Category: Race Recap

Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the Spring Trail Chase 10K

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugs, and Zenaida so be sure to link up with us.  For this week’s Fit Five Friday we don’t have a topic but instead, invite you to also join in Runfessions with Marcia.  

Happy Friday!  I am pleased about it because it is payday, I am off on Monday, and next Friday is my last day of school.  I have one week off then will start Summer School.  I will be doing a similar program that I did last year working with incoming kindergarten students.  I enjoyed it last year and I hope it goes well this year too.

On Sunday I ran my 4th race of the year.  I almost skipped it because I was not ready for it.  I am glad I didn’t because I enjoyed it and it went better than I expected.

Here are some fun things about the race:

🍃 It was my 1st time running this race.  It was also a new to me location – The Forge: Lemont Quarries.  I had never heard of that place!  I got lost driving there.  I should have followed the directions sent by CARA but instead chose to use Google Maps.  The funny thing is that when I made a right turn that supposedly would take me to the race location, there were about 5 other cars behind me.  That right turn led us to a no-trespassing area.  We turned around and I ended up following another car.  Whew!

Instead of a shirt, I got a pair of socks.  I haven’t worn them yet but love the idea.

🍃 It was warm and the course was mostly shaded.  It was great to run in shorts and a short sleeve top.  Finally!

🍃I didn’t train for this raceI was doing really good in April with my running but then lost my motivation this month.  Then it was chilly in the morning and I didn’t want to get up.  I know, excuses, excuses.  I knew I was not going to PR and ended up with a 1:13:49 finish time.  The last time I ran a 10k was in 2018.  I think this has been my fastest race this year.

🍃 The course was on a trail.  Running on a trail means mosquitos.  We were all ready because the race organizers provided insect repellant for us.  

🍃 I used the run/walk method.  I did really well and was proud of myself.  

Will I do it again next year?  Definitely!  There are other races taking place at the same location that I am interested in doing.  The Forge Fest Night Races looks like it will be fun!

The Forge: Lemont Quarries is an adventure park.  There are a bunch of activities you can do such as zipline, archery, kayak/canoe, and axe throwing.

The topic for next week:  Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco and Deborah.  We hope you will link up. 

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Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the CARA Lakefront 10 Miler

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugs, and me for another Fit Five Friday link-up!  This week’s topic is “Favorite recipe with 5 ingredients”.  Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like.

I am going to deviate from this week’s topic to write about my recent race on Sunday.  I almost didn’t run it because I wasn’t feeling good on Saturday.  I felt so tired and thought I had a fever.  I didn’t. I did a Covid test and it was negative.  Before bed, I took a Tylenol and told myself that if I felt better in the morning, I would do the race. 

Here are some fun things about the race:

⭐ There was a 10-miler and a 5k.  Both began at the same time which in my opinion was not a good idea.  It was crowded at the start.  At mile 1, we split up but then we met up again about 3/4-1 mile later.  The lakefront path isn’t wide and it can get very crowded.  At one point a runner (not from the race) that was coming from the opposite direction yelled at some of us that we were running on the wrong side.  We were running on her side of the path.  She was right.

⭐ I didn’t want to run anymore 10 miles.  I tried to switch to the 5k but was told that it was too late to do that.  So, I sucked it up and ran 10 miles.  

I was really cold and that is why I wanted to switch to the 5k.  OK, maybe not as cold as the NYC Half Marathon but the combination of the wind (it was very windy) and rain didn’t help.  It wasn’t pouring but just light rain.  Once I got moving it was fine.  There were times when I did get very warm and wanted to remove my jacket.  

⭐ The finish line is on the track.  I liked that.  But before getting to the track you had to go up and down Cricket Hill.  It is a monstrous hill that we had no business to run.  That put me in a bad mood because I was sore, tired, and cold.  I started to run but then stopped and walked.  On the way down I had to walk (I usually run downhill) because I could swear that I was about to fall.  

My first time running this race was in 2009.  My last time was in 2016.  I’ve done several other 10-mile races but my PR for this race is 1:47:57.  This year I finished in 2:05:15.

After the race I didn’t stick around and couldn’t wait to get home.  I was cold, tired, and hungry.

I know we cannot control the weather and I know I complained about it but I made the best of this race.  I am also glad I couldn’t switch to the 5k.  I’d probably do this race again.  10 mile races are fun!

The topic for next week:  Runfessions with Marcia!  We hope you will link up. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the Shamrock Shuffle 8k

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugs, and Zenaida so be sure to link up with us.  For this week’s Fit Five Friday we don’t have a topic but instead, invite you to also join in Runfessions with Marcia.  

I am behind on reading and commenting on posts.  I haven’t forgotten.  I will be catching up in the next couple of days.  For today’s post, I will write about the Shamrock Shuffle 8k.  I ran this fun race on Sunday and am very happy I ran it again.

Here are some fun things about the race:

☘️ It was my 13th year running this race.  My first time was in 2006.  I’ve run it every year since then except for 2009, 2012, 2013, 2020 (it was canceled), and 2021.  I didn’t realize I had missed it many times but remember that one year I missed it because I went to a wedding in Mexico and another time it was because it had snowed the day before and I didn’t want to run in the snow.  🤣

The photo below is from 2007.

☘️ The weather was perfect!  It was in the 30s but no wind.  I wore pants and a thicker wool shirt.  At one point I was actually too warm.  The outfit I had would have been perfect for the NYC Half Marathon.  

☘️ I didn’t train for this race.  It didn’t matter.  I still wanted to run it because it is one of my favorite races.  I had just run a half marathon the week before so what could go wrong?  Absolutely nothing.  I didn’t use the run/walk method but ran by feel.  I felt really good and ran one mile nonstop.  

My PR is 48:38 from 2014.  This year I did better than expected and bettered my time from last year.  All of my finish times have been less than one hour.

☘️ The finish line is the same as the Chicago Marathon.  I dislike the finish line.  To get there you need to run up a bridge.  Why?  Why?  I walked a bit but tried just to keep running.  I don’t think I’ve ever only run up that darn thing.  I was shocked that I ran that last mile in 11:24 and it was also my fastest mile. 

☘️ It is a great race to run in Chicago.  Seriously, this race is so much fun and I love it!  For me, it is easy to get it via public transportation and the 8k distance is just perfect.  I love that packet pickup is easier to get to (at least for me).

The topic for next week:  Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco and Deborah.  We hope you will link up. 

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Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the NYC Half Marathon

This week’s Fit Five Friday topic:  5 sources of mental clutter for your training.  You can write about this topic or any fitness-related post.  We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugs, and Zenaida so be sure to link up with us. 

I am going to deviate from this week’s topic to write about the NYC Half Marathon.  It was my first race of the year and my first half marathon in 3 years.  I’ve entered the lottery many times but was never selected.  This year was THE year to go!

Here are some fun things about the race:

🗽 It is a tough course and I didn’t train like I wanted to.  I had a training plan and was determined to follow it but I missed a few runs.  I paid for it.  I walked a lot but at the same time did better than expected.  I was surprised when I saw the finish time on my watch.  It isn’t my worst time.

I used a 5:1 run/walk method.  For the most part, I followed it but there were times when I walked more than run.  

🗽 It was freaking cold and windy in the morning.  I was in Wave 3 with an 8:20 am start time.  I stayed with my nephew in Brooklyn and arrived before 7 am.  I checked my bag and then went through security.  From there it was a 1.5-hour wait time.  I was miserable.  I had a mylar blanket and waited in the sun and those two things helped.  I knew I would warm up once I began running.  I wore a jacket and kept it on until past mile 12 when running in Central Park.

I also wore shorts and I know that didn’t help in the morning.  I had pants on but took them off when I checked my bag.  I should have worn another pair to throw away once the race began.

🗽 It was my first time running in Central Park.  I’ve heard so much about it and was excited to run there.  I walked a few times but don’t know why I didn’t take more photos.

I remember people telling me that I was almost at the finish.  I saw a sign letting me know I still had 800 meters to go.  Then either another sign or someone telling me I had a quarter mile to go.  I was so close to the finish line.  I ran as fast as I could and saw my nephews and one of their girlfriends with about 100 meters to go.  

🗽 There was amazing crowd support!  I am glad I didn’t listen to music like I usually do.  I soaked it all in.  My favorite part was running in Times Square.  The crowd and the lights were magnificent!

🗽 This race gave me a chance to visit my nephews and explore the city.  The last time I was in NYC was in 2008.  It was definitely time to go again.  We had bagels and coffee for breakfast.  For lunch and dinner, we ate Thai food, hot dogs, pizza (was not impressed with the NY style), Szechuan, and sushi.  We went to the 9/11 Memorial and to see “The Book of Mormon”.  Oh, and I drank a lot of beer! 

Will I do it again?  Maybe. 

The topic for next week:  Runfessions with Marcia!  We hope you will link up. 

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Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the 4 on the 4th Race

On Tuesday I ran my 2nd race of 2022.  I knew I wasn’t going to get a PR so my goal was to have fun and finish.  I did that and did better than expected.

This race is special to me because it takes place on July 4th.  To me it is more than Independence Day (and that is a WHOLE different conversation).  My family emigrated from Mexico to the US on July 4, 1978 – I was 5 years old.  I remember seeing the Sears Tower and Lake Michigan.  My father was already living here and finally he had his whole family together.

Here are some fun things about the race:

🇺🇸 I’ve been doing this race since 2013 – It was cancelled in 2020 and I skipped it in 2021.  Almost 10 years of running this race.  It is a fun race – there aren’t that many races that are 4 miles.  I realized I need to get more fun gear for this race.  Pictures below are from 2013 and 2014.  I don’t have any of that gear anymore.

🇺🇸 My PR is 39:39 from 2014 – The closest I’ve come to beating it was in 2015 with a finish time of 40:47.  This year my finish time was 45:46.  My coach had asked me to do a progressive run with the first mile being between 12:00-12:30.  I did it in 11:30.  My last mile was 11:02 with an uphill to the finish line.

🇺🇸 It is not a flat course – Chicago is flat which is nice.  I think this is the only race I do in the Chicago area that has hills.  The first photo is from the race and the one below is from a 3 mile run by my house.

🇺🇸 Well organized with great volunteers – I had the option to pick up my bib before the race or wait till race day.  I love that we have options!  The race started right on time.  There were a few water stops but I didn’t stop because I had my own bottle bottle.  After mile 3 one of the race volunteers told me that the last mile was the shortest mile.  I laughed.  I told him that to get from 3 to 4 is only 1.  He replied that it was all in my head.  

🇺🇸 It is a huge confident booster – Why is it that many times we don’t always believe in ourselves?  We are too hard on ourselves too.  I did get tired and walked a little but still I was smiling.  It helped me see that my training is going well and that makes me a bit more excited about my 50k.

Thanks for linking up with us again this week!  We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites!  Join hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugsand Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday!  Please add your link below.

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