The Halloween party was fun (I’m the Parrothead in the dress) but I hate bailing on races. I checked the results for the Time to Remember and the Monster Madness 5k and if I ‘d run my usual 5k times, I would have been 2nd in the Monster Madness (50-59) and 3rd in Time to Remember (46-59). Darn! I love winning prizes.
Decided to take a weekend off from races – I have done 15 5ks and I was signed up for Run to Remember at RPI and was considering Monster Madness in Frear Park also. I did the usual 2.5 miles on the treadmill Tuesday & Thursday before work. But I played tennis last night (for the 4th time this week) and have Halloween party tonight. It was windy this morning so I stayed in bed. Lots of excuses…
Next race? Not sure…it’s getting cold! Maybe the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving or one on Nov 28 at the Crossings.
Without 5ks motivating me, will I stay in shape?
I only ran this race because it was raining yesterday and I didn’t run the Saratoga race. This race is very close to my house but it the first annual so I knew nothing about the course or how many runners there would be.
I got up and was glad to see the rain had stopped and the sun was out. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.
my neighbor's tree this am
That didn’t last, I mean the sun. It was breezy, cloudy and cold by race time. Again I wasn’t sure what to wear and decided to brave the cold and wear shorts, but wore 2 long sleeve shirts & gloves. I was even a little warm while running but cold when I stopped.
This was the course -http://www.capitalregionspecialsurgery.com/raceforhopealbany/PDFs/CRSS_R4H_5Kmap.pdf .
We ran around neighborhoods in Slingerlands with huge gorgeous houses but at every turn there was a hill. My first mile was 9:48 but I stopped during the 2nd mile for water and to fix my iPod and slowed down to 19:50 so so. I figured that this hilly course would give me a slow time and was surprised when I saw 29… in the distance. I was mad that I messed up mile 2 and there was not enough time to make it up. I sprinted to the finish and crossed at 30:14.
I looked at the race times and saw a lot fast times for women my age so no award this time. As usual I’m glad I did it and hope to improve next time.
I signed up for a 5k next Saturday at RPI – don’t know the course at all. There is also another one called the Monster Madness 5K sponsored by the Troy YMCA.
Today was the Great Pumpkin Challenge. I was psyched. I ran on the treadmill at the gym on Monday & Thursday before work. I got up this morning and it was raining. Last year I was sick & couldn’t go so I was determined to do it this year. I drove up to Saratoga and it started raining harder and harder. I was tempted as I saw all the participants. But I didn’t and here’s 10 reasons why not:
I drove home in the rain wondering if I made the right decision…
Does this look like fun? --G.Wolcott photo
So the Great Pumpkin Challenge next year?
The Capital Region Special Surgery Race for Hope 5k tomorrow!!! Rain or shine!
The Inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon will be run at night on a brand new half marathon course at the Walt Disney World Resort! This race experience will be the ultimate “Runner’s Night Out”. The course will wind through theme parks and new entertainment and finish inside Epcot® for an exclusive after hours Epcot International Food & Wine Festival experience for runners, friends and family – October 1-2, 2010!
Registration -Opens November 16, 2009 at disneywinedinerun.com !
Weekend events will include:
Wouldn’t this be fun!!!
The half is out. I could never do 13.1 miles. 2 person relay? Hmm, who can I find to do the other 9 miles ? The 5K fun run sounds perfect!!
All I need is a free flight, time off from work and a place to stay… I can dream.
My training for this race was the same as the last one – treadmill at the gym on Monday & Thursday before work for about 30-40 minutes watching tv on my iPod. I haven’t increased my speed above 4.2 mph so I’m running pretty slow and only about 2 miles or so. I would run longer but I have to get to work. I have decided that I like running in the morning better.
I ran this race last year. I remember thinking that it was very hilly but after last week I thought I’d feel differently. I bumped into the 3 sisters that I met at the last race. They are so nice… but they decided to do the 3k walk instead of the run.
It was cold!!!! Maybe 40 degrees if that. I didn’t know what to wear but I remembered that last year, my hands were cold so I wore gloves. I also wore the long sleeve cool max shirt from the Bruegger’s race & a windbreaker. I wore shorts (I think I was the only one). Actually I wasn’t cold while I was running.
Yes, it was hilly. The 1st 3/4 mile was uphill and the middle was slightly hilly. The end was downhill mostly. I felt good and didn’t walk at all. I only stopped when I dropped my glove and for water. Obviously was not running fast up the hills and crossed the finish line around 31:20. I’m not sure.
The strange thing was that there was no chip timing like last year. They didn’t rip off the bottom of the numbers. You just wrote your time on a piece of paper & put it in a box. I wonder how many people were honest.
They only announced the last place man & woman and raffle prize winners.
lst place (F 50-59)
I was going to complain about this race until I won a medal… my first! I won socks at the Jailhouse Rock 5k in the 55-59 category. This was in the 50-59 age group and luckily all the fast women chose another race.
This is the first time I’ve run this course. There were 130 runners. I found some nice women my age to hang with before the race. It was a beautiful day and a very scenic area.
view from the bridge at the beg & end of race
The race started up a STEEP hill and then went down it. I thought I was done but it continued to go up and down hills throughout the course. I walked twice and said to myself: NEVER AGAIN!! Too tough a course for me… I like a flat course!
I was able to sprint to the finish and was shocked to see 30:01!! How was that possible unless I made up time on all the downhills. I wish I didn’t walk at all. Maybe I would have had a PR!
So I stuck around for the awards to hear my name called & get my medal. An old friend (ex-husband of a friend) ran up to me after he heard my name. He started running and was in this race. Small world.
Next race is Annie’s Quest which I ran last year and thought was hilly. I should be better prepared after this race.
Too dark & cold in the morning & evening to run outside. Yes, I’m a wimp.
This week I went to the gym where I play tennis before work on Monday and Thursday. I upped the speed on the treadmill to 4mph but that’s a 15 minute mile! Any faster makes me feel like I’m going to fall off.
Anyway, it’s bearable if I watch TV on my iPod. I don’t know if this is helping me train for a 5k. I won’t improve my time but at least I’m staying in shape… I think.
My next race is Saturday…. either Frank O’Brien at the Corning Preserve or Alumni 5k at UAbany but most likely the Falling Leaves in Ballston Spa.
My prayers were answered — it did not rain!!!! The streets were wet and it was humid but even the sun came out for a few minutes!!
I convinced my husband to give me a ride so I wouldn’t have to look for parking – he dropped me off to find the law school team so I could get my tee shirt and take photo before the race.
Albany Law School Team
As I found last year, it was a very emotional race looking at all the survivors of breast cancer and all those wearing names on their backs of friends and relatives who died from this disease. I myself have 7 close friends who have had breast cancer.
Since it wasn’t raining, I gave my jacket to my husband and Colleen (a new runner from work) & I headed to the race. It was late so we squeezed into the crowd at the start.
me & Colleen
Halfway up the Madison Ave hill, I was out of breath. It was either my cold, mucus in my lungs or the fact that I haven’t run in a week. I struggled the whole race. My one mile time wasn’t too bad -10 min, but the during the 2nd mile, I had to stop to catch my breath or blow my nose several times and was up to 21 min. I knew this wouldn’t be a PR race so I continued and surprisingly I was able to sprint through the finish line. 31:15 is what Cool Running web site says. 616 out 1250 women.
Me behind Colleen at the start
My slowest 5k time since May :(
Even so, I always feel so good after a race that I can’t wait to do another. If only I wasn’t so competitive.
 | Darlene Cardillo on No Race Saturday |
 | Greg DeJulio on No Race Saturday |
 | shannonsays on Rained Out :( |
 | Chris on Great Quote for Runners! |
 | Felice on Great Quote for Runners! |
