Tag Archive | personal best

Can’t Best Them All

Jun14

Recently, I have had a couple of absolutely terrible races. Part of it due to weather and part of it due to just not being as ready as I should be.

Last month, I ran the Soldier Field 10-mile race. It was my first time doing the race. It should have been the second time, but last year I had to bow out of the race due to an absolutely horrible headache that prevented me from running.

This year, I talked a friend into running the race with me and meeting up with her before and after the race was fun. But the race itself was the worst race I have ever done. It was just terrible.

Not due to any organization problems (those make me despise races and never want to do them again) or course issues. No, this was my absolute worst race because my wonderful friend calf cramps came back to haunt me.

I kind of knew I might be in trouble as I was awakened in the middle of the night by a cramp in my calf. I was hoping it would just be a night thing and not bother me during the race. Continue reading →

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New Personal Records

Mar25

Today was the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago. The race is known officially as the start of the running season. This was my second year doing the race and I really enjoyed it.

I was hoping I would run the race in under an hour, but as usual plans went awry. This was because earlier in the week, I was starting to come down with a cold. The weather in Chicago has been fantastic lately, so coming down with a cold was not something ideal. I was hoping it might just be allergies, but sadly it was an actual cold.

I did manage to keep it from becoming a full-blown cold however. Just a bit of a runny nose and stuffiness in the morning. It did make life less than idea since it interfered with my running. Somehow though, I managed to set a new PR with the Shamrock Shuffle today. Continue reading →

Almost Done it All

Nov17

This past weekend I ran a 10K. It was supposed to be a 10-miler, but it was just a day that 10 miles wasn’t going to happen. It was also a chance for me to look back over the year of running and see exactly what I have accomplished.

After my hometown beotch “disaster,” I could look at the year as such a huge disappointment. However if I am realistic about it, it was a fantastic year of running for me. I ran pretty much every distance there is to do in some form or fashion. Maybe not necessarily as a race, but definitely putting in those miles in some capacity.

I started the year off with a 5K on New Year’s Day. Then a few months later I did a 10K. Then an 8K. A 5-miler. A half marathon. A 20-mile training run. An attempt at 26.2. Then another 5K and most recently a 10K.

Each race I managed to do something fun, in that I shaved time off of previous bests at these various distances. November 5th, I ran a 5K race. It was my first race since the Chicago Marathon. And I destroyed my prior best 5k time. When I say destroyed it, I mean that my previous mile splits were along the lines of 13 minutes per mile. In that 5K, I was averaging 10:55 per mile with at least one sub nine minute mile. All in all, I ran that 5K in just under 31 minutes. Continue reading →