race. My hopes of a 2:10 finish went out the window. Somewhere around mile 11.5 I saw the 2:15 pace group and decided to try to stay with them. While I didn’t quite keep up, they gave me the motivation to pick it up and finish. Finish I did, in 2:16. That’s a over 6 minutes off my Go! St. Louis time! It’s amazing to me that I have shaved nearly 30 minutes since my first half marathon. :) Chris was a rock star and also shaved 6 minutes from his previous PR and came in at 1:57 and change!
Overall I thought this was a great race and run really well considering it was only the second year. I liked the course for the most part and it was pretty darn flat. For those of us that train down here though we definitely felt the inclines but it wasn’t like DC or St. Louis that’s for sure! My only complaint was the finishers chute was VERY narrow and after I crossed the finish line I ran smack into a stand-still. I couldn’t move and my legs clenched up immediately. Major bummer. The after-party was in Forsyth Park which was AWESOME and a it was a beautiful day to boot. I am already looking forward to next year’s race
Now that half #3 is in the books, I am looking into #4. Pretty sure it’s going to be the Augusta Half Marathon on February 24! Anyone running it?
Did you race this weekend? How did you do?
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Army Ten Miler
| October 22, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under Race Recap, Running |
Hi friends! We are almost home from an awesome weekend in DC for the Army Ten Miler! We stopped at Fort Bragg last night to stay with one of our best friends who incidentally is about to PCS to Stewart … WOO! Our weekend was full of fun times with our Army family, meeting up with some blends, and running an awesome race. Today I am just going to focus on the Army Ten Miler though.
Saturday afternoon Chris, Emmie, and I hopped on the metro from south DC to head to the Armory to pick up our packets. I have to say packet pick-up was seamless and much faster than I anticipated. When entering the armory there was a separate entrance for DOD card holders to bypass security lines. Pick-up was by bib-number and Chris and I had ours and our t-shirts within 5 minutes. We didn’t hang long at the expo because we had important things to do like meet some blends Although we didn’t hang out we did notice that there was a wide selection of vendors and tons of military booths as well.
On our way out of the expo we ran into Lani who we were heading to meet. We all took the metro to Eastern Market to meet-up with Anne, Lisa, and Katie! I was SO flipping excited to meet these awesome women. Lisa, Katie, and I also got our kiddos together. Seriously, too much blog baby cuteness in one spot!
One of my favorite parts about blogging is the community. Getting to meet some of my favorite blends is icing on the cake. These women are JUST like how they are on their blog which made me feel like I have known them forever. We had a blast chatting about Anne’s wedding, the kiddos, and the upcoming race since Lani, Anne, Katie, and I were all running. I am already thinking about when I can come back to DC so we can hang out again
Sunday was race day. Chris and I got up at 5:30AM to leave by 6:15AM. We arrived at the Springfield metro station to hop on the blue line at 6:45AM and arrived at the Pentagon no later than 7:30AM. Anne talked to the race people on Saturday and they said cell phones and cameras were subject to confiscation and Chris convinced me to follow the rules. Low and behold EVERYONE had their phones. Oh well … I’ll know better next time We got in the lines for the potties and had no problem getting in. The closer to race time though the lines got out of control.
One of the most memorable moments for me of the entire race happened before it even started. All of a sudden the notes of the National Anthem came one and silence overcame all 30,000 people. Seeing Soldiers standing at attending in their running clothes, retired military saluting, and families in reverence for our flag in nation gave me chills. I don’t think there are many races that this would happen.
As we were making our way to the start line I turned around and saw that Katie was right behind me! It was great running into her before we got going. Before I knew it we were starting. Chris and I were treating this as a training run for the Savannah Rock-N-Roll. We planned on taking it nice and easy, stay together, and just soak up what promised to be an incredible experience. It didn’t disappoint. It’s not every day you get to run by so many historical sites.
As far as the course goes I honestly have no complaints. What you DCers might consider flat is rather hilly for Chris and I coming from literally FLAT Savannah. Even with the hills and inclines I felt strong and confident. Chris and I kept a running dialogue most of the race when we weren’t dodging other runners. I never once was out of breath and I felt great. We walked thru the 3 water stations and kept our pace steady. My unofficial Garmin time:
Official time was 1:38:48 for an average of 9:45/mile. At the end of the race I knew I could have run another 3.1 and maintained the same pace. This is increasing my excitement levels for a hopeful PR in 2 weeks Overall this was one of the most memorable races and events I have been a part of. There was something incredibly special about running this particular race with my Soldier. I thought it was well organized, executed, and awesome. I highly recommend doing it at some point if you can.
Have you ever run the Army Ten Miler? Is there a particular race that is very memorable to you?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
Hi friends! We are almost home from an awesome weekend in DC for the Army Ten Miler! We stopped at Fort Bragg last night to stay with one of our best friends who incidentally is about to PCS to Stewart … WOO! Our weekend was full of fun times with our Army family, meeting up with some blends, and running an awesome race. Today I am just going to focus on the Army Ten Miler though.
Saturday afternoon Chris, Emmie, and I hopped on the metro from south DC to head to the Armory to pick up our packets. I have to say packet pick-up was seamless and much faster than I anticipated. When entering the armory there was a separate entrance for DOD card holders to bypass security lines. Pick-up was by bib-number and Chris and I had ours and our t-shirts within 5 minutes. We didn’t hang long at the expo because we had important things to do like meet some blends Although we didn’t hang out we did notice that there was a wide selection of vendors and tons of military booths as well.
On our way out of the expo we ran into Lani who we were heading to meet. We all took the metro to Eastern Market to meet-up with Anne, Lisa, and Katie! I was SO flipping excited to meet these awesome women. Lisa, Katie, and I also got our kiddos together. Seriously, too much blog baby cuteness in one spot!
One of my favorite parts about blogging is the community. Getting to meet some of my favorite blends is icing on the cake. These women are JUST like how they are on their blog which made me feel like I have known them forever. We had a blast chatting about Anne’s wedding, the kiddos, and the upcoming race since Lani, Anne, Katie, and I were all running. I am already thinking about when I can come back to DC so we can hang out again
Sunday was race day. Chris and I got up at 5:30AM to leave by 6:15AM. We arrived at the Springfield metro station to hop on the blue line at 6:45AM and arrived at the Pentagon no later than 7:30AM. Anne talked to the race people on Saturday and they said cell phones and cameras were subject to confiscation and Chris convinced me to follow the rules. Low and behold EVERYONE had their phones. Oh well … I’ll know better next time We got in the lines for the potties and had no problem getting in. The closer to race time though the lines got out of control.
One of the most memorable moments for me of the entire race happened before it even started. All of a sudden the notes of the National Anthem came one and silence overcame all 30,000 people. Seeing Soldiers standing at attending in their running clothes, retired military saluting, and families in reverence for our flag in nation gave me chills. I don’t think there are many races that this would happen.
As we were making our way to the start line I turned around and saw that Katie was right behind me! It was great running into her before we got going. Before I knew it we were starting. Chris and I were treating this as a training run for the Savannah Rock-N-Roll. We planned on taking it nice and easy, stay together, and just soak up what promised to be an incredible experience. It didn’t disappoint. It’s not every day you get to run by so many historical sites.
As far as the course goes I honestly have no complaints. What you DCers might consider flat is rather hilly for Chris and I coming from literally FLAT Savannah. Even with the hills and inclines I felt strong and confident. Chris and I kept a running dialogue most of the race when we weren’t dodging other runners. I never once was out of breath and I felt great. We walked thru the 3 water stations and kept our pace steady. My unofficial Garmin time:
Official time was 1:38:48 for an average of 9:45/mile. At the end of the race I knew I could have run another 3.1 and maintained the same pace. This is increasing my excitement levels for a hopeful PR in 2 weeks Overall this was one of the most memorable races and events I have been a part of. There was something incredibly special about running this particular race with my Soldier. I thought it was well organized, executed, and awesome. I highly recommend doing it at some point if you can.
Have you ever run the Army Ten Miler? Is there a particular race that is very memorable to you?
Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!
