It's Birthday Week, Shoe Talk, My Hip Issue Mystery Solved?, and some training updates.

Hi everyone.  My birthday is coming up this weekend, and I"m looking forward to turning one year older and wiser.  Last week I was really torn on how I wanted to celebrate. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a long run or find a local 5k to race.

Last week I also headed to my local running store and I asked to have my gait looked at, and to browse my shoe options.   My hip is still a little sore sometimes, and now my feet are feeling a little weird.

Birthday Run

 I usually try to run something long (10 miles and above is long for me) on my birthday.  Last year I had a wonderful 14 mile run.  The temperature was a lovely 60 degrees.  But this year it is a different story. It is getting hotter much earlier in the year for Las Vegas Valley. We just hit 93 for the daytime high on Sunday.   I was worried that  my Friday lunch time run wouldn't be very comfortable if the temps are going to be that hot.

 I started looking at 5k runs, and there were about six different events this past weekend.  But, none of them worked for my schedule..  I found a  few different 5k's but most of them started at 9am.  I prefer to race at 7am, so I can be home with the kids by 9am.

In a few years I will start bringing them with me to participate in the  kids fun runs, if they want to join mom.  I think it's still a little to early to try to force my hobby on them

As it turns out that the temps are only going to hit the high 70's on Friday, so that makes it doable for a long run, during the middle of the day.

I also found another 5k for later on this month that starts at 8am.

Shoe Talk

I could swear that I created this blog, just so I could talk about running shoes.  Ever since the Brooks Adrenaline stopped working for me, I have been open to trying different brands.  But, I keep circling back to ASICS and Brooks.

Earlier this year I purchased a pair of ASICS Gel KAYANOS 21's,

and for the first two weeks these shoes felt weird, They felt very springy, bulky, and I wasn't sure if I was going to be happy with them.  Well after running in them for about three months.  I am beyond pleased with this shoe! It cradles my foot (my heels are narrow) and it feels secure. I can also run tempo pace miles in this shoe and it doesn't feel heavy.   It even still feels like a brand new shoe three months later.   This shoe is a keeper.
The only downside to the ASICS Gel Kayano 21 is that it is a really expensive shoe.

I also purchased a pair of Brooks Ravenna 4's earlier this year as well.

 This shoe is much softer than the Kayano, and it is a good shoe, but I can tell that my foot pronates a bit more when I wear theses shoes. The soles of the shoe are much softer too.  I feel like this is a shoe that I could wear out really quickly once marathon training begins.  I like this shoe for shorter runs, and for the gym.

 I wanted to see what my other options were.

I headed to my local running store and I asked to have my gait looked at.  The folks at The Village Runner were really helpful.  Right way they told me that my arches are collapsing.... A few years ago I had one neutral foot, and one foot that pronates. Now I have two feet that pronate, and I need way more support than what I was running in before... Last year I had the opposite problem.  I was doing speed work in my regular running shoes, and that caused an injury.  Now I need more support. Go figure....
But, getting back to the shoes.  I wanted to try a different brand.  I tried on a pair of Nike's and I fell in love pretty fast.

This is the Nike Zoom Structure 18.  I tried it on and at first it felt really stiff, but then I took a short run in them, and I loved the way they felt.  I'm hoping this will become my other go to shoe besides the ASICS Gel-Kayano 21.  I put a deposit down on the shoes. I'm hoping to pick them up on Friday, as my birthday gift for myself.

I realise that I also need to find an alternative to ballet flats for work.  I wear flats all of the time, I used to love high heels. But, they just aren't practical with all of the kid hauling I have to do.  My arches are in need of a more supportive work shoe.  I'm such a cheapskate when it comes to purchasing shoes, that aren't running shoes.

Hip Issue Mystery Solved?

For the past few months I have noticed that my right hip, is much stronger than my left hip.  I thought that because I had been doing speed work on the track, and because speed work would usually aggravate my hip, but normal running didn't.  I thought that speed work had something to do with my hip problem.

  I have been running with the same form, for years, and this problem is not going to fix itself.  That was another reason why I wanted to get fitted for new shoes.

Well over the weekend I noticed my hip twinge,  and it happened when I wasn't even running.  I was carrying my daughter on my hip... Kind of like this.

For this picture I actually moved my daughter over to the left side, but the majority of the time I'm carrying her on my right hip.  She's two years old now, and she walks a lot more. But, there is still plenty of hip carrying a 25lb toddler.  NO WONDER MY RIGHT HIP IS STRONGER THAN the other leg......I have been unintentionally strength training the right side of my body without even realizing it!!! Are you freaking kidding me?!!!

To remedy this problem, I am doing a lot more strength training on my lower body. Exercises such as: single leg split squats, single leg lunges, and side Sumo Squats.  

I will also try to switch it up when I'm carrying my little kettle bell.  I was also carrying my son a lot on that hip as well, so I have about 4 years of damage to undo...

Training Updates

I had a few good workouts last week.  I also got to run a little bit of trail over the weekend. too.

Monday 3/23-  A quick three mile run before work.  I have a feeling, I'm going to be working out in the mornings more often now that the temps are heating up.

Tuesday 3/24-I went to the office gym before work, and did some circuit training.  I did the following exercises :flat bench bench press, single one arm rows, triceps dips on a flat bench, sit ups, lat pull downs, and some single leg lunges.

Wednesday 3/25- I ran a virtual 5k. #LVKICKOFFNIGHT  I did this as a progression tempo run on my lunch break last week, to kickoff my training for the RNRLV marathon, and to get a free shirt.  In reality I'm not going to really focus on the marathon, until at least June.

Progression 5k Data:

Thursday 3/26-  I ran a 4 mile loop on my lunch break, and then I did  a little bit of strength training.

I did  the following exercises: wide grip lat pull downs, Roman chair leg lifts, push ups, and some single leg split squats.

Friday 3/27- Rest day, and that's when I went shoe shopping.

Saturday 3/28- Another Rest Day.

 Sunday 3/29  I went out for an 8 mile run,  I told my husband that I would be back in an hour, and I kinda fudged the details.  I had to stop my watch twice.

The first time I stopped my watch was so that I could take pictures of the mountain, and the trail that I was running on.

I only ran a little less than a mile of trail, but it is really
starting to grow on me.

I have a thing for the mountains.

and then, the second time I stopped my watch, was because I encountered two dogs, that were running freely in their yard, without a fence to keep them in.   I just about crapped my pants here.  I stopped running, and I was hoping the two dogs wouldn't see me.  They saw me, and came charging toward me, and when they reached the parameter of their yard they stopped.  I almost wondered if they had electroshock collars on.  But, I wasn't going to get any closer to them.  I got really lucky that a neighbor was outside gardening.  She was able to distract the dogs for me, and then I was on my way.  I ran the last two miles quickly because they were downhill, and I knew that I was going over an hour on my time limit.

Well that's all I've got for now.

Thanks for reading :)

That Time I Tried to Summit Frenchmans Mountain

Holy Mole'! I ended up with one of the biggest adrenaline rushes of my life the other day, and it was all on a whim.  I set off on a 4 mile hike,  Two miles up, and two miles back down. It turns out I only made it about 1.3 miles up before I had to turn back around.

My apologies in advance for this being one of those rambling posts, I hope I remember all of the little details.

I will conquer you someday!!!

Before the Hike
Last week I took Friday off from work, as a personal/catch up day.  I dropped my kids off at daycare, and then I was heading over to the Pittman Wash Trail for a run.  I was talking to my run, BFF on the phone, and I told her "Debi, in a perfect world I would be headed over to Red Rock to run the loop, but I have to go home and clean the house"....

My husband and I share household chores pretty evenly. If anything he does the majority of the housework... He's amazing.  However, there are certain chores that he hates doing and that we can't do while the kids are home.  My favorite kind of chores involve ripping the closets apart to get rid of old toys and old clothes.  I can't throw away old junk without the kids wanting to save all the broken crayons and baby toys they don't play with anymore.  So about twice a year- I take a personal day to blitz the closets...

But getting back to running.... Red Rock Canyon Recreation Center gets all of the glory out here in the Las Vegas Valley-  I used to love to run the outer paved loop, and it is one hell of a workout.  But, I was really pressed for time.

I have lived in the Las Vegas Valley for over ten years, and almost four years ago I purchased a home near Sunrise/Frenchmans Mountain.  I see this mountain everyday, and it never stops being beautiful.

View from the neighborhood

View from across the street from my home on a rainy day.

I just discovered last year, that there is a hiking trail that goes all the way up to the top of Sunrise & Frenchman Mountains,  Here's a picture I borrowed from Bird & Hike to show you the two mountains.

In January the LVTC was hosting a 2 mile run up Frenchmans Mountain, but it didn't fit around my family time schedule so I didn't go to that event.  I was really intrigued because this is so close to where I live.

About two weekends ago,  my husband and I took the kids for a drive to check out Lake Mead.  There are several ways to get to Lake Mead, and we just discovered that the road behind Sunrise Mountain leads to Lake Mead, and that's where the trail head to Frenchmans Mountain begins...  During the drive  we noticed hikers along the trail.

The Hike  (Some of the pictures in this portion of the post are not my own)

After I got off the phone with my friend, I  decided to scrap doing a longish run along the Pitman Wash, and I wanted to see if I could make it up Frenchman's Mountain.  I assumed that it would be a tough hike, but I thought for sure that I would make it to the top.  Before I headed out to the trail head I stopped at a quicky mart for snacks (peanut butter pretzels & peach gummy candy) and a bottle of water.

This begining of the trail doesn't look so tough.

I parked my car at the trail head. Then I ate a handful of pretzels, stuffed some candy in my waist pack,  drank about half of my water and then I got started.  I also brought my Garmin with me for shits and giggles.  I knew this wouldn't be a fast run, but I was hoping to get an elevation profile for this event.

I made it up the first section of the trail and then I was no longer running.  I was walking up a steep section of trail, and I was barley half a mile into this hike.


I saw two women coming back down a steep rocky section of the trail.  I felt relief, to see other people climbing down,  I stopped them and asked them how far did I have to go.  They told me I had two options; the first summit, or the second one at the top.  At this time I also felt like a total n00b in my running shoes and hot pink shorts.  Hiking shoes and longer pants would have been a smart idea.

I kept on plugging along.   Did I mention that I have a fear of heights?  I don't mind being up in the air if I'm in a highrise building or with secure footing underneath me, but this was unreal!!!  I told myself that I would look at the ground when I reached the top.  I was also begining to wonder "how and the hell am I going to get down?"

I'm getting tired pretty fast.  At one point I leaned forward to rest, and I began to slide back down the trail.  I needed to keep moving forward if I was going to make it up the summit.  When I had a chance I snapped this picture.

I got to the first summit, or false summit as it's called.   I decided right then and there that I was done.  I really wanted to take a picture, but technology kept telling me to "screw off";  each time  I tried to take a picture of the false summit with my phone, my phone would freeze up and shut off on me.  Fortunately I found this really nice picture online

I borrowed this photo from Everytrail.com 

This picture is so misleading, Keep heading forward and this trail rockets down several hundred feet before the final assent to the real summit.  I had been climbing for close to 40 minutes,  I didn't have any water with me, and my legs were done.  I decided to throw in the towel and head back to my car.
This is where the real fun began.....

I thought that I would be able to run/walk slowly down the trail- But, I was sadly mistaken, I really had to ride this puppy down slowly and carefully.  I did my best to lean backward so that all of my body weight was in my butt/backside.  I really regretted wearing my running shoes.    I was really lucky I only fell once, and it was on my butt with my hands bracing me.

It's moments like this where I truly feel alive.  It was a dangerous and scary hike,  I'm glad I didn't get hurt.

Here's the data- I'm so mad that my Garmin didn't capture the elevation profile..  I think I climbed around 1200-1500 feet.

I'm hoping to attempt this hike again at a later date.  I definitely want to go back with my husband, and a better camera to capture the views.

As always thank you for reading- If you made it this far today- :)

I Forgot My Shoes, and Baked Bread

Today is an unplanned rest day for me.  I have plenty of running gear in my desk drawer, but I forgot to grab a pair of shoes on the way out the door this morning. Hmph...  I was really looking forward to running today,  It's a cloudy day and the temps are only going to hit the low 70's today.  Next week I'm staring straight faced into the mid to high 80's.   We don't get much snow in the winter  out here, but, on the flip side our summers in the Las Vegas Valley are pretty brutal.

Training updates, well sort of

This past weekend I also took the whole weekend off from running.   I ended up pulling weeds on Saturday, and that was a pretty good workout.  I actually really enjoy pulling weeds. I'm not the best housekeeper in the world, and pulling weeds is one of the chores where I can just zone out.  I enjoy the smell of the dirt too.

On Sunday I made my first batch of home made bolillo rolls.  A bolillo is the Mexican version of the crusty French baguette.   I started baking bread last year, and it has become a stress reliever.   I also enjoy eating the results.

I think I could have worked the dough a little bit more on
these.  They were not as light and fluffy as I had hoped.

On Monday I made a loaf of sandwich bread, but I'm a bad blogger and I didn't take any pictures,   The first loaf came out great.   Then later on in the week- I attempted to make the same loaf again, and my yeast didn't set properly and I ended up baking a brick in the oven :(.

*Now for the running updates*

Monday 3/16-  Just a little shy of 8 miles.  The weather was warm, and I ran a flat loop around a busy congested area.  The air quality was terrible.  My allergies are bugging me, but its too early in the year for full time treadmill running.

Tuesday 3/17- 3 mile run on the treadmill, with some circuit training at my workplace gym.  The gym was crowded.  I did mostly body weight exercises; Planks, push ups, body weight squats, crunches.

Wednesday 3/18-  I wrote the beginning of this blog post on Wednesday- Man the weather was nice that day too!

Thursday-3/19  5 miles with some tempo pace thrown in.I actually drove a few miles away from my work-  Sometimes running at lunchtime can be a real pain in the ass.  Everyone is in a hurry to leave the parking lot, and the surrounding roads are congested.  I usually have to run 2 miles of "ugly" (business parks & industrial areas) before I find a nice stretch of road.  I ran the first 3 miles up the hill, and then I was treated to two miles of downhill fun.  Here's the data and elevation profile.

Friday 3/20-  I'm going to head over to the gym, after work today.  I'm hoping to do a short run, and some weight training.   

Hello March, New Shoes, Are we having fun yet?

I'm actually looking forward to the time change this weekend.  I'm not looking forward to losing an extra hour of sleep.  What I'm looking forward to is more daylight hours and warmer weather.   I'm happy to report that my hips, groin, and wrist are feeling better.

In my last post I sounded pretty down about running.  At the end of last year, I was ready for a faster 2015.  I was going to try to get faster at shorter distance events, and by doing so I started to put unneeded pressure on myself.

I think my fragile running ego was really bruised when, I didn't run a good marathon to close out the year...  I have also realized that you can't run a marathon, and not expect it to catch up with you later.

I have decided to take the first half of this year easy....  I'm still running, but I'm not going to follow a training program at all until we get to the fall.   I will probably sign up for a few low key LVTC events, and I might race a half marathon in June or September ( I haven't decided which race yet).  But, I don't want to train aggressively all through the spring/summer and then wonder why my legs feel like shit when I'm in the thick of marathon training....

I have only one goal race this year.   I hate to put all of my eggs in one basket, but I really want this year to be about the marathon.  Rock n Roll Las Vegas is going to be the one where I try to reach for the stars and hopefully PR.   In order to do that I want to add more mileage to that training cycle.  I will need to be healthy and strong going into Summer/Fall training....

So for the time being, I'm just running.....  I'm taking plenty of days off in between my runs...  For instance.  For the last three weekends in a row.  I have taken the whole weekend off!!! Crazy, huh?  My husband and kids are really enjoying the extra time with me on Sunday Mornings.

I've also been leaving the Garmin at home.

New Shoes

I was hesitant to write about these shoes.  I purchased these beauties for $40.00 (I had a coupon) at 6pm.com.  

The first time I went for a run in these shoes, is when I fell... So I almost threw them in the trash....  But, after doing a few more runs in them, they feel great.  IMO they are very similar to the Brooks Adrenaline- Except they don't have as many stability features, and the heel to toe drop is a little lower.  I think these are great shoes for runs of 10 miles and under, and for tempo pace workouts.

Are we having fun yet? & This weeks workouts....

I think this blog has been helpful for me to get back on track after having children, and for rambling about running without bothering my Facebook friends.

I would get so excited about sharing my training and progress with you guys.  It also makes for easy blog content-  I was worried that if I'm not training for anything, then what am I going to write about?
 I'm going to try to include more details from my regular runs, and hopefully my sparkling personality will shine through.


 Monday 3/2 -I had a great run, I ran somewhere between 6 and 7 miles. I ran the first 3ish miles uphill and into the wind, and on the way back I was treated to the opposite. I felt giddy and happy on the way back.

Tuesday 3/3 - A little over two miles on the treadmill, with some circuit training at my workplace gym.

Wednesday 3/4 -8 miles on the Pittman Wash Trail.  Instead of an hour lunch break, I took an hour and 15 minute break...  I haven't run on this trail in awhile and it was nice change of scenery.

Thursday 3/5 - A little over two miles on the treadmill, and circuit training.

Friday 3/6- I'm heading out to the Pittman Wash Trail again this afternoon.     Not sure how far I will go yet...



As always thank you for reading.

When it stops being fun, & and I miss my Debi!!!

I was a basket case two weeks ago after I fell.  I was injured and I couldn't run,  I couldn't really go to the gym to lift weights.  I started to wonder what it would be like to not be a runner anymore.

I have been pretty hard on myself lately.  Why?!  No one cares how fast I run. My PR's only matter to me.

Running has been the be all and end all for me. I've been a runner for over 20 years.  I ran cross country in high school, it propelled me through basic training in the Army, and I've wrapped up my adult identity in being a runner.  Take that away from me, and what do you have left? Yep I know it sounds like  It's crazy talk because I'm still a wife, mother, friend, daughter and, a co-worker....

2014 was a great year for me running wise.  I set a few goals, and I followed a pretty rigid training schedule with a few different races throughout the year. I also thought that I was giving myself enough time to recover from events to avoid burn out...

Why I started this blog in 2011

It seemed like everyone had a blog,  I thought it would be really easy to provide content and hopefully receive some freebies a long the way.  But, in reality this blog fills a very big void for me....

I lost my training partner in 2011-  She didn't pass away, she moved to the other end of the valley. In 2013 she moved away to the opposite side of the country. She was the best runner friend I could have ever asked for.

One of our famous runs on the Las Vegas Strip

I met her in 2007 when I was at another crossroads with my training.  I had been casually training for marathons,  and I would race shorter distance events for fun.  I wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but I wasn't close to a qualifying time.

 I had seen her in the hallways at my work, and I noticed how buff her legs were.  I had spoken to her about training, and she told me she was a triathlete.  IMO she seemed pretty cocky.  But, she had reason to be.  We had both recently finished the LA Marathon, and she BQ'd and finished 25 minutes ahead of me. I didn't think she would want to train with me anyway.

A few months later I started a 16 mile run from my house, and she also started a long run from her town home.  A few hours later we literally ran into each other,  and we ended up finishing our run together that day.  We soon became fast friends and training partners.

She made me believe in myself, and she made running long distances fun.  Her strengths were my weaknesses, and my weaknesses were here strengths.  I was better at the shorter distances, and she would "wake up" at mile 16 of a 20 mile run.   We would talk about everything under the sun.  We also never did any formal speed work.   We would run a 10 miler on Monday,  another 10 on Thursday, & then something long on the weekend.  Our 10 milers would begin with us talking and joking, and then about halfway through we would turn on our music and get to "work" at tempo pace.  

It wasn't always good times,  there were a few disagreements, arguments, & yelling matches.   But, we never held a grudge.

For the past year, I have been trying to replace my training partner with a Garmin, and it doesn't hold a candle to my Debi...

I hope you come to visit this year!!

You are going to take it easy whether you like it or not!

So I'm typing this blog post with one hand..  I sprained my wrist earlier this week, more on that later...

I'm feeling really angsty right now, so I hope this post doesn't sound too whiny. Last week I was recovering from a hip injury.  I wasn't sure how bad it was, but I think I just had a muscle strain on my outer left hip.  I vowed to take it easy for the next month and no speed work for two months.

My training last week looked like this:

Monday 2/2  -Rest
Tuesday 2/3 -Rest
Wednesday 2/4 3 mile run @ recovery pace
Thursday 2/5  3 mile run @ recovery pace
Friday 2/6  Circuit Training at the gym
Saturday 2/7 Rest
Sunday 2/8 Rest (my baby girl turned 2)


Last month I was adding items to my wish list/wait list for e-books with the local library.  I put myself on the wait list for a book on running called 80/20.  It became available over the weekend, and I dove in head first.  I began to ask myself, "Am I running my easy runs too fast?" and "Will slowing down help me go faster?"

At this point with my running I'm worried that I am no longer improving and that I am starting to feel burnt out.  I love to run and race, and training for a race always gives me a goal and something to look forward too.  Training with a Garmin has given me the ability to track paces, and stats.  But, I think the Garmin is messing with my head.  Also going from one race to the next with speed work in the mix has left my body feeling tired.

But, back to 80/20-  I decided to try out running slower, than my easy pace for a training run.  I went for an easy 3 mile run on Monday during my lunch break and here's what happened....

right knee

left knee

I think I was trying to focus on running slowly too much.  I was trying to cross the street and while I was paying attention to the cars, I stopped paying attention to the road beneath my feet.  I don't think I lifted my foot off the ground high enough and I caught it on a raised edge of the sidewalk and I fell.  I got up really fast and kept on running because I felt really lame.  I was so mad after I fell.  I just felt so dumb, I got back to my office cleaned up my knees and then I finished my workout, with some circuit training.

I was full of piss an vinegar on Monday, thinking "I'm fine it's just some scrapes", but then I noticed my wrist feeling really sore, and by Tuesday morning. I really felt like shit.

I haven't ran since then, and I'm not going to try to lift weights with a sprained wrist.  I'm also beating myself up for being careless.  What if I would have hit my head on the sidewalk first?  

I don't even care about 80/20 running anymore....  I just don't want to be in any pain for the next few weeks..

On the bright side of things my hip doesn't hurt anymore.

Big Game 10k Race Recap

I could have named this recap "how to positively split a 10k", but I won't.  I also have a running injury/issue that I want to address.


I made it in just under my "C" goal.  I'm not too disappointed with my performance.  I have quite a few different thoughts about this race overall,  There were issues with the course, timing, and results. I hope I can give an honest and coherent recap.

Before the Race
I saw this race online a few months ago, I was waiting until after the holidays to register, it was a good thing I waited because  a Groupon was being offered and I only paid $19 for the race.   But, you get what you pay for...

The course could have been set up  much better than this
The 5k course also merged with the 10k course during the
second half.

I also did some speed work earlier in the week at Cornerstone Park.  At the time I thought this was a splendid idea.  I only had to run 6 x 400 meters.  Hindsight is now 20/20 and I wish I would have stayed off of the concrete paths in the park.


Morning of the Race
I got up a little before 5am and made breakfast.  I had a small pancake with butter, half of a banana, two eggs, and coffee.  I fed my kids breakfast and then I got dressed.   The temps were going to be in the low 50's with no wind so I went with a T-shirt and shorts. I also turned a pair of cheap pajama socks into hand warmers..  For shoes I decided to go with my Brooks Launch shoes instead of my Brooks Pure Flows.

Even though you are about 5 years old. You are still
a great pair of shoes.

When I had done a speed workout earlier in the week at Corner Stone Park, and  I noticed that my Pure Flows were feeling kind of worn and I could really feel the road beneath my feet.  The Brooks Launch offers a bit more cushioning and feels more like a normal running shoe.

I left my house at 6:30 to drive to the downtown area.  The race started at 8am but, I wanted to get good parking and have time to warm up.  My; friend Jenn was also running the 10k that morning.  I waited for her and then we went to packet pick up together.

It's always nice to have my friend with me,  it makes the time before the race go by so much faster, and it helps me from getting too nervous.  I also said hello to fellow runners that I recognized.

Cheap socks make great throwaway gloves.
I love my Jenny!

For my warm up I jogged a mile and I did  a few strides.  My groin and hip felt a  little tight.

The Race
My goal was to run a negative split race, and keep my pace in the low seven minute range, and hopefully break 44 minutes....
I lined up a few rows back from the front.  I noticed that the Red Rock Running Team was representing.  They have a women's and men's team with some pretty fast local runners.  I knew I didn't have a shot at top 3 women overall, but I was hoping to at least snag an age group award.  At the last minute I decided to wear my ipod.  I'm really glad I made that choice.

The gun went off and I found my groove.  I looked down at my watch and saw 6:30 pace (shit!) and I backed off a bit.  There were a few ladies in front of me and I hoped that I could reel a few of them in.

Mile 1-7:02

When we rounded the corner, we had to run down a street to the end and then flip a 180 degree turn to run back down the street.  No biggie, except there were four 180 degree turns throughout the race, and  I was also worried that some runners wouldn't be honest and would try to cut across the road before they made it to the turn around point....

Mile 2-7:12

I turned on my ipod, and focused on the runners ahead of me.  At the first turn around point I noticed that I was the 8th woman overall.

Toshie is also wearing orange and she is closing the gap
between us.

Mile 3-7:10
I was able to catch one female runner ahead of me during this mile, and I passed a few dudes.  My runner friend Toshie also went cruising by me during this mile.  I didn't have enough will to try to hang with her.  She seemed to be running much stronger than I was.

Mile 4-7:20
The 5k race started 15 minutes after the 10k start.  The lead males began to pass me.  My left hip/quad is burning like a mother.  I can run, but it hurts.

Mile 5 -7:26
I can feel someone breathing down my neck,  With a mile to go he makes his move to pass me. But, he didn't get to far away from me. Another guy passed the both of us.

Mile 6- 7:28
I knew we were getting close to the finish,  I don't think I realized how close the end was,  I had a really good finishing kick, and I was able to out kick the two guys that I was sort of running with.

.27  1:53  (6:53 pace)

Garmin Time 45:31
Official Time 44:59

10th woman overall and 3rd in my age group.

Okay this is where the rant comes in..... They messed up the finish line/course.  Quite a few 10k runners cut the course short at the end.  There were no barricades to prevent the runners from cutting the course. I even remember my friend Toshie taking a wrong turn, and having to turn around before the finish line,

Here's a snapshot of my pace..

I would have to slow down each time I hit a corner or turn around. point   It's hard to keep your momentum going, with all of the turns.

Also I could have sworn that I was the 8th female overall.  I know that with chip timing someone could start after me, and finish after me and have a faster time, but that's not what happened.

They had the 5th place finisher finishing in 40:XX (chip time) and her gun time was finishing 44:45, about 14 seconds ahead of me, that means she would have had to have passed right by me during the final stretch of the course.  But, that didn't happen!!!  (they have since cleaned up the final results to show chip time only).  Also how come there is such a big difference between my Garmin time and the chip time?  I know it works in my favor, but  I can't really take credit for running that fast....


This wasn't a huge race and in the grand scheme of things NO1CURR.

Here's a picture of the winners

Erica was 3rd, Laura was 1st, and Amanda was 2nd.
The first two ladies went sub 39, and Erica went sub 40.
These ladies are also really friendly and nice

After the race I was really effing worried.  My groin felt really tight and I had a dull throbbing ache on the side of my hip as well.


I didn't stick around for the awards because I had to hurry home.

Running Injury/Issue

My left hip has been bothering me for a little while.  I'm not exactly sure when things started to get screwy.  I"m not even really sure what is wrong with my hip....  Last month I think I pulled a small muscle in my hip while doing one legged planks on a stability ball.
Back in September when I ran the Saints and Sinners half, I noticed that my left quad/hip started to burn during the 4th mile of the race.  I just figured it was from the downhill pounding of the course. If we go back even further, I suffered a groin strain on my left leg in March right before the Mustang Half Marathon.


I don't really remember my hip bothering me much during the Rock n Roll Las Vegas Marathon or during my brief marathon training.  I don't think running mileage is the problem, so much as pace being the problem.

The last month has been pretty heavy on speed work. weight training, and tempo runs. It's only been 10 weeks since RNR Vegas.  Since then I have raced a half marathon, took one week to recover from that, and then I threw myself into speed work training for this 10k....

And in all honesty I don't even think that my speed workouts made any difference.  I think I could have just trained for this 10k by running my normal mileage and weight training.  I think I'm a real big idiot for trying to whip myself up into "fast' 10k shape in one month's time.

I could have probably had the same effect if I would have  just lost a few vanity pounds....

Right now I'm just feeling sorry for myself.  I went for a short run today, I was able to run, almost three miles (yay!)  however, when I tried to speed up while crossing the street I felt my hip twinge.


I have since decided that there will be no spring half marathon.    I'm writing this out so that I am held  accountable.  I will not be doing any speed work for the next two months.  For the next month I'm going to be doing very light running.   I have to give my hip time to heal.  I'm hoping that this is a muscle strain and nothing more serious.




I'm sorry for the rant, and thanks for reading :)