2011 Year in Review

What a year!  2011 is the year I became a runner!  If you told me a year ago that I would be typing this, I would have laughed at you!  The idea of running in the Disney Princess Half Marathon just came to me one day in mid-January.  I knew that I need a big goal to get me moving to lose weight.  Since I love all things Disney, the Princess Half was a perfect fit for me.  From the day I made this my goal I put myself on this path.  I started running at the gym the next day…and, as they say, the rest is history.

Running has given me a confidence I never knew before.  I have witnessed my body do things that I never thought I was capable of.   I have made some the wonderful and supportive friends, some I know I will be friends with forever.  I have found a new way to bond with my sisters.  I can never thank running enough for all of the things it has given me.

I have done several races this year, in length from 5ks to 10 milers.  My very first race every was in June.  It was the Baltimore Women’s Classic.  I had no idea what to expect, but had a great time.  From that time on, I was hooked!  I decided then that I would try to do one race each month for the rest of the year.  I am happy to report that I accomplished that goal.  In July I did the Full Moon Run, then in August I did the York Rail Trail 10 miler.  This was my most difficult race to date, but I did it!  Finishing gave me so much confidence in my abilities as a runner.  I knew that if I could finish the 10 miler in the August heat, I would be fine to finish the Princess Half—my ultimate goal.  I finished out the fall with the 9/11 run, the Wrightsville Bridge Run and the Turkey Trot.  As long as weather permits, I will do doing a New Year’s Eve run to finish out the year, and get 2012 started on the right foot.

Looking back on all of these accomplishments, I am truly amazed where this year has taken me.  To celebrate, I registered today for the 2012 Baltimore Women’s Classic.  It was my first race ever, any my favorite (the swag bag was amazing!).  My ultimate goal—finishing the Disney Princess Half Marathon will be accomplished in just eight weeks!  All of this hard work over the past year has been very worth it!

Where did 2011 take you?  Was this expected or unexpected?  What would you change if you could?

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

5k MAG Wrightsville Bridge Run

This past Saturday, November 5^th, I did a really cool run over a very old bridge.  I read about the bridges history and learned it had once been the longest wooden bridge in the world, 1.4 miles long.  It was damaged by ice and was rebuilt.  In the civil war, the bridge was burned to halt the advancement of the confederacy.  They later rebuilt the bridge out of cement. 

I woke up early Saturday morning for the run.  This was the first ever race I went to alone.  My husband or sisters usually go with me.  Since this was a close one, I went alone.  I met a friend there.  She met another friend there, so I had a few running buddies anyway.  It was so cold that morning!  I am a real wimp when it comes to cold weather.  It was about 34 degrees when I parked my car.  One good thing about this race was that it started just outside an elementary school.  Registration was inside that school.  There was plenty of room in the school to hang out and stretch before the race.  The best part of this race—no port a potties! 

The start of the race was rather uneventful.  Everyone gathered at the start.  The race organizer was speaking over a loud speaker, but it was muffled inaudible.   All of the sudden, the people in front of me were running!  Off we went.  The beginning of the race was down a very steep hill toward the bridge.  I stuck with my friends for about the first half mile. Once I got moving, I worked up quickly.  I was wearing an Under Armor tank, a Target C9 long sleeve compression top and a zip up jacket, with my Old Navy Yoga pants and Asics shoes.  This combo worked great for me for this run.

The view off the bridge was absolutely breathtaking.  I could look both ways up the river and see for miles.  The sun was slowly rising in the east, the direction we ran in the first half of the race.  I could see lots of geese swimming in the water.  There were few boats in the water.  There is a dam a few miles south of the bridge, so the current is quite strong in the area.  The water’s edge was iced lined.  The bridge was closed to traffic, so we had the whole thing to run.  By the time I reached mile one at around eleven minutes, I was being passed by runners on their way back.  Once I reached the end of the bridge, the turnaround was at a little tiny park.  It was just a small loop and back to the bridge we ran. 

One thing I really liked about the organization of this race was the every tenth of a mile, there was a large brightly colored flag.  These flags really helped me plan my run/walk ratio.  I was more tired on the return run that I was on the first half, but my time stay steady.  I was running at about twelve minutes a mile—that is until I got to the last quarter mile.  Once I got off the bridge, the last quarter mile was straight up!  I was paying for the nice downhill beginning.  I have never run up a hill like that.  It was as steep as running up stairs.  This really slowed down my pace and killed my PR. When I hit mile three, the clock read 36:40.  My PR on a 5k is 38:12.  With almost a minute and a half, I was close enough to touch a new PR.  I started up the hill, but quickly lost steam.  I crossed the finish line with a time of 39:02.  According to my RunKeeper, my pace for the last tenth of a mile was 15:42. 

There was a nice lady waiting at the finish to hand the runners a bottle of water.  I was feeling warm and sweaty, so I unzipped my jacket and waited for my friends to finish.  Bad idea!  As my body slowed down, my temperature dropped quickly.  I was still sweaty, so I got cold really fast.  I learned to welcome the warmth when running in the cold.  One thing I really like about this race was that the fastest runners were not the ones to win all the prizes.  This race gave out about 20 door prizes, ranging from $100 cash to gift cards to local restaurants.  I like this idea because most of us are never going to be elite runners.  It was nice to have the chance to win a prize anyway.  Over all, this race was a great experience.  It is on my list of must do races next year. 

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

***The winner of my GU sampler pack is RunDreamCook!  E-mail me at amysmith7@comcast.net with your shipping address and I will get it right out to you!

***Don’t forget to enter my Balancing Act clothing giveaway!!!