Race Recap: Gate River Run

I’m pretty behind in posting my running recaps, so here is one that I did a couple of weeks ago. On Saturday morning, March 10,2012, I ran in the largest 15k race in the country – the Gate River Run (GRR).  The GRR celebrated it’s 35^th year and I was pretty happy to participate.  This is my second year running this race.  I would say that I enjoyed every minute of it, but I would be lying. Check out my recap of the race below.

The Race:

On the morning of the race, I woke up around 6:30am.  I planned to leave my house at 7pm, but that didn’t happen.  For some reason I had a slow start getting ready despite me lying out my clothes and running gear in the evening.  I ate some of my breakfast while getting ready and the rest in the car.  My breakfast consisted of 2 hard-boiled eggs and a slice of peanut butter toast.    My commute to the race location was a little dicey – there was lots of traffic, a major car accident and no parking.  Despite the morning hiccups, I was able to make it to the start line with about 15 minutes to spare.  One reason that I was able to get to the start line pretty quickly is because I qualified for a seeded position.  The race organizers roped off the first 5,000 starting positions for seeded runners.  This group also included the elite runners who were positions in the first 300 slots.  After the elite runners, the remaining 5,000 runners were corralled according to each runner’s times in designated qualifying events.  Behind the seeded runners, the rest of the runners positions from the 8m/m to the 12 m/m paces.  It was pretty cool being up front because I didn’t have to weave in and out through a huge crowd.  The race organizers also staggered the start times for all of the sections.  I heard that some people didn’t cross the start line until 13 minutes after the race started. 

Anyways, the weather was pretty perfect on race day until we got to the “green monster”(aka the Hart Bridge).  The weather was pretty cloudy during the race and it was about 65 degrees.  I love running in cool weather because my body gets so hot when I run.  The course started near the Jacksonville Jaguar stadium and we proceeded towards the heart of downtown Jacksonville.  We pasted the courthouse and turned a couple of blocks before we headed over the Main Street Bridge.  The rest of the route took us through historic San Marco, down Atlantic Blvd and through various residential neighborhoods until we got to the Hart Bridge and then back to the stadium.  I tried to keep a steady pace during the entire race to conserve some of my energy for the last mile and a half.  At the base of the Hart Bridge, I made sure to get some water and I took a deep breath before I tackled monster.  I started to take pictures and then decided that I need to focus on getting to the top of the bridge.  Once I made it to the top, the descent was pretty easy because it was close to the finish line.  I ran as fast as I could to make up for the time I lost going up the bridge.  I was pretty happy the race was over once I made it to the finish line.

Before I tell you my time, I want to highlight all of the wonderful people that make up this race.  Every year, the spectators come out in full force to cheer on their favorite runners.  It’s great to have so much support during this long 9+mile race – thanks so much.  In the residential areas, there are spectators that hand out cold beer, fresh fruit, ice pops and I even saw someone handing out bacon.  I know crazy right?  This year, I ended up grabbing an orange wedge and an ice pop for some extra energy.   The runners are pretty interesting too.  People get all dressed up in various matching outfits and costumes.  There was even a local firefighter running group that ran in full gear.  I don’t know how they did it.  I’m pretty sure I would have passed out after the first 3 miles.  A special thanks goes out to all of the volunteers and the local bands and musicians that play freely throughout the course near water stations/rest areas.  This race is also very well organized and there was a great post race celebration for everyone.  Kudos to the GRR organizers – this was an awesome race.  I’m definitely looking forward to running in this race again next year.

My Stats:

There were 16,357 total race finishers for the 15k and 8,496 female finishers/7861 male finishers.   My official chip time and gun time were the same 1:34:07 (unfortunately, my chip didn’t register at the start of the race) and my splits were: 5k: 30:38 and 10k: 1:02:06.  My time would have been better if my chip would have registered, but oh well – it is what it is.  On another note, I’m really happy that I beat my time from last year.   Do any of you have any races coming up in the near future?  Check out my running page for my upcoming races and race recaps. 

xoxo Natasha

Race Recap: Celebrate the Finish

I haven’t written an in depth race recap in a long time, so I thought I’d post one today.  On Sunday morning, Feb. 12,2012, I ran a half marathon race during the 26.2 with Donna – The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer.  The mission of the 26.2 with Donna is “to passionately produce world class events to raise funds for ground breaking breast cancer research and empower women living with breast cancer.”  Donna Deegan, a Jacksonville, Florida native and a news anchor on First Coast News, created the 26.2 with Donna – The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer.  Donna herself is a three-time breast cancer survivor, who was first diagnosed in 1999 at the age of 38 and again in 2002.  She created The Donna Foundation in an effort to raise research dollars and to bring awareness to women who battle breast cancer and have difficulty making ends meet.  If you are looking for a race with a positive message and you like to run for a cause, this is the race for you. 

The Race:

I woke up a little tired at 4:30am on Sunday morning because I didn’t get a full night’s sleep.  My sister, my friend, M, and I were out at Wal-Mart pretty late picking up some last minute warm-weather clothing for the race. Earlier in the week, we learned that the weather on race day was expected to reach only up to the mid-40s. So, we wanted to make sure that we had enough clothes in case we needed to remove layers.  By the time we made it back to my place it was a little after 10:00pm. I tried on some of the new clothes and finished laying out my race clothes and running gear.  Around 10:30pm, M and I were trying to convince my sister that she should wake up early with us and come to the race.  She was not convinced one bit.  When my sister went to sleep, she was still on the fence about coming out into the cold.  Needless to say she didn’t leave the house with us.  I don’t blame her either…it was really too cold to stand around for a few hours. 

Anyways, M and I woke up and got ready pretty quickly.  We wanted to leave the house at 5:15am to get to the bus shuttle by 5:30am.  I ate a peanut butter sandwich on whole-wheat toast and had a little orange juice.  I also had some yogurt with some Bare Naked granola – my favorite. When M and I left my house, it was about 27 degrees outside.  At first we both thought that the weather wasn’t too bad, but it was probably because we were really bundled up.  We drove to one of the shuttle sites and when we pulled up, we saw a ridiculously long line of people waiting for the buses to arrive.  When we got in the line, that’s when we realized how cold it was that morning.  Lucky for us, we didn’t have to wait too long for a bus.  We stood in line for about 10 minutes before 12 buses pulled up to scoop up all of the runners. 

The race began at the Mayo Clinic Campus on San Pablo Road in Jacksonville Beach. It was scheduled to start at 6:30am, but I think we actually started about 10 minutes late.  We met up with my running partner and then lined up in the corralled area.  The runners were crammed in the corrals, so we just headed towards the back of the pack.   We were so far in the back that we didn’t hear much that was going on, but we heard the gun go off and saw some confetti flying.  We were ready to run.  Outside was still a little dark when we started running, but within the first or second mile, the sun started to rise. Unfortunately, the sun didn’t add any warmth to the day.  I ran with 2 long sleeved shirts, a fleece hoodie, ear warmers, throw away gloves and running pants.  I had every intention of getting rid of some layers, but it never happened.  I was cold before, during and after the race.

The race was pretty crowded in the beginning of the race.  I had to weave around some of the walkers and the runners that were using the run/walk method.  We headed out to Highway 202 towards the Intercostal waterway and then to the beach.  This stretch was a little over 3 miles and it led us over a couple bridges.  Theses were the only hills in the race; the rest of it was pretty flat. The route lead us onto Jacksonville Beach after we ran through neighborhoods of wonderful race supporters.  It was really great to see all of these amazing people cheering us on so early in the morning.  So many of them just smiled, shouted out names or held a sign.  Some provided music from their homes and cars and some even performed in their front yard.  It was and then eventually on the beach.  Once I got on the beach, for some reason I began to loose some of my steam.  It could have been the beautiful ocean sunrise that distracted me or the crazy cold winds that felt like it was cutting through my clothes.   We ran on the beach for most of mile 5 and mile 6 until I turned around to make my way back to the finish line.  The rest of the marathoners continued to run on the beach and I didn’t envy them one bit. 

On my way back, I tried to get my energy going again.  I hit up a few water stations for some Gatorade, I ate some of my sports beans and I had 2 GU energy gels.  Once I got back to the bridge, I almost lost it – I just wanted the race to be over.  The last 3 miles of the race required us to go back over the bridge - it was miserable.  I’m pretty sure it got colder on the way back to the finish line.  It felt like the wind had picked up at least 5 times more than it was when the race first started.  There were large crowds of people at the top of the bridge cheering us on and some of them even ran down to help runners to the top.  Again, it was great to see and hear all of that support.  At that point I really needed to hear all of the positive words.  When I hit the top of the bridge, I just ran down as quickly as I could towards the finish line.  My time was so off, I had to make up for the lost time.  I tried to look for my sister at the finish, but I didn’t see her until I got my medal.  Overall, it was a great race despite the cold weather. 

My Stats:

There were 4,569 total race finishers for the half marathon and 3,384 female finishers.   My official chip time was 2:13:18 and my splits were: 5 Miles: 49:45 and 7 miles: 1:10:14.  I was a little disappointed about my time because I wanted to get closer to 2 hours or even finish under 2 hours.  But, I didn’t train as hard as I did for the half marathon I did in October 2011, so I really shouldn’t be surprised about my time.  I just have something else to work towards for the next race.  Have any of you competed in a half marathon lately?  Do you have any tips on improving your time?

xoxo Moody Girl

miscellany monday

happy monday everyone – i haven’t done one of these in a while, so here it is.  i’ve added my random ramblings to carissa’s miscellany monday party!  check out carissa’s blog here and join in on the fun. 

{one} golden globes.  did any of you watch the golden globes last night? i watched most of it, but i missed the first hour and the red carpet pre-show.  i did have a few favorites from last night and there were a handful that i think really missed the mark.  did you have any favorites? which actress/actor made your best and worst list?

best (3)

rachel evan woods

(photo credit: danny moloshok - reuters)

kate beckinsale

(photo credit: frazer harrison – getty images)

sofia vergara

(photo credit: chris pizzello – ap)

worst (3)

amanda peet

(photo credit: jason merritt – getty images)

jessica biel

(photo credit: matt sayles – ap)

naya rivera

(photo credit: steve granitz – wireimage.com)

{two} race recap.  i ran in a 10k race on saturday and i must say that i’m pretty pleased with my stats for my first race of the new year.  my plan was to finish the race under one hour since i just started training again. i’m not sure where i finished overall in the race because the race officials split the results between men and women.  there were 611 total race finishers and 318 female finishers.   i came in 17th in my age group and i placed overall at 106th among all the female finishers.  my official chip time was 59:16. 

(photo credit: getty images)

{three} mlk day.  unfortunately, i didn’t do anything to celebrate martin luther king day.  i would have liked to go to a parade or some type of organized celebration that recognized the this wonderful, but i was feeling under the weather.  i didn’t leave the house all day, but i watched this amazing video here and thought i would share it with all of you.  it’s a video tribute reflecting on the memories dr. martin luther king by former civil rights leaders, famous writers and politicians.       

{four} sewing lessons.  i’m very excited because i just signed up for a 6 week sewing class at a local university.  i’m really looking forward to learning how to sew and possibly creating my own designs in the near future.  i’ll definitely share with all of you some of the projects that i complete.

xoxo Moody Girl