Cove to Clover 10K - Race Report

Very zoomed out picture of me (in the pink jacket) waving at my mom near the 5K start!


I am not in this picture anywhere, but I think it is a pretty good depiction of the hill - it began like this and continued even steeper for the next half mile!


I am not in this picture either, but yup - random hay obstacle time!


Background/training - Well, if you've been reading this blog at all, you'll know that I am training for a goal half at the end of April, and that training has gone pretty well so far (knock on wood!). I had actually never run a 10K before - and wasn't actually planning on this one, as I thought I'd run the 5K until my mom mentioned that "oh, you like to run so I signed you up for the 10K!".

The course - There was a brief hill at the very beginning, then a few rolling downhills (which, I will admit, were quite lovely), and then a hill called "The Snake" at just past the 5K mark, which gained almost 500 feet of elevation in half a mile (yeah, that was steep!), and a few more rolling uphills towards the finish. The weather was cold (it took my feet until past the 2 mile mark to become not numb - seriously, it's quite helpful for running when you can actually feel your feet!) but luckily dry and not too windy most of the time we were running.

Goal - Having never run a 10K before, and having not had the best of days prior to the race (too much stress eating crap food and drinking beer), I figured I'd be pleased with sub 11 minute miles, or around a sub 1:10:00.

Mile 1 - Off from the start, which was in the parking lot of Normandy Park Town Center (very nice to be able to sit in the car until almost time to start!). There were no timing mats at the start even though we had chips, so I'm not sure how or if they were planning on timing everyone... glad I had my watch with me! My feet were seriously numb, and the course started with a steep hill - it really sucked but it was good to get me warmed up a bit! Mile time - 9:20

Mile 2 - This mile was mostly downhill, just trying to settle into an easy-ish pace and get my feet not numb... finally successful towards the very end of the mile. Was quite pleased to see that my "easy-ish pace" has apparently gone from 10:30 or 11 min/mile to... Mile time - 9:10

Mile 3 - Just enjoying the nice last little bit of rolling downhills towards the water and the 5K start line, knowing that just past the 5K mark the hill karma would turn for the worse. I wanted to make it past 5K before the 5K race started (30 minutes after the 10K) so as to avoid being caught up in a crowd of people. I semi-succeeded - I made it to the 5K mark ahead of schedule but right in time for the kid's race.... Mile time - 9:29

Mile 4 - Saw Mom with her friend and my uncle waiting to start the 5k. Got caught up in the start of the kid's race - little kids running all around my ankles, stopping in front of me, dropping water bottles on my feet, running into my legs. Which is fine, except that just about a block past the 5K start began the hill. I am not quite as patient or forgiving (even of small children) while huffing and puffing up a steep-ass hill and slowly watching my race time (and secret possible hope of a sub 1 hour 10K) disappear. Even at the top of the hill, it took my legs and lungs a bit to recover. Mile time - 12:30

Mile 5 - More rolling uphill - the sad part of this race course is that there is no nice long downhill after the big uphill. I guess we used up all of that loveliness in the first half of the race! Mile time - 9:46

Mile 6 - Slightly less hilly than the previous two, which was nice. There was a nice random hay bale obstacle about half a mile in - my legs did not really appreciate that, being still jello-ish from climbing the hill. Mile time - 9:20

Last .2 - Why is this not downhill? Well, at least it's not up! Time at finish - 1:01:25.


I am quite pleased with the way this race went - so happy with my "easy-ish" pace when it's always been sort of stuck around 10:30 or 11 min miles. And, now I am getting antsy to run another 10K this spring - I can definitely break under that hour mark without a fat hill in the middle of the race!

Weekly Update 3/5 through 3/11

Monday, 3/5 - 1200M swim, abs
Tuesday, 3/6 - 3.5 mile run (2 @ sub 9 min miles w/DBF)
Wednesday, 3/7 - Chest/tris
Thursday, 3/8 - 14 mile run
Friday, 3/9 - Rest day
Saturday, 3/10 - Rest day
Sunday, 3/11 - Cove to Clover 10K (1:01:25, race report coming soon!)

Ending weight - 129 lb


I think I am seeing a pattern here... and not a particularly good one! My weight has been pretty much the same for the past few weeks, and I think it's because I've typically had 4-5 good days, and one or two days that are just complete binges. Yuck - definitely stress-related, but I haven't had that happen in a while! I need to get back to being super motivated - but it's hard when there are other things distracting me.

I know, excuses, excuses... On the bright side, I did get a decent amount of running in - including a good long run and a nice 10K (automatic PR!). My goals for this week are to get at least two lifting sessions in (somehow?), two swims, and do abs 3-4x, in addition to my running. It's a cutback week, with a 6 miler on Friday afternoon and then the St. Patrick's Day Dash on Saturday! Starting with Sunday's 10K, I have races three weekends in a row... fun!

Belated Weekly Update 2/27 through 3/4

Monday, 2/27 - 3.5 mile run
Tuesday, 2/28 - 3 mile tempo run (9:17 pace, last mile sub 9), chest/tris
Wednesday, 2/29 - Rest day (Sounders game!)
Thursday, 3/1 - Legs/bis
Friday, 3/2 - 5 mile hill run
Saturday, 3/3 - 10 mile progression run (5 min negative split!)
Sunday, 3/4 - 800M swim

Ending weight - 129.2


I had a great running week, which was my main priority - I got every planned run in and they all went well! My 10 miler was probably one of the best runs I've ever had at that distance, I just felt stronger and stronger as the run went on.

Eating was pretty good - having some friends on myfitnesspal has helped a lot with my accountability! This week I am going to focus on having some good lifting sessions, ab workouts, and swims in addition to getting all my running in. It's a balancing act trying to juggle all the workouts I want with work, cooking, cleaning, laundry, and friends/family/DBF time, but I am working on it! And... here's to hoping the scale will start moving in the appropriate direction as a result!

Weekly Update 2/20 through 2/26

Monday, 2/20 - Rest day (migraine... ugh!)
Tuesday, 2/21 - Chest/tris
Wednesday, 2/22 - Legs
Thursday, 2/23 - 3 mile hill run
Friday, 2/24 - Back/bis
Saturday, 2/25 - 12 mile run
Sunday, 2/26 - 20 min elliptical

Ending weight: 127.2


Well, I thoroughly enjoyed my week "off" - I didn't weigh myself until this morning (and apparently didn't put back on all the weight I've lost so far - whew!), and I feel refreshed and ready to get back to routine this next week.

I didn't get as much consistency with workouts as I would have liked, but I had a great long run and some good lifting sessions. Didn't eat as healthy as I would have liked, but didn't go crazy either.

Things appear to be (knock on wood) settling down at work, so hopefully more of a routine will allow for more consistency. Time to start rocking in this week!!

Belated Weekly Update - 2/13 through 2/19

Monday, 2/13 - 3 mile run + abs
Tuesday, 2/14 - Chest/tris lifting
Wednesday, 2/15 - Legs + abs
Thursday, 2/16 - Back/biceps lifting
Friday, 2/17 - Rest day
Saturday, 2/18 - 6 mile run
Sunday, 2/19 - Soccer!!

Ending weight: 127.2


Lots of factors in play last week... That time of the month, starting my new position at work (it's been crazy busy and lots of learning in a very short amount of time!), lots of stress in general and way too much stress-eating! Time to get back on the bandwagon this week. I'm glad the week was a cutback week running-wise!

I've also decided, upon having finished my month attempt at Paleo, that I will go back to what I was doing before - healthy eating, counting calories, focusing on protein but not excluding any particular food or food group. That had been working for me just fine, and I found that trying to be so strictly "something" with my eating was stressful - all I thought about was food, and I found myself eating a Lean Cuisine or binging on totally unhealthy food (ie pizza and ice cream) on the nights that I didn't have time/energy to cook. I'd rather grab a turkey sandwich on those nights and remain healthy! At first I felt like kind of a failure, since the only thing I have heard from people who tried Paleo is "amazing! so many benefits! will never go back!!". But different things work for different people, and at least I was open-minded enough to give it a shot, and not too stubborn to recognize that it may not be the best thing for me in the long run.

I am still going to incorporate lots of the basic ideas of Paleo, like eating lots of meat and veggies and healthy fats - but not try to be "strict" about it. On a related note, I had the best lifting session I've had in a long while tonight, both mentally and physically. Not sure if that's just a coincidence or if the small increase in carbs is helping, but I'll take it. Now to keep up the healthy eating, focus on drinking a lot more water (I didn't drink nearly enough last week), and keep bumping up the running miles!

Weekly Update 2/6 through 2/12

Monday, 2/6 - 8.5 mile run
Tuesday, 2/7 - 3 mile tempo run, back/bis/abs
Wednesday, 2/8 - Legs
Thursday, 2/9 - Rest day
Friday, 2/10 - 3.5 mile run, chest/tris/abs
Saturday, 2/11 - 10 mile run
Sunday, 2/12 - 800M swim

Ending weight: 124.2


It was a pretty good week workout-wise - I finally got my new swimsuit and was able to test it out today, and I got all of the workouts in that I planned! Feels great to be off to such a good start for the half marathon training.

Eating went pretty well too - I had a few treats built in but for the most part was able to stay at or near my calories per day goals. It wasn't a stress-free week, but I managed to avoid any sort of complete emotional eating trainwreck!

Some things that I want to focus on this next week: Doing abs more consistently, and drinking more water!

The Great Paleo Experiment/Update

I know, I know, I've been totally slacking with the blogging lately (like, for a long while). I just kinda figured no one really read it, nor did I expect anyone to. I've also been busy with other things like work! However, I am a few months in to my first real weight loss journey, so I thought it would be fun to post an update every now and then just to keep myself motivated and on track!

Beginning Stats (as of 11/14/11):

- Weight: 143.6 lbs (ouch, how did THAT happen?)
- Body fat %: ~26
- Deadlift: 65 lb, Squat: 85 lb, Bench Press: 45 lb (one rep max)
- 3 mile run time fastest: 29:07 min

Current Stats: (as of 2/10/12):

- Weight: 126.4 lbs
- Body fat %: ~22
- Deadlift: 155 lb, Squat: 200 lb, Bench Press: 55 lb [yuck] (one rep max)
- 3 mile run time fastest: 27:06 min

Somewhat Short Term Goals:

- Weight: 118 lbs
- Body fat %: ~18
- Deadlift: 185, Squat: 225 lb, Bench Press: 75 lb
- 1/2 Marathon PR (current PR 2:13)

What I have been doing:

- Progress pictures every month (will probably get up the nerve to post some once I am closer to my goal)
- Weigh myself every morning
- Track weight, calorie intake, water intake, and exercise daily in an Excel spreadsheet
- Around 1200 calories/day on non-lifting days, 1400-1600 calories/day on lifting days
- Paleo diet - meat, veggies, fruits, nuts, some dairy. No bread/pasta/wheat/sugary products, as little processed starchy food as possible. No beer!
- I have had a few cheat days, but mostly I try to work little treats like a glass of wine or a few squares of dark chocolate into my daily calorie intake so that I don't go insane!
- Intermittent Fasting - I eat from 1 PM to 9 PM daily. Outside of those hours, I consume only water, green tea, diet soda, and gum. I feel fantastic and it is freeing to be able to eat to fuel my workouts without stressing about calories.
- Lifting heavy weights 3x per week - Back/biceps, Chest/triceps, Legs
- Running 4x per week, swimming 2-3x per week
- Biking and hiking whenever possible
- Upping my water intake from 0 to 40-60 oz per day

I may try to make a weekly post on Sundays that's a little bit more specific - just to keep on track!