A Year in Race Review

Well this was my second year of racing triathlons and I had so much fun. Sure not every race might have gone as planned, but all races are good races in one way or another.

Jan ~ No Races. Boo. Who. But I started training for my first half ironman mid - month.

Feb ~ 
1. VA is for Lovers 14k: A great race down in VA Beach. I stayed with my good friend Jill and ran with her in her very first running race! I am proud to say she is now addicted to running and almost does a race every weekend. I am happy to have played a part in this :)

March ~ 
2. B&A Trail Half Marathon: A no frills die hard running race. It was a great course and I got to race with great friends. We all ended the day with shinny new PRs so it was smiles all around.

3. St. Patrick's 8k: This is the first time I actually tried running this fast. And by fast I mean I pushed myself so hard I vomited when I crossed the finish line! I was happy to finish with a 35:xx something. Plus it was fun dressing up a little.

April ~ 
4. Rumpuss & Bumpass Oly Tri: My first tri of the season and my very first oly distance race. I would have been nervous about this distance last year, but it just seemed like a drop in the bucket compared to what I was training for. The weather was perfect for us, but the run course sucked. My contact had fallen out and there was big rocks every where.

5. Lake Anna Century: I didn't want to say anything at the time or make a big deal out of it, but I think 60 miles was the farthest I had ever rode. It was a fun relaxed century though.

May ~ 
6. Kinetic 70.3: My first half ironman! I was going to race mooseman but decided Kinetic made more sense. I was nervous because this was three weeks before mooseman and I thought my training would be off. My swim wasn't great, but the bike course rocked and the run...well...the run is never good for me... but this race really made me feel confident about Louisville and I was one step closer to becoming an ironman.

7. Marine Corp Historic Half Marathon:  I ran this with my one and only M at his pace. Everyone complained about one hill on the course called Hospital Hill, but we really didn't think it was too bad. I also emotionally broke down while thinking about my aunt. I was sobbing and running at the same time. At any rate Jason finished the race strong and PRed by 7 some minutes.

June ~ 
8. Total 200: It had rained cats and dogs the night before the race and trees/power lines were down every where. Oh and did I mention that is was 105 out with high humidity  We took our time riding and enjoyed the rest stops. But boy was I happy when we finished with 130 miles of riding for the day.

July ~
9. General Small Wood Oly: Hello summer with temps of 110 with the heat index. It was well a super hot race which made me walk most of the 6k. It really felt like death out there. I might have just skipped this race but it was the club championships and I was proud to be part of the DC tri.

10. Maryland Swim for Life 2 Mile open water swim: Yikes I was really scared about this, but at the same time I was glad I just had to swim for the day. I never thought I could swim this far and even though it took me forever in a day, I finished it. It made me feel a lot better about Louisville's swim since swimming is by far my weakest leg.

August ~
11. Ironman Lousiville: Obviously this was the race I had been working all year for. My first ironman. I was nervous. I was scared. I was excited. All my training was going to be over with in a blink of an eye. And strangely looking back on it, the day seemed to go by so fast. There is so many things I would have liked to do over...ummm...my run... but at the end of the day those words "Sarah Karpinski, you are an ironman" were well worth everything I put myself through.

Odley I hated IM so much during the race that I never wanted to do another, but some how registered for IMMTB. I blame Jason and Coach Kiwi.

September ~ No races. Being smart and recovering from ironman. Plus well we went on vacation to San Fran, Napa, and Monterey.

October ~ 
12. Stonewall Jackson 20 mile run: A great little race that gave Jason and I a chance to do our last super long run before MCM in a race setting. Some of the course went over a trail though which made running just plain suck. Plus there was not enough bathrooms along the course and someone really had to go! Overall, it was an ok race. The team rage meet up afterwards was great though.

13. Marin Corps Marathon: It was Jason's first marathon and I decided to run it with him at his pace to support him along the way. My friend Jill also was running her first marathon. We all feared the hurricane that  was suppose to hit, but we really lucked out weather wise. I learned that running a marathon for "fun" is something I will not do again, but hey I did still have fun and I loved being out there with Jason and Jill.

November ~ 
14. Richmond Half Marathon: Worst.Race.Ever. Basically because I felt like death running. I was light headed and thought I pass out while running. Each mile became slower and slower. I wanted to walk so bad. But surely if I could finish and ironman I could finish 13 miles. So I didn't walk and I did finish. I was just disappointed with myself.

15. Bethesda Turkey Chase 10k: A fun extra hilly turkey trot with team rage. The run itself well kind of sucked, but everything else about the day was great! From the sparking skirts and turkey hats, to eating bagels and talking a little too loud.

December ~ No races again. I was going to race the Surf n Santa 10 miler but decided against it. I really wanted to get my running back to were I wanted it to be before I did another race.

I am excited for next race season and hope I can improve on my 70.3 and 140.6 times.

Hope everyone had a great race season! What was your favorite race this year? 

Bethesda Turkey Chase Race Report

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was great and I kicked it off with the Bethesda 10k Turkey Chase.

Now, in my opinion all turkey trots should be just for fun, but I never really raced a 10k before and though it might be neat to go under 50 minutes.

We arrived with plenty of time before the race and met up with Sarah, Rachel, Victoria, and Cat in sparkling style. Jason was a party pooper and didn't want to wear a skirt, but he wore an awesome turkey hat instead. It was pretty cold out and we could not wait inside the YMCA so we all huddled inside my car to stay warm.

As the start time got closer we made our way over the start and before we knew it, we were running over the timing mat.

Now, I had forgot my garmin - if that tells you anything about how I felt about this race. To be honest I could have slept in and been just as happy missing it. Anyhow, I'm not sure why I thought I could fun fast. Fast and me have not been getting along lately. Actually I have no clue how in the world I ever ran with a 8 minute pace for 13 miles. Running a little under 8 minute miles for 6 miles should not be that hard. But yeah couldn't do it.

My first mile was too fast and I was waiting for V and R to catch back up to me so I could just run with them since we all had the same goal. Once they found me I was already to the point that I didn't feel like talking and I was sick of running. I never bothered to look at the course map and had no clue it was filled with hills. Up hills, down hills, over hills to the finish line we went. I could not keep up with them and pretty much threw in the towel at mile 3 only. I crossed the finish line in a disappointing and slow for me 53 to 54 minutes something.

I don't know what is up lately? Everything feels so hard. But at the same time I don't know what I was expecting since I had been on vacation last week and didn't run once, actually I didn't do anything at all.

Ever since finishing ironman, I don't know, I feel like I have lost my will. I want to improve. I want to get faster. But I have not done the work. Between two vacations, training for a "fun" marathon that was not at a pace I wanted to run, and probably not giving myself enough time to recover before Richmond has left me...well...not wanting to race.

With Richmond and now this turkey trot - I am struggling. I have lost my confidence. I had one more race this year, the Surf-n-Santa 10 miler, but I'm scrapping it. I don't feel like running another race were I don't do as well as I want to. I know I have been slacking and I know this is a cop out, but I don't want to continue to feel bad about myself. So I think skipping out on this race is the right thing to do. I want to run a spring half where I have a decent training cycle with tempos and track work. I want to feel confident going into my next race.

Ok enough complaining. I have gotten off track here. Back to the Turkey Trot. Even though I didn't have a great run I did still have fun. I mean after all it's a turkey trot and I had a turkey hat. Plus I got to spend my morning with great friends so I couldn't really ask for anything more.

Happy Friday All :)

Richmond Half Race Report

So I'm back from vacation and I guess I can finally write something up about the Richmond Half marathon.

 

I will start off saying it was the WORST.RACE.EVER....

 

Not because it was poorly run, but because I ran poorly!

 

I felt ok the morning of until my wave went over the timing mat. From the second I started running I felt light headed and dizzy. I thought I might actually pass out. I clipped out mile one with a 7:50 pace, but knew there was no way in hell I could keep running that pace. I told myself to just run and not worry about the pace and just run to survive is what I did. By mile 2, I was up to an 8 minute mile and the thoughts of just walking back to the start line entered my head. I felt that bad. But I didn't want to look like a wimp so I kept running.

 

With each mile I ran, my pace got slower and slower which is actually kind of funny. I thought maybe I didn't eat enough the night before/morning off and was just bonking? I got out my honey chews ate three, and ended up dropping the rest on the ground. Fail.

 

I was waiting for V and R to pass me. I figured when the 1:50 pace group passed me at mile 5 they were not far behind. I waited and I waited and I finally saw them around mile 10 or so. I tired to run with them, but yeah my body wasn't haven't it. I was trying to stay in good spirits, but it was really hard to do. By the time I saw V I almost started crying. I have never felt so bad on a run before. I wanted the race to be over. 3 more easy miles.

 

But yeah not easy. Not today.

 

The last mile was all downhill, but I actually thought it hurt my legs more? I don't know. But I do know I was happy to see the finish line. I was happy for it to be over with.

 

I did not PR. I did not even come close to a PR. I think my finish time was 1:56 or 1:57 something. I was mad. I was disappointed.

 

Even though I did not have the best race, I still have a great weekend with my friends. And really not ever race is going to be your best race and this one was just one of those.

 

Happy Wen All and Happy Thanksgiving! 

Richmond Planning

So this weekend marks my third to last race of the year. I will be making my way down to Richmond to run in the Richmond half marathon.

Now, I'm not expecting a lot out of myself at this race. I want to do well, and I hope to do well, but the truth is I just haven't put in enough training to turn out a PR. This does not mean though that I'm just going to throw in the towel.

My Plan/Goal for the race:

 1. Have fun as always

2. Still run under a sub 1:50 - I should be able to do this with the tempos I have been doing

3. Start off with the 1:45 pace group and hold on for dear life :)

4. If I'm still feeling good with a 5k to go, negative split my miles.

5. Actually eat/drink something during the race as I never have during a half. Not smart I know, but I think I've come a long way this year with nutrition during a race so hopefully it will help me not die by mile 9/10.

6. Have fun - oh yeah I already said that :)

So anyhow, there you have it. I'm excited about this race as I have herd good things about it. Now the hard part ... deciding what to wear for race day :)

Happy Wen All :)  

Zoom...

I am one happy girl and the proud new owner of some Zipp 404 Firecrest Carbon Clinchers :)

Does this mean I'm actually going to go faster...hmm... probably not... but I'm ok with that.

Now to find some pink Zipp decals and give Boomer a real makeover :)

Happy Tues All :)