Mom Spectates From Heaven

Care For Breast Cancer 5k, Woodstock, Il USA

Third time is a charm. My brother told me about this race in 2009 and we did it together then. This is a huge event and it gets bigger every year. The proceeds go to fight breast cancer in the local area. These are the races I run for Mom. That year I finished 3rd.

In 2010 I missed this one because I had to get back to the other side of the pond for 100k Worlds in Gibraltar.

In 2011, I returned really wanting to win one for Mom, only to get out kicked in the final 400. I was carrying too much baggage coming off 100K Worlds and then Chicago all inside a month's time. My speed wasn't 100%.

                                              sunrise

                                                               off to warm up

                                                      GEESE

In 2012 I went to bed early and got up ready to get the job done. I got to the start early because I wanted to actually park the car! They had over 2300 runners this yr! I quickly got my number and immediately asked where the table was to get a back bib where you write who you are running in support and or in memory of. This one is always tough. I miss Mom more than anyone in the world and those who know me know that I still live with the guilt of missing her funeral even though it was a total no fault thing. Mom went to Heaven when I was in France and my roaming was a no go and I was impossible to reach. Missing Mom's funeral is by far the shittiest thing that has happened to me since going expat. Lots of other runners had Mom written on their backs too.

So off I was to warm up. Temps were near freezing , but I prefer that.  Just before the start, I noticed the girl who won last yr...Ok fine, I'll just run tactical-I'll sit on her butt and try and save myself for a late race surge. I have long recovered from my fall marathon and my speed is much better this yr anyways. The start was delayed 10 min because of record numbers of runners still coming in!

                                                  off to the start- Leonid ,me,Mindy ,Dylan,Parker, and "little" brother Brad

Off we were and off went last year's top lady. I let her go out fast-3.40 is first km...really? Sub 18.30 pace? I went out at 3.50 and just parked it the first k and by the mile mark, I had already crept up on her heels. She picked up a little and I just went with her to be a brat. Halfway-2.5k 9.31  jeez that's really pedestrian and slacking off for me based on my fitness level now but my goal was to go for the win and whatever time I run is whatever it is.  We hit 2 mile together then I knew I had to just gas it and go. I can't rely on some super finishing kick so I like to hammer over the 2nd half of my races when ppl begin to get tired. So I latched on to a guy not too far ahead and let him pull me along at 3.35-38 /km pace (high 5.40s mile) until he dropped back in the final 800. I held that pace finishing in 18.49 (coach was timing  and that's what the clock said too but somehow they got me in the results in 18.53 but I won:))) Leonid ran 17.56 and they gave him 18.03 which is strange as we both started up front too. I couldn't help thinking that Mom was watching from Upstairs.

"Little" Brother came in in 33 in change and Mindy just over 50 with the nephews in the double decker stroller:-) This race is always well organized. Sadly, I may miss it totally next yr because 100K Worlds in Korea are supposed to be roughly the same weekend.

Diamond Dash 5k- Mundelein,Il USA 13-October

I'm behind on my blogging because the Busy Monster has been kicking my ass since I got to the States a couple weeks ago. In my final prep for the 50k on the 27th, I am doing short races in between my long runs and final workouts to stay speed sharp and fine tuned. My first speed workout was the Diamond Dash 5k only 3 days after flying in. I'm not 100% til sometime between day 4and 5 typically and was till sleepytired when I ran this. My quads were still kind of heavy and as I warmed up on the course which was mostly pea gravel, I just figured I'd sandbag and try for under 20 min. I wasn't sure how my legs would respond. Last yr, I flew in too close to the Chicago Marathon and ran jet lagged on a hot day and probably still too soon after the 100kand had a craptastic performance. Pea gravel and I don't get along for races as it does slow things down quite a bit. I can't recall ever breaking 20 on that annoying loose pea gravel even when my road times were much much faster. Plus it had rained and the paved sections of the course were actually slick. To my surprise though I started out at 3.50/km (19.10pace) and picked it up after just over 2k to cruise in at 18.43! I was glad the first guy was not too far ahead and dressed brightly so I didn't mess up any turns. I had company for the first 2.5k or so but then she dropped back after I picked up the pace and I was all alone. She is a fast and talented lady who just had the same elite dev/A standard start in Chicago I sat out.    The goal here was just to have fun and get in a decent workout. The next day, I had my final loooong run on the menu and went out and ran just over 30k like nothing had happened the day before. I recover like a kid in the US and I am certain the lack of pollution and food that actually has nutritional value plays a big role.

                                                             Warming up

                                                                     finish

                                                             top2 ladies:-)

Gzhel 10km 30 Sept

I'll make this quick because I fly to the US in 3 days and am again racing this weekend before I go. I typically go to Gzhel as a final tune up pre Chicago. Well Chicago is tomorrow and I'm still in Moscow....I never expect to place top 3 in this race as lots of fast ppl almost always show up and there is one age group:20 and up! So Up I got and off I was for a tempo run to get some speed back after the marathon. The week after the marathon I didn't feel like racing. I took a rest week and slept in on Staurday instead of running the 2k in Golyanovo. My body thanked me. 

I started out as I usually do- not barn burning fast and sensible and just set myself back about 5 sec from the top girls running my own pace which was just under 4min /km. Legs still feeling kind of sleepy hmmm. It wasn't til after the first 5k I figured out I was running 4th because the 5 and 10 run together. 10 does 2 loops. First 5k pedestrian 19.53. Shoot another year I will not break 40 because I'm running this race coming off a marathon or 100k....I have a bad habit of dying in the 2nd loop here for some reason. The course is a mix of flat and rollers. Just after the 1st loop the 2nd and 3rd ladies kept looking back to see where I was. hehe...I'll just sneak up on them. So I thought...WTH- they both simultaneously cut the turn and ran through the grass and cut quite lot off the course. That pissed me off. I know these girls and would not have expected that from them. Just past the 6k they took a slight cut again. OK that's it you guys are done. I took one of them on the uphill just before 7k. I ran with the next one til just past 8k and risked opening an 8-10 sec gap. She is really good at short stuff esp middle distance. I knew she could get me at the finish and I needed a gap closer to 20 sec but only opened to about10.She did get me with 300 to go :( and I finished 3rd. My time -39.45 was still quite a bit off of where I was pre Valmiera. This course does have some rollers but they seemed manageable to me and I did most of my passing on the uphills. Top 3 get very nice prizes and they are pretty:) Gzhel is famous for the porcelain factory which makes super some of the porcelain top 3 goptpretty stuff. This yr top 10 got additional prizes-also nice:) The goal here was just to work on a steady tempo run and get my speed back. Today was a "get stuck" race which means I got stuck running one even pace. I seem to either negative split or get stuck. My shorter races tend to be get stuckers.