2015 Fast Pace 5K Recap

As of lately, I am not a big fan of 5K races. I feel like by the time I get going the race is over, but since I have been working a lot on my speed, I decided to give this 5K a go.

This particular race is to help raise awareness for Prostate Cancer. Since this hits close to home, I was excited to run it. They even had a screening there for the guys.

The race started right on time. We had a nice down hill start. I knew from other friends who have ran this race before to not take over too fast. I held back even though I wanted to fly. I am glad I did.

A few people said they didn't like the course and found it was harder than last years. Since this was my first time running this particular race, I had nothing to compare it to. I felt the course was great. Loved the rolling hills in the middle and the slight downhill finish at the Cumming Fairgrounds.

Even though I wasn't able to PR, I did come close. I'm finally seeing the speed I had two years ago. I guess all the stuff I have been doing is finally paying off, right? :) I did, however, place 3rd in my age group. A first for the new age group.

My official time was 24:08.

It was great to have so many people I know from the Suwanee Big Peach run group out there running it.

2015 Peach Jam Half Recap

I am starting to wonder if I should stop running half marathons in April because it always seems to rain the days leading up to it. Like last year, we had to worry about rain the day of the race. Luckily, the rain stopped the night before.

The race took place on the Big Creek Greenway out in Cumming, GA. It started and finished at Fowler Park.

The race started at 7:30 sharp. We took off from the parking lot making our way down to the greenway.

It was bit congested until about mile one then it started to thin out.

We had a few puddles and one big one that I remember from last year. I decided I  didn't want to run through it quite yet, so I decided to slow down and tip toe quickly through the mud.

With this race, you don't have that crowd support so it's  a mental game out there. Once we were coming up on the turnaround, I saw a friend from the local running group. She took my picture and cheered me on.

Three miles down. I was thinking to myself, "Why am I doing this again??". I kept pushing through.

Another than the mental game, I was feeling pretty good with the run. I was keeping my pace constant.

Around mile 8, I started chatting with another runner who was running her first half.

We ended up staying together for the rest of the race. She thanked me for pacing her and keeping her motivated to keep going. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

I didn't PR this time around, but it's okay. I got to help pace someone cross the finish line of their first half.

Oh and the most important thing of all and why I ended up signing up for this race......

2015 GA Peach Jam Half

So a couple of weeks ago, I may or not have signed up for my 8th half marathon. This will be my third half marathon in three months which will qualify me for half fanatics. I never cared to be in it, but now that I am so close to it...why not?

The Peach Jam takes place on the Big Creek Greenway in Cumming, GA. I ran it last year and even with the crappy weather I still managed to PR. I am hoping that I can beat that time and also possibly sub-2 on that course this year. Fingers crossed for excellent weather and speedy legs/feet. I am going to need it for this flat half. :)

2014 Dirty Spokes: Georgia Peach Jam Half Marathon Recap

This half took place over on the Big Creek Greenway over in Cumming, GA on April 19th.

Back in February I was going back and forth with myself if I was going to do this half or not. It would be almost a month after doing the Georgia Publix Half so I knew I wouldn't have to worry about training too much. So during the last of the snow storm I decided I was going to bite the bullet and sign up.

The course is flat with a few little inclines but nothing too crazy. Very manageable.

Race week rolls around and I immediately start checking out the weather. We had been having some warmer days but since Georgia does have bi-polar weather I just wanted to be prepared for anything. Of course, the forecast was calling for rain. That wasn't the big issue. The issue was the greenway. Most of the time when it rains A LOT the greenways here in Georgia tend to flood since they are usually near creeks.

Friday rolled around and the race was still on even though the rain was coming down. I knew no matter what I was going to get soaked and have some mud on me.

So I laid out my outfit for the next day really hoping that it would stop raining so we could get this half marathon over with.

Woke up bright and early race day to make sure I got there in time to get my number, shirt, and to get ready mentally for the half.

It was still raining some but not crazy. Only thing we were going to have to worry about were the slippery boardwalks (which I didn't find to be very slippery) and the mud/puddles.

After getting my number and shirt, I found Brandi. She and I walked around for a bit until Jen got there then it was time for us to line up and get ready for the half.

We kind of all started around the same area. I am normally more up in the front of the pack, but seeing how this was going to be a slippery/muddy race I had planned on just taking it easy and having fun.

I started off a bit slow but that was the plan. I took it easy until most of the crowd thinned out.

The course wasn't bad at all as far as water goes except for one area that had a few puddles. I somehow managed not to get muddy on the first time through but on my way back I had no choice but to go through some of the mud. 

I was feeling pretty good about myself all the way through the race. I only started getting tired around mile 10 so that's when I decided I would go ahead and eat some jelly beans.

Before I knew it I was making my way up a small hill before turning onto the track to do my last little bit of the half.

When I saw the race clock I knew I was going to PR. I was really hoping I could have finished under an two hours, but I will take what I can.

Official time: 2:03. I took 4 minutes off my first half marathon time. :)

Once I got my medal I was able to see the damage of what I went through on the course. 

After we had all finished the half marathon we got a group photo before taking off to Dutch Monkey to get some yummy doughnuts.

Finisher's shirt. :) We decided the logo kind of looked like the Crush Orange Soda logo. What do you think?

Cute little 13.1 sticker they gave us. I added the "finisher" part.

Yummy doughnuts after running 13.1. :)

Georgia Peach Jam Half

I have been going back and forth about this race for a few weeks now. I wasn't sure if I was wanting to do another half not even a month after running the GA Publix Half.

Early this week I found out that the race was 80% full. So after going back and forth with myself (again), I decided I would sign up. This course is suppose to be flat so that is a big plus since most of GA is hilly. 

This will be my third half. Crazy! I don't plan on running anymore half marathons after this one until at September or October. :)

Jingle Jog 5K Recap

This race took place December 7th, 2013 in Cumming, GA. After having a very warm week, I was hoping race day would be the same but it wasn't. We woke up to some cold temps which made me really rethink my outfit, but I decided to just go with what I had originally planned even if it meant freezing my butt off before, during, and after the run.

Seeing how it was a Christmas themed race, I decided to do something a bit different. I got a "I Believe" Santa shirt, red and white striped socks, and a Santa hat (which I ended up carrying the whole time since it didn't want to stay on).

Since Jen was also running,  I met up with her before the race to chat and to get a picture.

I knew going into this run that I was going to have at least one hill to tackle but I was wrong. After tackling one hill, which really wasn't all that bad, we had to go up another hill shortly after.

I pushed through the hills even though I really wanted to stop and walk for a little bit.

And before I knew it we were making the last turn and luckily it was a down hill finish. When I got halfway down the hill, I took off....

Here's a picture of me right before the finish line.

I crossed with a time of 27:30.

Once Jen crossed the finished we only hung out for a little bit before heading to IHop with Mike. If it hadn't been so cold, I would have stuck around to found out I placed 3rd in my age group. Luckily, I was able to get them to mail my medal. :)

Oh, and here is the finisher's shirt....

                                           

Sorry for a very late recap. Since this one was around the holiday season, I didn't have time to sit down and write up something quick about it. And since this was back in December, I really don't remember much of the race. :(