1st Quarter 2017 – Running Round Up

I always say that I’m more of a “blogging runner” than a running blogger. I do like to write about running, races and tips/tricks for running but that is not enough to call this a running blog – not even close! That said, here is my running recap of the first quarter of 2017. We had a very mild January and February and I did a fair bit of travel in March. I have no weather related excuses. I’ve still been a bit slower/more lethargic despite cutting back in December and January. This may be another tough(er) racing year but I’m happy to report that I’m not injured and I’m enjoying the ride.

Less races the quarter, but still a ton of miles and smiles!

Races run this Q– 2 + 1 fun run 5K. I ran the Mardi Gras 10K with Back on my Feet in February. I ran a (very) fun run 5K with Nuun and Health Warrior at Expo West and the NYC Half in March. I’ll provide brief recaps and photos below!

Miles run: 609 – which averages to ~6.7 per day – though I don’t run every day. This is 15 miles less than 1Q16 – but with no marathon and only one half marathon, this seems very good to me.

Falls: 0 – woot! I’ve been treading carefully since my big fall in November. There’s still a scar!

Personal Records (PRs): 0 – no surprise there!

Pairs of Sneakers: 3 – Currently in the rotation Mizuno Wave Rider 20s, Hoka Claytons and Nike Pegasus.

Exciting News: I was selected as one of the participants for the Lululemon Chicago Winter Run Retreat. We were treated like royalty, got to try (and keep!) all the clothes and got to give feedback on running and running products for one amazing weekend. Heaven! See my recap HERE.

Susie and I are going to be race ambassadors for the new Sweat Pink Empower Race Series in San Francisco on August 5th and 6th ! Learn more and come join us!!  There’s a 5K, a 10K and a half marathon and a full weekend of yoga events and other fun, too! Do it!! Here’s the link.

Learn more and sign up HERE.

Running Stuff I Tried:

Popular Running Posts:

Races Planned for Q2: Shamrock Shuffle, Brew City Half in Milwaukee, Brooklyn Half Marathon and who knows what else I will sign up for! I’m missing some faves this year like Quarryman and Good Life Race because of out of town travel. I’ll run them next year!

Brief Race Reports – I included a few “how I did” postscripts on posts that I wrote on race days. Here is a brief recap of the races I ran this quarter:

1. Mardi Gras 10K – February 25, 2017

We had an unbelievably warm February, but not the 25th! We woke up to howling winds and 22 feels like 8 degrees. It was a good cause so I ran up to Montrose Harbor and gave it my best. The wind (20 mph for many parts) was a challenge on the lakefront course. I was worried that it would be my slowest 10K ever. It wasn’t. Not even close. And I made a new friend and supported a good cause. Woot!

The Results: Net Time – 46:20 (7:27/mile). Overall place 39 of 340. Gender place 9 of 196. Division place 1 of 20.

2. Nuun/Health Warrior 5K at Expo West – March 11, 2017 (Fun Run)

At Expo West, Elizabeth invited me to a 5K fun run with Nuun and Health Warrior. She told me that there would be swag and prizes. You know I was down with that! It was a fun run, but there were prizes for the fastest men and women. They also had categories for closest to a predicted time (without a watch).

There were over 100 runners from the Expo and local Nuun ambassadors. I was excited to see Mike (a Chicago friend who works for Nuun that I met at the Lululemon retreat). I was the fifth woman and ran it as a tempo (I think ~23:15 or 7:30 or so pace per mile) after the first woman took off with the men. Everyone was super friendly and it was a ton of fun. I started out the morning in a rush to get back, but instead, I chatted with other runners and enjoyed the fun and sun.

3. NYC Half – New York, NY – March 19, 2017

I joined Alexandra’s Playground again this year and supported fundraising by hosting another raffle. I raised over $2000! Woot. Woot! Our team raised over $60,000! Like last year, I wasn’tt sure how this would go given the start of my racing year. I tried to remember that this was one of my favorite races in one of my favorite places. Positive thinking WORKS! I thought of my mantra (“happy place, happy race”) and enjoyed the park, Times Square (still cool after running the race at least 8 times) and the West Side Highway. I set a realistic but still pretty aggressive goal of sub 1:42 to qualify for next year (by my new age group).

I was proud to run for Alexandra’s Playground and to run strong, positive and inspired. I was a few minutes slower than last year, but I’m proud to say that I beat my goal and smiled from start to finish!

The Results: Finish: 1:41.27 (7:44/mile). Overall: 2,658 out of 19,387. Women: 620 out of 9,879 F 45-49: 36 out of 948.

How was your first quarter in running? Please tell me about it in the comments!

PS. Don’t forget my great giveaways!