Freihofer's Run for Women race report.

OK, I told you all about how great the running group is and their special gift to me. Now I'll get on with the actual race report. First, here's a look at the crew (minus a few) before the race:

Darlene, Jen M, Melissa, Janis, me, Jen F, Bridget

And here I am sharing a hug with Conal:

(Yes, I'm wearing my "Running for Two" shirt!)

After the hug, I went to line up with 3500 or so other women. The race starts in front of the New York State Museum, on a two-lane avenue that thins out about a quarter mile in to the route. It gets super crowded there in the beginning!

I was fortunate to find a decent place to line up, more toward the front than I would have liked, in part because I had to pee right before the start so I was a little on the late side. No matter, I was where I was and I was just happy to be doing the race.

Since the day was so warm and humid, I'd more or less wiped my A goal (27 min or better) out of my mind and told myself to go out and run, but run comfortably. There was no need to push it and risk overheating.

So, when the gun went off, that's what I did. I ran. Soon enough, I had settled into a good pace and felt that I was running well. I passed the first mile in 8:59. Shortly after that was the first water stop and I slowed just a bit, grabbed a cup and drank on the run.

The second mile of the race winds through the south side of Albany's Washington Park and there are two sneaky uphills so it can be tricky. I continued to feel strong and I even found myself thanking the spectators for their exuberant cheers. Normally, I'm so focused on a specific pace that I am pushing and pushing and not paying attention to those nice people who shout encouragement to the runners. It was a nice change of pace (har, har) to appreciate the spectators!

I went through mile 2 in 17:47 and started to concentrate on running strong for the third mile. Of course, my mind couldn't help but start trying to do the math to see if I could finish under 27 minutes. I knew I would have to really push in order to make that happen and I also knew that I didn't feel like I should. As I said, it was hot and, well, at 5.5 months pregnant the heat isn't something you mess around with.

So, I ran on. When we turned out of the park on to Madison Ave, which marks the straightaway to the finish line, I felt myself pick up the pace a little. And once I hit the downhill to the finish, I poured it on.

Here I am, bringing it home:

I crossed the line in 27:28 -- so close to my A goal! My bib time, however, was 27:11 and I'll take it!

Race stats:

Net time: 27:11 (8:45/mi pace)
Mile 1: 8:59
Mile 2: 8:48
Mile 3: 8:28
Last .1: 1:23
Age group place: 64/421
Overall place: 668/3521

So, yay me. Getting it done for all the pregnant runners out there!

Now, how did my awesome new runners do? Um . . . they did GREAT! Man, oh, man. They really did. This was their first race and these mamas gave it their all and made me so proud! Here's how they finished:

Janis: 31:09
Bridget: 32:47
Jen M.: 33:18
Jen F.: 35:29
Lisa: 38:02

Great, right? The best part is that they looked so happy afterward and they are already talking about their next races! How cool is that?

One of the runners has run many races but has been trying to get back to running after having her baby (who is just 6-months old):

Melissa: 30:58

And then there were my super-duper running blogger buddies who helped out over the past three months, supporting the new runners, showing up at group runs and generally being good friends and runners:

Darlene: 30:39
Suzy: 30:53
Amanda: 31:06

Everyone did SO WELL! I mean, check us out:

Melissa, Amanda, Darlene, me, Jen M, Janis, Jen F, Lisa
Bridget, Suzy (kneeling)

Those are some happy runners :-)

After the race we hung out a bit and chatted and hugged and cried and did all that fun stuff. Then, it was time for the kids' run. This was Conal's first race and it was a quick 50m. Since he's just in the little guy category, I had to run with him.

See the tongue in the corner of his mouth? That kid is focused! He loved running the race, almost as much as I did.

Once we got home, it was time to kick things in to high gear to finish preparing for an afternoon birthday celebration for Conal (and me). We had a house and backyard full of almost 60 people and I, insane woman that I am, was making pretty much all the food. Fortunately, I'd done most everything on Friday so Saturday was just the final touches. The party was great fun and even though I forgot to put out one of the chicken dishes I had made, I think everything went well. At least everyone let me think it did ;-)

Do you think I was wiped out on Sunday? Sure was! It was all worth it.

Have a great day, everyone!

~ Felice

PS: Have you entered my two giveaways over here?

The awesomeness of runners.

Saturday was The Race: The Freihofer's Run for Women, which "my runners" had been working toward for the past three months. It was awesome. Even more, I saw again the hard-core awesomeness of runners.

But first, the expo.

On Friday, I met up with four of the new runners and fellow running blogger, Suzy, to get our shirts, bibs and box o' chocolate chip cookies! Makes it all worth it . . .

With Suzy just before heading over to the cookie table.

With new runners Bridget and Jen M.

I have to admit it was a little exciting watching everyone get their first bibs! Bibs in hand, we picked up our cookies and then headed off to shop. Suzy and Jen F. picked up some cute Bondi Bands and I kept my wallet in my bag, although there were plenty of cute things I could have purchased.

And then it was race day.

Hot and humid, but no rain. The forecast had been iffy so the no rain thing was big. The group met ahead of time for a pre-race photo and what was supposed to be my last pep talk. I didn't have it in me. Folks, I don't know if I've said this before but I'm a crier. Oh, yeah. Total crier. Sobby McCrierson. Add in some pregnancy hormones and, sheesh, I turn into a weeper.

So, I skipped my talk. I knew I wouldn't be able to get the words out without getting choked up so, instead, I simply gathered the runners, wished them good luck and gave them each one of these:


I'd had these bracelets made about a month ago and couldn't wait to hand them out! They say, "Strong Running Mama" on them because each of the runners are just that: Strong running mamas! Hard working, tough, getting-it-done women.

So, off we went to race and everyone did great but you'll have to wait until tomorrow when I post my race report to learn more about it. Sorry!

For now, I want to talk about this:


After the race, we lined up to take a group shot and the runners presented me with a gift bag. As soon as I pulled the book out, I teared up (Sobby McCrierson, remember?). If I was teary just looking at the cover, when I opened the book I was full-on crying:


The girls had made a beautiful book celebrating the running group and our journey together. It's full of pictures from our group runs and some of me running various races over the past years. They also put in a bunch of my favorite quotations and even some things that I've written on this blog.

I had to wait until I was home to look at it for real because I was simply too emotional right after the race to view it without sobbing.

It's just a wonderful, special gift. I love it. Love the photos, love the quotes but most of all I love the sentiment behind it:

Awesome. Runners are awesome. And I couldn't be happier to have had a small part in turning a few great women into awesome runners.

Jeez, I'm getting teary just writing about it! I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to start this running group a little over three months ago. I thought it would be fun, for sure, but I didn't realize how much I would get out of the group. I didn't realize that simply by trying to share my love for running with a group of non-runners, my appreciation for that most basic human activity of moving forward would grow. And I really had no way of knowing how much the new runners would come to love running. I'm happy they do. I'm proud of what they've accomplished. I'm glad I was part of it!

Now, before I cry again, I'll sign off. But I'll be back tomorrow with my race report so you can find out how well all these awesome runners did in their first race!

Thanks for reading!

~ Felice

May recap and race goals.

May was a good month: I ran a race, continued training the new runners in my running group and logged my highest monthly mileage of the year! This whole second trimester thing rocks!

And I'll take it because in a month or so I probably will be walking most of my miles. The heat, having to pee . . . it all takes a toll. Wah, wah, wah.

May stats:

Running (miles): 76.7
Cross-training (sessions): 1

Ha! One cross-training session. Why did I even bother? Who knows . . .

But the mileage looks good to me. As I've said before, my goal has been to run about 17-20 miles per week for as long as I can. My May weekly average was just over 19. Yay! I expect that will decrease from here on out but that's OK.

So, that's May. Now it is June and I have a race coming up in, oh, just two days. This Saturday is the big Freihofer's Run for Women and it is The Race that "my runners" have spent the past three months training for. I can't tell you how excited I am for them. It's going to be awesome, I just know it!

But, there is this little issue of my running. As in, what should I do?

The cautious part of me thinks I should run easy and just shoot to finish. Period. Just take it slow. You're not going to set any records so why push yourself?

The runner part of me . . . well, she has some different thoughts. She thinks I should go for it and see how fast I can run. This could be your last race during this pregnancy. Don't you want to see how well you can run at 5.5 months? Don't you want to give it your all?

Argh! OK, yeah. The thing is, I think I do want to give it my all. I do want to see how well I can run!

Now, though, what does "give it my all" mean this time around? Last year I ran the same 5K in 23:47, a 7:40 pace. Three weeks ago, I ran a 3.5-mile race in 29:59, an 8:34 pace. So, based on those two races I believe I could run the race in about 27 minutes, an 8:40 pace. That will be my A goal and I'm giving myself a B and C goal, too. Here they are:

A goal: 27:00 or better
B goal: 27:56 (9min/mi)
C goal: 31:00 (10min/mi)

I have no doubt I'll reach at least one of those goals, provided I don't have to stop to pee. If I do -- and there's a decent possibility that I'll have to -- then all bets are off!

Until then . . . yay for almost Friday! Thanks for stopping by.

~ Felice

PS: Don't forget to enter my CSN gift card giveaway!

Master.

Here it is June 1st, which means that yesterday I turned 40. Yup, this happy runner is a now a masters runner! It's a new day and a new age group for me.

Of course, I'll be spending most of my first year as a masters runner either pregnant or coming back from pregnancy. So, I doubt I'll be very competitive. But just you wait until I hit 41! There'll be no stopping me. Ha!

Seriously, I'm not going to rest on my PRs from my earlier running days. I would still like to run faster in all sorts of races -- from 5Ks to marathons -- and I have no doubt that I can do it. Even now, as a pregnant runner, I'm a smarter, fitter runner than I was at 30.

So, here's to 40!

And here's a few pics from the hike that Conal, Owen and I went on yesterday:



Have a great day, everyone. Happy June!

~ Felice