It’s been a few weeks since I PR’d at my half marathon and my 5K, but I still want to tell you guys all about them. I actually ran three races in two weekends! I could get used to that kind of schedule .

Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon

First was the Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon on December 2nd up in Scottsdale. I went into the race with a goal of just PR’ing. My previous half marathon time was 2:27:48, which was from the AFC Half Marathon in San Diego. I got three pace bracelets from Races2Remember that were for 2:10, 2:15 and 2:20 finish times. I decided to wear the 2:15 one, and hope for at least that. Deep inside, though, I really wanted a 2:10. Well, with the help of Devin to keep me on pace, I ended up blowing past both times and getting a 2:08:45!!

I started out slower and progressively got faster as the race went on. Coach Susan suggested splitting the race into three segments: First 5, second 5, and a 5K. First 5 miles were to be slower and more relaxed. Second 5 miles were around goal pace or a little faster. The last 5K (3.1 miles) could be run at the same goal pace, or could be pushed even faster. I found myself really pushing the pace even faster than I expected to during the second 5 miles. During the last 5K, I went faster than I ever thought I could! The last 2 tenths or so, I turned on my rocket boosters again somehow, and finished really strong. Here were my splits:

Here we are crossing the finish. It feels SO good to have kicked ass!! Finally!!

I couldn’t be happier with my half marathon PR! It is respectable for sure! I knew I could do it once I put my mind to it. By this, I mean my attitude going into and during this race was “this is going to happen.” Period. A PR/sub-2:15 time is going to happen. I visualized it happening, believed I could do it, and it happened! Thanks so much to coach Susan for helping me to get my head together and run a good race physically, and even more important, mentally .

Sally Meyerhoff 5K

I ran this race because Sally Meyerhoff was an inspiration to me. Unfortunately, I never was able to meet her. Based on what I have read and heard about her, she was an absolutely amazing person and runner. Check out the Sally Meyerhoff Foundation page to learn more about her.

I squeezed this one in before work on December 8th. I wasn’t sure how fast I would run it because I hadn’t run a 5K since the Firefly Run last year. I ended up PR’ing again! My previous 5K PR was 27:48. This time, I finished in 26:26! The race was hand-timed, so my “official” race time was 26:51, but my Garmin doesn’t lie! Either way, my time fell at 13th in my division!! I don’t think I have ever finished that high in my division before!

Here are the BTB girls after the race. (And Bill, the honorary BTB girl in the background ).

Hot Chocolate 15K

The third and final race of the series was the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K. Ari, Nicole and I did the 15K. A ton of other BTB’ers did one of the races, as well. It was Phoenix’s inaugural Hot Chocolate Race, and it was a blast! I got there just in the nick of time! Whoever planned this race was either a woman, or has heard many women complain because there were SO many porto potties!! It’s kind of hard to see them in the background, the they’re there.

I looked everywhere for Ari and Nicole, and finally found them in our corral! Here we are at the start:

Ari had a time goal of 1:25, and I decided to just go along for the ride. After struggling to get out of the congestion during mile 1, we were off to the races. Just a few minutes later, Nicole’s injury started acting up to the point where she decided to walk-we walked with her. I wasn’t dead set on making a huge deal about a finish time, so I was totally cool with walking for a little bit with Nicole. We started up again for a very short time, and then Nicole decided that her injury wasn’t going to allow her to keep going at that pace. Even slowing it down, it was still hurting her. We convinced her that a random 15K wasn’t worth jeopardizing her first full marathon that was coming up in a month. We felt bad for her, but convinced her to turn around and walk back to the finish (right by the start) and see a medic. Ari felt horrible, as did I, but I knew I would want my friends to keep going and not give up their race for me if I was injured!

So Ari and I kept going. The course was just ok. It did double back a few times and get monotonous during the middle until the finish. We made up for lost time (about 4 minutes of walking and standing around), and ended up racing the last 3 or 4 miles, and totally kicked up the pace at the end.  We ended up finishing in 1:30:28 despite the 4 minutes and a bathroom break! Yay!! Ari and I really pushed each other at the end, and finished the last 0.3 miles at a 7:43 pace!

After the race, we met up with our teammates and Coach Loken to watch the rest of our team cross the finish line. Then, we went to get our hot chocolate and our finisher’s mugs.

They had melted chocolate dip with a banana and cookies and all sorts of yummy stuff! Check this out:

I needed a spoon so I could get the last of the chocolate out of that little reservoir in the front….too bad I didn’t have one! I used my finger instead, lol! Needless to say, I have chocolate all over myself, but I earned it, right!?

Here are some more pictures of the BTB’ers after the race:

We had so much fun! I will definitely do this race again next year.

So right now, I am partially sidelined due to injury. My hamstring started acting up after the Fiesta Bowl half, and has only gotten worse. I will not be doing the PF Chang’s full marathon. I am registered for the half marathon, and may be leisurely run/walking the entire thing if I don’t feel better by then. Don’t be surprised if I don’t go for a PR. I am just doing the elliptical for now to try and keep up on my training. I have a really full race schedule through March and April, and don’t want to jeopardize my whole season.

I hope everyone has a happy New Year! Please get a sober driver if you will be drinking. Be safe and have fun!!

Happy Trails!

Stacey