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 2018.
It was a VERY cold January but I hit 80K in the Lululemon Strava Challenge again. It took me a while to recover from the NYC Marathon. I ran a lot less this quarter than the past few years and I’m OK with that! I think the extra recovery has done me some good. My miles and races have been really fun.
Races run this Q– 3 + 1 fun run 5K. Like last year, I ran the Mardi Gras 10K with Back on my Feet in February, a fun run 5K with Nuun and Health Warrior at Expo West and the NYC Half in March. This year, the Shamrock Shuffle was in March, too. I’ll provide brief recaps and photos below!
Miles run: 492.7 – which averages to ~5.5 miles per day – though I don’t run every day. This is 116 miles less than 1Q17. Like I said, I took extra time to recover from the NYC Marathon this year. I hope it helps!
Falls: 1 – Becca and I went for a short run before Expo West and I ate it on the sidewalk. I got the same knee as before the NYC Marathon in 2016. At least I didn’t break my phone or my teeth, but the knee is still healing almost a month later.
Personal Records (PRs): 0 – no surprise there!
Pairs of Sneakers: 3 – Currently in the rotation Mizuno Wave Rider 21s, Hoka Claytons and Karhu Fast 7s
Running Stuff I Tried:
Popular Running Posts:
- NYC Half ’18 Recap: New, Tougher Course. Still Awesome!
- 5 Ways to Stay Fit This Winter
- Winter Runfessions
- March Runfessions
Races Planned for Q2: Good Life Race 5K, Wisconsin Half Marathon, Mountains 2 Beach Marathon [Maybe Lakefront 10 and/or Quarryman Challenge.]
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 24, 2018
I signed up for the Mardi Gras 10K again this year. Last year, it was super cold and windy and I did pretty well. It’s a great cause and I like to test my winter fitness, so I signed up again. I had low expectations. Race day was chilly but not terrible. I felt surprisingly good and ran a pretty even pace. I finished 7 seconds faster than last year. That was a nice surprise! Olivia and I rounded out the top 10 women.
The Results: Net Time – 46:13 (7:27/mile). Overall place 33 of 256. Gender place 9 of 145. Division place 1 of 14.
2. Nuun/Health Warrior 5K at Expo West – March 10, 2018 (Fun Run)
At Expo West, I participated in the 5K fun run with Nuun and Health Warrior again. This year, they had prizes for the top 3 men and women, the “middlest” runner and some spirit awards and raffles. There was an awesome swag bag again this year and cool Nuun jerseys for participants!
There were over 100 runners from the Expo and local Nuun ambassadors. I was in the top 10 women and ran it as a tempo (I think ~23:10 or 7:30 or so pace per mile). Everyone was super friendly and it was a ton of fun. Becca and I cooled down with some November Project runners and took pics with Elizabeth before we headed to Expo West. Becca was 2nd women and won some Brooks shoes. Sweet!
3. NYC Half – New York, NY – March 18, 2018
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 $30,000!
They changed the course this year. It started in Brooklyn and finished in Central Park. This meant hills, hills and more hills. That was bad news for this flatlander. The weather was super chilly. I just kept reminding myself that NYC is my favorite place to run and the weather was perfect for me. I had a blast. I was ~2 minutes slower than last year, but I’m happy to say that I felt great, ran smart and smiled from start to finish. [Here’s my full race report.]
The Results: Finish: 1:43.22 (7:54/mile). Overall: 3,249 out of 21,945. Women: 725 out of 11,070 F 45-49: 45 out of 1,098.
4. Shamrock Shuffle – Chicago, IL – March 25, 2018
They moved the Shamrock Shuffle back to March. It was super windy and chilly leading up to the race. Jen came down to run with me so we decided to go out and have fun. As always, we had tons friends out there and everyone was in good spirits. The wind on the course was not as bad as we expected. I felt really good and enjoyed the run. I was excited to see that I was less than 10 seconds slower than last year and was 6th in my age group of over 1000 runners.
The Results: Finish: 36:01 (7:15/mile). Overall: 1,248 out of 20,090. Women: 246 out of 11,651 F 45-49: 6 out of 1,052.
Giveaway!
I won a women’s RunLocker box in an Instagram giveaway. It’s really cool and seems like a great value for the price (Under $40/month). I have a huge surplus of running gear and fuel at the moment, so I’m going to give the box away. It contains: Zensah sleeves (S/M Pink), an Asics thermal headband (gray/black reversible), a Fit Wrist wallet, a RunLocker Pop Socket, Run Guard anti chafe stick, Nasty Body+Face Towlettes (2), Nature’s Bees Cocoa Butter Lip Balm and fuel from Honey Stinger, Clif and Lara Bar.
Want to win? Please use the Rafflecopter below. The contest runs through 4/8. A winner will be selected and notified on 4/9. Winner must be 18 years of age or older, a US resident (or have a US postal intermediary) and it is void where prohibited.
Don’t want to wait? Or want to check out the men’s RunLocker, click RunLocker.
How was your first quarter in running? Please tell me about it in the comments!
PS. Don’t forget my other great giveaways!
Please note: This giveaway is not sponsored by RunLocker. I’m giving away a box I won. All opinions are my own.