Accountability Monday: 6/5/17

Welcome to June! Today is my first day back to work after an amazing 11 days off celebrating my birthday and a week at the beach- I don't even remember what I do for a living anymore! 😃

One of my favorite things about vacation is that we have lots of time to workout; we don't have to squeeze in a run into the end of a busy work day. Matthew and I were very active this week and I have to say, I'm feeling the best I have in a few weeks. 

Training

Tuesday: 3.1 miles, 38:44

Wednesday: OBX Running Company Lighthouse 5k, 32:19; 45 minutes of walking after dinner

Thursday: 50 minutes biking around the outer banks

Friday: 2.51 miles, 30:25

Sunday: Bel Air Town Run 5k, 32:22

Total: 11.9 miles

Biking and donut-ing around this morning. 🚲🍩🌞

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Jun 1, 2017 at 6:05am PDT

Best Run

This is a tie this week between the Lighthouse 5k and the Bel Air Town Run 5k. These are the fastest 5ks I have run in almost 18 months. I don't know how I averaged 10:20/10:25 pace for each of these races but I hope I can keep it up! My current 5k PR is 31:28. I'd love to shatter that and get a sub-30 minute 5k by the end of the year. 

Does this skirt make me look fast?

Bravo Moment

Matthew and I went parasailing at the beach (thanks to my awesome in-laws for the amazing 1st anniversary gift!) and you have to say your weight, out loud, to the boat captain and the guy putting you in the harness for the parachute. It's all about safety so you pretty much have to tell the truth, unlike when you're getting your driver's license/ID where you can fib a little. :-) Anyway, I'm super proud of not having any second thoughts about publicly telling a stranger my weight- I honestly didn't think about how incredible this was until later. Years ago, I never would have said my weight out loud. Never. Even though I weigh more than I want to currently, I have come to a point where I'm getting more comfortable with my body, no matter what the scale says. And that's huge progress for me.

Does screaming count as cardio? 😜🌊⛵

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Jun 2, 2017 at 9:01am PDT

Quote of The Week

I saw this on one of my social media feeds a few weeks ago and it feels really relevant to me this week-

Yup. Got a few excuses I need to get rid of.

Have a great first week of June!

Race Recap & Review: Bel Air Town Run 2015

Last Sunday I ran a personal best at the Bel Air Town Run in Bel Air, MD. Bel Air is the town I grew up in and this race is also the very first race I participated in back in 2011. This race holds a special place in my heart and I try to get back to it every year.

This year, I waited until race day to sign up so I had to pay the maximum price: $25. If you sign up online, you can register for just $15. I'll definitely be signing up online next year :-)

I got to race-day registration really early- like an hour and a half before the 8 am start. After picking up my packet, which included a cotton t-shirt and a bunch of information on upcoming races, I walked back to the car and then to a cute little coffee shop on Main Street.

Adorable and affordable- my kind of place.

I grabbed a cup of the house blend and then sat outside watching people gather for the race. Though this is just a local 5k, they usually have about 1,500 people participate. I texted my friend Laura and she came over to say hello. Fun fact- Laura and I were cheerleaders together in high school and now you can usually find us at the races together in the Baltimore area!

Around 7:45, I finished up my coffee and headed to the start line. Since I've done this race three previous times (2011, 2012, 2014), I knew what to expect on the course and used this pre-race time to think about the course and my strategy. Downhill for the first mile, plateau for most of the second, and then one long uphill followed by one short hill followed by yet another hill to finish- the last half mile of this course is tough!

I didn't have a time goal for this race though I knew I'd like to beat last year's time on this course- also my 5k PR- 32:44. Since my training has been almost non-existent since the Pittsburgh Marathon, I wasn't expecting to beat it by much but I definitely wanted to try.

The race started and we were off! I really struggle with pacing myself- my normal pace is around 11-12 min/mile and I know how that feels. But I don't know what faster than that "feels" like. So, I decided that I would run each running interval so that I was out of breath by the end and then use the walks to recover. I used 1:1's for this race and during the run portion, I kept repeating the words "steady" and "push" with each footstep. Overall, I think this worked really well- especially for the first mile.

Around the halfway mark, I started to feel really, really hot. The sun was out in full force and it was pretty humid. Luckily there was a water station at the 1.5 mile mark so I drank a little and then poured some on my head.

All the past year's race shirts lined up at the mile 1 mark.

My beautiful hometown!

I got to mile two and started to feel myself slowing down. I kept repeating my mantra words and reminded myself that this was just a 5k- it's ok to feel uncomfortable because it's only three miles. I hit the first of the last three hills and focused all my energy on getting to the top. And I stuck close to the side of the road to try and stay in what little shade there was.

I made it up the big hill and then took a sharp turn to the left to tackle the smaller but steeper hill. By this point, the heat was getting to me and I was ready to be done. I pushed on and finally the last uphill to the finish was in view. I could see the clock and knew that I had a chance to PR- mustering up the last little bit of strength I had, I charged up the hill and over the finish line.

Happy finisher.

After I cooled down a bit with some water and orange slices, I went over to the official results- they were printing them out and posting them near the finish. I knew that I'd beaten my previous time but I wasn't 100% sure on the official time. I finished in 31:28! A new PR by a full minute and 16 seconds!

Then I took a look at my splits, ha! I definitely came out way, way too fast and then slowed down over the three miles. My last mile was almost a minute slower than my first! This race showed me two things: 1. I am capable of running faster than 11-12 minute miles. 2. I need to learn how to properly pace myself so I have an even effort throughout the race.

Yikes! Look at that last .1 though :-)

After doing the happy dance, I went back to Shamrock Coffee for another cup and they only charged me a dollar because I'd been there earlier in the day. Awesome! Support your local businesses and they'll love you back!

Overall, this is a race that I will continue to do each year. It's cheap, it's fun, and it's a lucky course for me- I've PR'd three out of four times I've ran it. Maybe I'll finally get a sub-30 minute time in 2016! :-)

Another fun fact- can you tell when I started wearing Enell sports bras?! For my very first race in 2011, I think I wore three regular sports bras- yuck! This year I got to show off the new raspberry zest and I'm still totally in love with this color. Thank God for good support and fashionable colors :-)



How do you pace yourself during a race?

AM: 6/8/15

Good morning, friends! I'm actually posting on time- look at that!

This week was definitely better than the last two. I had two great interviews and should have some good news (fingers crossed) here in the next few days. And I actually worked out! Woohoo!

Also, I have some fun news- I got a part-time job working for Weight Watchers! I start my receptionist training tomorrow. I am absolutely humbled and ecstatic to work for a company that changed my life and continues to help so many people reach their goals. So awesome!

Training:
Tuesday- Rest day
Wednesday- 1 mile run to celebrate National Running Day, 10:25 pace
Thursday- Rest day
Friday- 5k run with Matthew, 39:31, 12:43 pace
Saturday- Rest day
Sunday- Bel Air Town Run 5k, 31:28, 10:08 pace

7.2 total miles

While I'm not totally back into the groove, I feel like I've made some progress over the last few weeks.

Also, yay for new 5k PRs! I beat my old record by 1:16 (which was at the Bel Air Town Run last year) and am slowly inching towards that sub-30 5k. I'll post a race recap later this week with all the fun details.

Nutrition:
If you follow me on instagram (which you totally should be doing!), then you know I had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and cookie s'more this weekend while we were visiting Hershey Park. Which is exactly what you think it would be- melted Reese's cup and melted marshmallow between two giant chocolate chip cookies. True story.

But the real reason I'm sharing this is because of the choice I made to have it. If you've never been to Hershey Park before, then you may not know that they have all kinds of unique chocolatey desserts that you can't get anywhere else. So when I see something that I like, that I want to spend the points on, and it's something that I don't get to have on a regular basis- I will happily and joyfully eat it :-) And besides, who can pass up chocolate?!

We love chocolate!

Weight-loss:
143.6 as of 6/3/15
-1.2 from last week
-46.8 since January 2013

I haven't quite worked off all the extra weight I picked up on vacation. It's been a rough few weeks and I'm trying to focus my energy on making good choices, working out when I can, and getting enough sleep- which has been tough due to life circumstances. Though I'm still about four pounds from goal, I still feel awesome about myself and my progress.

Speaking of progress, this weekend was my fourth runiversary! My very first race was the Bel Air Town Run in 2011 and I've been able to come back to my hometown and complete it in 2012, 2014, and 2015. It's hard to believe that I've been running for four years already. In many ways, I still feel like a new runner but when I look at pictures from past Bel Air Town Run events, I can see the progress I've made in both my running and my fitness. I can't wait to see what 2016's event will look and feel like- I'll be a married woman by then! :-)

What was your first race and what was your motivation for doing it?

Race Recap & Review: The Bel Air Town Run

The Bel Air Town Run has been running- literally- for 33 years. I first ran it in 2011 and then returned in 2012. I wasn't able to make it in 2013 so I put it on my calendar for 2014 fairly early. It's always the first Sunday in June and it's always a blast- there's a lot to love about a local race!

Bel Air, MD is my beloved hometown. It's where I spent the majority of my childhood and early adulthood. There are a few other 5ks in the area, but the Bel Air Town Run is the only one that runs down Main Street. Even though there's no castle waiting at the end, it's still pretty cool.

So, there are a lot of reasons why I love running this race in particular:

1. Cost- $15 gets you a 5k race, t-shirt, and lots of food at the finish.

I love the reflective quality of this year's shirt- and that the "RUN" and "2014" are the same text.

2. Course- I love this course. The first half is pretty much downhill. The second half has some challenging hills- including the last .1. Gotta love a course that ends with an uphill :-)

The end is near!

3. Spectators- Because this race has been running for so long and goes through so many neighborhoods, there are a lot of people out (especially for a 5k) cheering you on. There is one house where they actually hang all the shirts from previous years across the front yard- it's a nice distraction :-)

This is also right at the mile 1 marker. 

Loved the little girls on the left cheering for the runners!

4. Friends- Because this is my hometown, I usually see a lot of people from my childhood running the race. This year, I got to meet up with Jen and Laura- both friends from high school.

Jen is an amazing Dopey Challenge finisher; Laura crushed the Marine Corps Marathon this year- her first!

5. Focus on family and fun- As I've found with most local races, there are lots of first-timers, kids, and families running this course. It is so inspiring to watch little kids running, even as they are beating me :-)

Loved this mom and daughter duo with the tutus! Reminded me of the We Run Disney gals!

I think I should have titled this recap "Ode to the Local Race." :-)

So, how did this year go for me?

In a word, AWESOME! I brought home a shiny new PR- 32:44! I'll take it. Knowing the course helped tremendously. Because I knew the hills were coming, I was able to conserve some energy for the second half of the course. 

As always, this race is organized and efficient. At the finish, there were orange slices, bananas, bagels, water, etc. There was also a well-staffed water station at the 1.5 mile marker. Overall, this is a great race and should you ever find yourself in Bel Air, MD during the first weekend of June, you should check it out. 

Oh yeah, one more reason why I love this race- it was my first race EVER! This was the race that started the obsession. I hope I'm able to always get back home to run this every year and honor my "runniversary" in a fun way :-)

Some things never change- I always have a goofy smile at the end of a race :-)

QOTD: Do you have a favorite local race? What makes it special?