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Year of the Rat 5K

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Location:

Mesa,AZ,

Member Since:

Apr 04, 2007

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Marathon Finish

Running Accomplishments:

Prs:

1 mile:  6:31

5K:  23:37

Half Marathon: 2:04

My first post-high school 5K, in which I thought I was going to die

The first time I won my age division.  Yippee!

My first half marathon, in which I attack Sasha

The time I beat my high school PR for the 5K (as a 31 year-old mommy of 3!)

My first 5K barefooted

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

I'm just getting back into running after a long break to have my last child.  I would like to race some 10Ks, a half, and a marathon in the next 2 years.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Be the oldest woman to complete a marathon.  Yea!  But hopefully I will also complete some BEFORE I geezer up, like, before I'm 40 for sure.  I think it would be fun to dress up really strange for marathons, like impersonating celebrities and stuff.  Except I don't really like celebrities, as a rule, so maybe I'll have to stick to the age old question of ninja, or pirate.  I say ninja. *Hyah!*

Personal:

I am happily married to James W (Cool Runnings). We have 3 boys and 1 opinionated little girl.  I love reading and I'm also a news junkie.  I am a stinker.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Year of the Rat 5K (3.14 Miles) 00:24:40, Place overall: 8, Place in age division: 4
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.003.145.14

Many good things to report about this race!

1.) I took 1 min. 51 seconds off my post high school PR.

2.) I placed in the top 10 chicas, which I have NEVER done in my entire life for a race over a mile. I was 8th for the women, 4th in my division, and 27th including the guys. There were about 300 participants, I'd estimate.

3.) I beat "Ded Moroz," the 8:00 guy. My average pace was 7:56, and that is not accounting for the slightly long course.

4.) My improvement in time was not because it was a super-easy course. There were several smallish hills and gradual inclines. It was an out-and back course. I asked several people with Garmins what the distance was, and they all said 3.14-3.16. So this is an official old lady PR, people! The footing was excellent, though--mostly paved, and some hard packed dirt. The temps were also ideal. I was MOST appreciative that it ended with a little downhill section.

The only unfortunate thing was that I didn't get one of the beee-yootiful medals they were giving out. The Super-Chicks who came in #1 and #2 overall were both in my age division, and I had high hopes that they wouldn't count them for the age div. awards, but they did. : (

I can't remember much about the details of the actual run. I just kept thinking about keeping up my rhythm. My music really helped--and I had it turned up LOUD! I didn't want to hear the sound of my jagged breathing.

Mentally, I think I handled this race pretty well. There were a couple of times when negative thoughts tried to bog me down. The worst are the thoughts like "you won't be able to hold this pace" or "you are not doing very well", but I just dug in with a strong "YES I CAN!" and "YES I AM!" and they went away. One thing I think I am really gaining from running is the ability to outlast stuff like that. Just refusing to give up and keeping on keeping on through discouraging moments usually yields very good results. I see this in other areas of my life than running, so I am grateful for that.

You guys are going to laugh at my race attire--the FRB singlet and HOT PINK shorts!

This was taken AFTER the race, so I am a little frazzled, but you can see that I was not completely wasted. I didn't look like I needed to go to the hospital, so that is definite improvement!

Overall, I am very pleased that running easy has produced such good results. I train at 10-11:00 pace. Often even slower! (Wonder if Sasha will allow me to go faster now...) And I do zippo speedwork.

My mile splits were pretty consistent 7:45. 8:03, and 7:54. I felt that I could have sustained that pace for at least another mile. Whoops! Gotta go teach some piano lessons. Happy running everyone.

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Comments
From Clay on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 14:40:35

WOW! Lybi great job today... Keep running girl, you are on your way!!!

From Michelle on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 14:51:52

WHOA BABY!! Way to rock that PR!!! You are on your way to bigger and better things!!! This is just the begining....Look out blog here comes LYBI!!!!

From James W on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 14:54:50

Darn it, I wasn't the first to comment! That's what I get for fixing lunch for the boys . . . phooey on you, Clay! (J/K!). Lybi, you did an awesome job today. You needed an effort like today to show yourself how much you have improved in the last several months. A note about the zippo speedwork, there is a reason for that. I know I have said this before, but there are a couple of main reasons for speedwork - 1) to teach your legs to turn over at a higher rate and 2) to improve the anaerobic value of your max performance. You are still at a level (heck, so am I for that matter) where you are going to gain the most value from the base aerobic training you are doing. Speedwork can come later. In any case, fantastic performance, you have earned yourself a treat today. Go ahead, you deserve it! Love you!

From MarcieJ on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 15:26:50

What a great day for you! I am so happy for you. You are an awesome runner, way to rock it out there! You are the WOMAN!

From Christi on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 16:06:42

What a hottie! You look great! AWESOME job on the race!! You got a SMOKIN' time! Did the shufflin' sista tell ya you needed to race or what? So happy for you! (I think you have offically broken out of 'da funk...)

From Jody on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 16:11:28

CONGRATS!! Way to go speed demon!!!! You ROCK!!! Cute picture!!

From Paul Petersen on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 16:52:46

Great job! I'm jealous that you can stand comfortable outside while wearing shorts and a singlet.

From Lybi on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 16:58:29

Paul--"comfortable" is a little bit of a stretch with the hot pink shorts (more like CONSPICUOUS!) but yeah...perfect racing weather. I'll be jealous of you June-September.

From laura on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 17:35:22

Lybi, that is SO AWESOME!!! Im so impressed with your pace!!! What a fast running chicka you are!!!!! Great, great job - and that's without someone pacing you too! You're getting mentally stronger which shows improvement even beyond the actual time improvement!

From laura on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 17:36:24

P.S. Cute pic!! ;o)

From Maria on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 18:17:35

Great job, Lybi! You look awesome in the picture - definitely too fresh for having just run a 5K ;). Keep up the good work, and you'll drop more time in future races!!

From Brent on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 18:55:23

PR 100 commando points, another ten for great attitude and rebound from your recent health issues. Also, you likely used a bunch of your commando points today. What a way to cash them in. Your were one of the fire breathing dragons today, your shorts prove it.

We are all jealous of your shorts or the warm weather?

Stay Cool, Run Harder, B of BS Rools out

From Bonnie on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 19:05:55

WOW!! great job, great look, you are rockn' it today!

From Paula on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 19:51:54

great job today. You had a great time and a great outfit. keep up the great work!!

From sarah on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 20:07:55

Lybi...I'm close to tears....I'm so happy for you. What a wonderful improvement..You look great in hot pink shorts...should be the official uniform for the girls at least...people might think weird things if they saw too many guys in hot pink. And teaching piano lessons afterwards...I'm usually done for the day after a PR...you are my HERO!!

From Tom on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 20:20:12

Awesome race Lybi!!! And just think a few days ago you were contemplating taking a running break for a while. More good races coming for sure. That high school record is going DOWN!

From Kim on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 20:26:22

Wow! Way to go! I can't even imagine running a 5K in that time! The picture looks so great I thought for sure it was before the race!

From Scott Zincone on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 21:31:33

Great race and congrats on a big PR. Reading your race report inspired my workout today.

From crumpyb1 on Sat, Feb 09, 2008 at 22:46:05

Congratulations! You look great! I am so glad you had a wonderful race.

From Christi on Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 03:04:54

Lybi- Thank YOU for the sleep challenge. It was really fun in a crazy, hormonal kind of way (maybe being UIH and extra sleep don't mix for me?!) Now its 1:00 am and I'm blogging- can't sleep- probably due to the weekly excess! Again- CONGRATS on rocking the 5k today, what a PR!! (and goodnight...zzzzz)

From Ian on Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 04:22:45

Good happy race Lybi, well done on a big PR.

From Heber on Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 12:58:06

Debbie ran her first race yesterday. It was a 3 miler and she finished in 30 minutes. She was pretty proud because on the treadmill she does 3 miles in about 34 minutes.

From andee on Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 15:35:32

WOW - you are super fast!!! What a great race for you. I love the cute picture!!

From Mik'L on Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 22:33:33

Nice! You are speedy! Great job on the PR and love the pic!

BTW, check out the discussion forum on the running camp this summer. Would be fun fun fun if you guys could come (and everyone else!).

From Lybi on Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 01:30:26

Well, what can I say? You guys are the BEST! I've been reading your nice comments over and over (you shameless flatterers!) and I blush every time. Just wait, I'll be bringing down my high school PR soon, and it will all be thanks to you guys and all your encouragement! Thanks a ton.

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 17:38:09

Only 42 seconds to go before you break your HS PR. Not bad at all for a mother of 3 who started training less than a year ago.

You will not need speed work for a while. There is still a lot of room to work on base, and that room should not be eaten up by speed work. Speed work only polishes the surface of the furniture while base work actually makes the furniture.

For your easy runs, run whatever pace feels natural. Do not force yourself to run sub-10:00. If 10:00 starts feeling unnaturally slow, go faster. If you do not feel like 10:00, 11:00 is OK. Go as slow as it takes to put in the target mileage for the day, and then be able to do it again the next day. If you feel too fresh after 6 miles a day, maybe you are ready for 7, or at least 6 one day, 7 the next combination.

From jtshad on Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 17:54:03

Great race and congratulations on the nice PR!

Ah, sunshine and warmth...looking forward to being in your neck of the woods in a couple of weeks to enjoy it as well.

Great work, keep running strong.

From Shauna on Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 21:38:27

Great job, and congrats on the PR! Cute picture-you look like you've lost some weight.

From Mark on Tue, Feb 12, 2008 at 10:15:27

What an awesome race. Your old HS PR is trembling in fear, it knows that its days are numbered. Your hard work and consistency are really paying off!

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