Wind & Whoopie Pies

About a month ago, signed up for the Race the Runways half marathon and signed the hubbster up for the 5k and figured we'd have a fun day of running together and I would just do whatever Coach told me to do regarding the run (race or train) and Casey could get another race under his belt.

What I liked about this race was the medal.

race swag, sweet medal!

What I also liked was that it is hosted on the (now defunct) Brunswick Naval Air Base and a portion of the run in completed on the runway of the base. How ironic that this would be what I liked least about this race...

Initially the weather was predicting 40's and rain. Not ideal for running. Then the forecast changed to 30's and sunny. Then the day before cold and windy.
For once, the meteorologist was right...but it least it wasn't raining, right?

On the road

Coach had a pretty specific plan laid out for the run and it was indeed a training run on tap, mostly aerobic heart rate zones. So definitely just a training day for me!

Casey, on the other hand, was heading into this race with goals to beat his last 5k time.

My friend, Katelyn, was going to running too so we made plans to meet up there. She was also running as a training day too so we thought if our HR zones and pace worked out, we could run together!

Honestly, it was so cold and windy (22* and sustained winds of 20mph with gusts up to 50mph) if I had not just driven an hour here, if I did not want that cool airplane medal and if I did not have Katelyn to run with, there is NO WAY IN HECK I would have run in those conditions for a training day.

In the warmth of the car--no long warm up run would happen!

Casey wanted a good warm up for his 5k (can't blame him!) so he said good bye to us and headed into the frigid wind and cold...while we hit out in the car for a while longer!

Finally, we got out and did a little jogging, a little huddling, and a little shivering waiting for the gun to go off!! I realized that I left my iPod in the car (oh well) and was glad once again to have company to run today!

Video of the start, you can hear the wind!

The 5k and the Half starts together and then we split off in different directions. The first bit of the run was fine, the wind was to our backs and then about a mile and a half in...there it was.

WIND

Cold, bitter, hard blowing wind. Relentless...so I just watched my heart rate and adjusted my pace accordingly, keeping things in check. Once we got to the tarmac (runway) that's when things just got downright silly. The giant wall of wind was just pushing against you! My heart rate shot up to the 150's even though I was barely running a 10 minute mile. The wind was stinging my face and a couple times, it made it kind of hard to breathe!

But we just kept chugging along, I'd check with Katelyn to make sure she was in her zones and I'd check mine. We hit the part where there is a double loop to run and you pass the aid stations with water, gel and gatorade. On the second loop, I walked the aid station to get in some fluids (I can't run and drink from a cup without spilling it...I did not want spillage all over me on this freezing day) and as I WALKED up to the volunteer to get a cup, he spilled the entire cup of Gatorade down the front of me, my entire right leg soaked. AWESOME. I really, really wanted a wet leg on this cold and windy day!! ha ha ha (not really) but whatever, it's not like  he did it on purpose.

Katelyn and I had a couple laughs over the weird mile markers because of the double loop (oh, mile 11 already...oh, no. Only mile 7...) and we were both pretty done with battling the cold and the wind by the time we were done with the loop and the last 2 miles did go by pretty quick.

Another friend, Mike, was there as a photographer and I got to see his smiling face on the course a couple times too. He was somewhere in that last 2 mile stretch and so Katelyn and I had to bust a move for some sweet pics! Can't wait to see those!

Finally, we could hear the PA system and cheers so we knew the finish wasn't far. I recall Katelyn saying something like "oh, it's not windy here" and I was like "shhhh, you are going to jinx us!" SURE ENOUGH. Two feet later--whammo!! more wind.

Round the corner and there it was...THE FINISH LINE. Honestly, this was an "slow and easy" run but I felt worked!! Running slow can be more painful than running fast (or at least that's how if felt on this day). I was never so happy to see a finish line and even contemplated doing cartwheels if I would not kick anyone in the head...

Awwwwsome! DONE :)

DONE! I got my cool medal, a solar blanket and a WHOOPIE PIE!!


The company, Wicked Whoopies, donated 1,200 whoopie pies to all finishers> YUMMMMO!

two cold girls!!

While I did not race yesterday, this was actually a really essential training day. Normally, I would not have run outside in those conditions. So yesterday was mental toughness training and character building day! I smiled the whole time and made sure to thank volunteers along the way. I am sure they were freezing their buns off out there!!

I will definitely return to this race next year and chase a new half mary PR!!
And enjoy another whoppie pie!!


HUGE CONGRATS to Mr. Small who ran his butt to another 5k PR, shaving another :33 off his time and in that wind!! 22:40 for a 7:17/pace. Nice work Casey!!

He Speaks: 5k's and Virrata

Hey Folks,

If you have been following Jen's blog for a while I am sure you have seen her post about Project X.

Let me introduce myself. I am Casey, otherwise known as Jen's husband and the subject in Project X.
For years, I had zero interest in this craziness of running (or any of that other stuff SHE does) but this fall I had a wake up call, an epiphany if you will. Now, I get it. I understand the hours of training, the quest to the finish line, the thrill that comes with challenging yourself and testing your limits. Now I am happily by her side and along for ride. I have my own journey and I am just happy that we can do this together!

Not only is Jen my wife, but she is also my Coach and has helped me shed 50lbs and go from a 40" pant size down to a 30! Jen is teaching me about the right way to train and race (and I think she picks on me the most out of all of her athletes).

When an opportunity came up to review a pair of men's running shoes from Saucony, I happily volunteered to be the guinea pig. I have been running in Saucony shoes since I started running and have been happy with the fit and comfort that the shoe provides. I started running in the Guide and recently tried the Fastwitch, a much lighter shoe. When I read the specs on the Virrata, I was very intrigued.

• very light and weighing in at 6.5 oz
• ZERO drop
• bright colors 

The bit of information that was of most interest to me was this-
Built on a 0mm offset, this shoe lets your feet do the work while providing plenty of protection from the road.

photo from saucony.com

I have been looking to gain more speed with my running and as I learned more about run mechanics and shoes (and still being a fairly new runner), it was important to me to have some cushion and protection yet a shoes that would allow me to run with the most efficient form.

I had a 5k coming up on the schedule and the Virrata arrived just in time, giving me a few days to get out and run before racing in a new shoe. The shoe immediately felt great-very comfortable like it had already been broken in to fit my foot. On my test run (5.6 miles) I could appreciate how light and springy they were! There was a sufficient amount of cushioning and I liked the way my feet just rolled along the road. I did notice a bit a calf tenderness after this first run but I was told by Jen that this was normal since I was moving into a more minimal shoe that I have been running in.

My second run in them was a short, easy run (Coach Jen had me on a mini-taper to get ready to race!) and they felt even better this second run. I had no other discomfort and liked the shoe even more.

Today was race day, it was a cold and windy day for sure. We got in some warm up miles before lining up and it was time to GO!

At the start line, we were all talking about new shoes and there was a guy next to me wearing the same exact Virrata's! We both agreed that we really, really liked this shoe!

At the race start, Im in blue (left, #946) running next to Jen in Rev3 blue (right, #947).
This was our first race running together!

My legs were warmed up and ready to run. Honestly, I could not even feel my shoes during the run they were so light and comfortable. I ran my way to 1 minute and 30 second PR today.

Thank you to Saucony for the chance to participate in this review.
Thank you Coach Jen for guiding me and being my cheerleader.



DISCLOSURE: All opinions expressed in this blog review are those of Casey and not Jen. The Saucony Virrata shoes were provided at no charge in exchange for Casey's honest evaluation of this running shoe.  All opinions expressed here are his own. 

Project X

I have been working on a project for a little while now I finally feel that I am able to discuss this openly on the blog--Now, in order for you to understand the absolute impact of this major life change, I must back up many years for you to fully appreciate the scope of change that has occurred. 

As you know (or you may not know...) I used to be FAT. While I was walking around all "large", it was my husband who was the athlete. He was always an athlete, from his youth well into adulthood. He excelled at sports, especially football and hockey, and continued to play hockey in college. As an adult, he kept his passion for hockey alive by working as a referee for all kinds of levels of hockey-from high school up to collegiate levels. His job also kept him physically active and fit. He would also workout daily. 
Me...not so much. (ok, let's be honest...I did NOTHING)

Fast forward a few years and due to a change with his job, he was not able to travel for hockey like he could in his other position so he gave up reffing. 
When I discovered my love for fitness and it seemed that the roles were reversed.

I was now the athlete and the pounds were starting to creep onto him. 

Now, when you have any kind of drastic change in your life (ie wife loses a ton of weight) it is also going to change the dynamic of the relationship. Of course there was new stress and strain put into our relationship with the "new Jen". 
I train a lot of hours and that can mean a lot of hours away from home and family. 
Resentment towards my training schedule and "my new life" was starting to build and it was certainly creating a wedge in our marriage. For years I held out hope that Hubby would join me for a run or a bike ride but there was not a shred of interest there...again, only resentment for the sport I had grown to love. I know first hand you cannot force anyone to change, it has to come from within. 

Sometimes life gives you lemons and sometimes life just throws 'em right at you sooo hard it leaves a bruise. So after a series of events it seemed that life was about to take a dramatic turn of events and I feared that we had reached a boiling point. But that is when life--the same life that is chucking lemons at your head-- spins you around and hands you the unexpected.

While Hubby was schlepping around our daughter at the Rev 3 Maine race-and getting to meet some of my wonderful triathlon friends-something sparked a fire in him that weekend and he was ready to make some changes in his own life. 

A couple of days after the race, he told me that he has been INSPIRED by what he witnessed at the race and wanted my help. He was ready to seek out a healthy life.

*picking jaw up off of floor*

I was a little apprehensive at first and to be completely honest, I doubted that he would even stick with a program longer than a few weeks. I mean, football season was rolling around and it would be back to the weekend beerfest-TVwatching-junkfood-eating-crap I had been dealing with for the last several years. 

But here we are now, at the end of October and he is still going strong. I know he is serious because I can count on one hand how many beers he has consumed since late August. THAT right there is an epic change. I believe that he is committed to making long lasting changes and I love that he is making both short-term and long-term goals that are not scale focused.

He has lost 20 pounds.
He is running or biking almost every day (of course, a good coach monitors their athletes and Rx's rest days even when said athlete protests!)
He is running up to 4 miles now and ran a 5k (not race, just distance) in a tad over 30 mins last week. 

We have run together a few times-something I dreamed of for a long time.
I was coming in from a bike ride the other day and saw a familiar figure up ahead of me, running towards me.  To my surprise, it was him. He has decided to get out for a quick run after work (Lola was with my parents while I was out riding). 

So now that I see that he is serious about making a change and he has given me some specific goals for the future, I have agreed to take him on as an athlete. He is doing fantastically well and I will be chronicling his own journey here as PROJECT X.