LVTC Low Key Poker 5k & Switching up my Routine

Over the weekend I ran a low key 5k.  The premise of the run was to collect 3 poker cards during the run, and after the race their would be a Texas Hold'em game with a flop, turn, and river card. The runners with the best poker had would have their pick of the prizes. The race was intended to raise money for scholarships for local high school runners.

When I arrived at the race location I noticed that their weren't a lot of participants ready to race.  January is a popular month for road races in the Las Vegas Valley, and there were several different events that same morning. Because of this the track club workout had a small turnout.  I wasn't feeling very motivated to do a proper warm up.  In fact I didn't even really warm up. I figured I would try to negative split the 5k.  I also had lofty goals of running a sub 21:00 5k.

I lined up front and when the horn went off, we took off and I found my groove. Two high school boys went flying by me.  I knew I wouldn't be able to hang with them.  I was running with two other male runners and after about 800 meters I looked down at my watch and noticed 7:05 pace. (My goal was 6:45's per mile). I knew that I needed to pick up the pace, I dropped it into another gear and I went around the two guys I was running with.  I also picked up my first poker card.

Mile 1 7:03 (Meh)


One of the guys that I passed just hung on to me.  I was running hard, but I couldn't shake him.  We hit the turn around point and I knew he was still on my heels.

Mile 2 7:06 (D'oh)

Once we passed the 2nd mile marker I decided to put some distance between me and the guy on my heels.  I really tried to open up.  I grabbed the 2nd poker card halfway through this mile

Mile 3 6:36 (Right on!)
During the final 400 meters I got my ass out kicked.

I'm the pink dot in the rear.

Final Time 21:32 (6:53 average)

I'm not disappointed with my time.  I know that I could have ran this a bit faster, if I had done a proper warm-up.   It was a small race and I felt like I was in "no man's land"  for most of the race. I do better at bigger events because there is motivation to catch runners ahead of you.

After all the runners finished the poker hand was dealt.  I didn't have a very good hand, so I went home empty handed.   Overall I'm happy that I got a good workout in.

**Thank you to the Las Vegas Track Club for hosting the event and for the photos!!**

For the past few months I have been working out in the mornings before work and on my lunch breaks I would drive over to my daughter's daycare to nurse and or play with her.  At this stage of her development she is moving from two naps a day down to one long mid day nap.   This is great because her development is progressing right along where it should be, however I am a bit sad because I look forward to seeing my little one and getting some extra cuddle time in with her.

At first I was actually considering trying to work out twice a day because I love to run in the morning.. But, that just sounded like a dumb idea. My workouts before work always felt rushed and hurried.  I would usually try to bang out a 3-5 mile tempo run or do some frenzied circuit training.   Instead I'm going to focus on lunch time workouts.  

I plan on running three days a week, doing circuit training one day, and one day of complete rest.   My weekends will still consist of one long run and one rest day.   I will definitely be upping my mileage and slowing down my pace on some of my runs.   I will be probably switching it up again when the Las Vegas summer heat arrives.

My Latest Workouts and My plans for 2014

I'm glad that things are getting back to normal after a long holiday season. My training has been going okay.. I say this because I'm not training for anything specific right now, but my running has been feeling great. After the half marathon I didn't really take a break from running. My mom and dad came to visit and I took advantage of having a babysitter.  I did take a break from wearing my Garmin.  I ran several times during the week of Christmas and also the week of New Year's eve. Most of my runs were between 3-6 miles  No stats are available.

I treated myself to some new running shoes. I'm a Brooks Adrenelene runner. I love my Brooks but, sometimes I wish they came in bright colors.   I had been coveting these ASICS GT-1000's for awhile.  I had some Kohls Cash left over from Christmas and I got these shoes at a really good price.  They are stability shoes.  I have ran in these a few times and they feel a little different than my Adrenelienes but, thats not a bad thing.  I will be rotating my shoes so both pairs will last longer.

Workouts since January 1st.

Wednesday 1/1   7 Mile run around my neighborhood  57:25  (8:12 average pace)

Thursday 1/2    Circuit Training before work.  Full body workout.

Friday    1/3   5 Mile run on my lunch break. I ran 2.5 miles over to my daughter's daycare visited with her and then ran back to work.  I averaged 7:32 pace on the way out, on the way back in I averaged 8:11 pace.

Saturday 1/4 Rest day

Sunday  1/5   7.5 Mile run around my neighborhood  59:50 (8:00 average pace)

Monday 1/6  Circuit Training before work. Full body workout

Tuesday 1/7  4  Miles Tempo before work.  Here are the split times,
Mile 1- 7:29
Mile 2- 7:40
Mile 3- 7:33
Mile 4- 6:51
Later on that same day I had minor gum surgery to remove excess tissue.  A bonus from pregnancy!

Wednesday 1/8 -3 Mile shake out run before work. No garmin, or radio. Just for fun.

Thursday 1/9   3 Mile progression run before work. Here are the split times,
Mile 1- 7:43
Mile 2- 7:45
Mile 3- 7:14

Friday 1/10 Rest Day-  My baby girl wasn't feeling well. We both stayed home.

Saturday 1/11 Rest Day

Sunday  1/12- 6 mile progression run. 47:54  (7:59 average pace)  I started with a 8:26 mile and finished with a 7:24 mile

Monday 1/13  3 Miles before work. No Garmin or radio. Just for fun.

Tuesday 1/14  5 Mile Progression Run/Tempo Run, I feel really good about this run because there was also 241 feet of elevation gain in the first 2 1/2 miles. Here are my split times
Mile 1-8:10
Mile 2-7:43
Mile 3-7:37
Mile 4-7:01
Mile 5-6:48

Wednesday 1/15  4 miles, tempo.  I would like to call it a progression run but I'm not sure what happened that last mile.
Mile 1-7:50
Mile 2-7:22
Mile 3 7:11
Mile 4 7:42

Thursday 1/16 Rest Day

Friday 1/17 Almost 7 miles (6.86) after work.  My average pace was 8:01 per mile.  The weather was a perfect 68 degrees.  The temps have been warmer than average out here in the Las Vegas Valley.  The downside to this is that the pollen that we normally get in March is already starting to appear.  I started the run feeling good, but by the end I was blowing major snot rockets and just not feeling very well. I felt sluggish.  In other news, my little boy turned 3 years old.  We celebrated at home that night with cake and balloons.

Saturday 1/18  Rest Day- To celebrate my son's birthday, my husband and I took our children to a nature preserve called the Springs Preserve.  We walked around for a few hours and wore out the kids. That afternoon I started to feel really bad.  I caught a cold of some sorts and I went to bed really early.

Sunday 1/19 Rest Day.  I felt like garbage. No running.

Monday 1/20 Rest Day. My cold is feeling somewhat better. I'm grateful for the 3 day weekend  and not needing to take a sick day at work.

Tuesday 1/21  After 3 days off, I am feeling really fidgety.  It's a hard feeling to describe. I feel jittery, impatient, and really strong at the same time.  I drop the kids off at daycare and I head to work.  I only had time for a short workout.  I did circuit training at the gym, it was a full body workout with exercises such as:  2 minute sprint on the treadmill, and then  push ups, back rows, shoulder raises, bicep curls, shoulder presses, Romanian dead lifts, kettle bell swings,  sit ups, lat pull downs, and roman chair leg lifts.  I do this entire circuit 3 times. It takes about 25 minutes and it is a killer workout.

I also ran 4 miles at lunchtime.  My daughter's daycare called to let me know she was going to be taking a nap during lunch time. It worked out perfectly.  I ran 4 miles without a Garmin or radio. Just for fun.

Wednesday 1/22-  4 miles - 2 miles up a hill and then 2 miles back down the hill.  Here are my split times,
Mile 1-8:35
Mile 2-8:30
Mile 3-7:15
Mile 4-6:57

I'm feeling better since the weekend. I'm still somewhat congested but, it's manageable.

My plans for 2014

 January 25th (This Weekend) - Low Key 5k.  I want to go under 21:00 minutes. Or at least come close.

 March-  1 mile race  A local running club is hosting a 1 mile race.   I haven't raced this distance in a really long time. It's pretty hard to race a mile to your fullest potential if you are also focusing on long distance racing...

April- The Mustang Half Marathon-  I'm eyeballing this race because it is very close to my home, and it appears to be a flat course.  I would really like to make a go of it and run a sub 1:35 half marathon.  The premise of this race is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang. I'm not a big car buff. But, there is a raffle for all of the runners that are racing the half marathon.  The winner of the raffle will win a Shelby Mustang.


Fall Marathon -I'm torn on this decision.  I really want to enter the lottery for the St. George Marathon in October.  The only way you can get in is through the lottery system of if you fund raise.  I'm itching to run a marathon. It has been almost 4 years since I have raced this distance.   However, this marathon falls during the first week of October, so I will need to train throughout the brutal summer.  Also the time commitment needed to really prepare for a marathon is not something I'm looking forward to.

I feel like I'm in a nice "sweet spot" right now. I get to run one day on the weekends and before work. My running isn't cutting into my family time. A marathon is a big commitment time wise. I don't want to half ass train and run a half ass race. When I step to the line for 26.2 miles I want to be as prepared as possible. I want my next marathon to be the one where I finally go under 3:30.  I will elaborate on my marathon plans in a future post.