Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Yough 10 Mile Run Race Report...and other ramblings

Today is April fool's day. I've been hanging around the house all day, so the only practical joke that's been played on me is by Mother Nature. April 1st and it's been snowing all day. Really? When will it end? Hopefully tomorrow will be the last cold day of the season!

Last week it snowed pretty much the ENTIRE week! It started last Sunday with winter storm Virgil. Virgil was looming as we put on the Cooper's Rock 10k run and 5k walk. This was my first time being race director of this event, and I was afraid with the storm coming in our numbers would be down, but people came out in full force and we had 151 people sign up. Everything went off without a hitch (except for my awards snafu, but everyone left with an award non-the-less).

Although we had a rough week of weather, I was able to get a decent amount of running in. I'm still not quite where I want to be with my mileage, but I'm slowly progressing and I hope the warmer weather will help me out. That, and I have a new Kelty double jogger on the way!!

On Saturday I went with my training partners up to Connellsville, PA, to run the Yough River 10 mile. I was a little afraid that I was in over my head because my longest run was only 14 miles, but we started out at a 7 min pace and we felt fairly comfortable. There was also a 10k run along with the 10 mile, and there was a woman ahead of us for the first few miles. We decided to wait and see if she would turn around at the 3 mile mark, and of course, she didn't. She had about a minute lead on us, so I had my work cut out for me if I was going to catch her by the end. I started picking up the pace and left my training partners behind (they were just fine running 7 min pace). I caught her by 6 miles and noticed that she had headphones in. She had no idea I was there, but she was running with a male runner that looked back at me a few times. I was able to rest there for a few minutes, but then she turned and saw that I was there. I was in no mood to start playing cat and mouse and have her dictate the pace, so I moved around her immediately and took off. I was feeling pretty strong, but I hit 7 miles and my lower right leg started giving me fits. I was mad! I tried adjusting my stride to see if it would loosen up, but it didn't seem to be working. I tried very hard to keep a fast pace, but my leg was killing me. This is an out and back race, so I figured I had to get back anyway, may as well struggle through it. Eventually my leg loosened up enough for me to run with a regular stride and I finished the race in first place at about a 6:50 pace. Not a bad workout!

Today my leg is still bothering me. I know I still have a lot of training ahead of me before I start feeling anywhere close to my pre-baby self, but it just seems like it takes forever for me to recover now. I am going to attempt a track workout tonight. I hope it goes well!

End of March mileage: 194. I'd like to add at least 50 miles to that for April. Hopefully this is the last cold day and I will feel motivated to do more!

Workout for the week: I've been having my track kids do some body work crossfit workouts once or twice a week, especially when it is too cold and snowy to go outside. The one we did this past week is called Melt it off! It calls for 2 minutes of running in between each exercise, but I gave the kids 1 minute since they are only middle school kids. I also do the workouts with them.
Cardio and Strength Circuit to help you melt it off!

Eileen's Peep Cake
Recipes for the week:  This past week was Eileen's 2nd birthday. I used it as an excuse to try another carrot cake recipe.  I pinned  a recipe from Lifescript.com. Healthy Carrot Cake. It came out very good. Better than the crock pot cake, but it calls for crushed pineapple, and I didn't really like having pineapple in my carrot cake. I think next time I will use the juice, but leave the pineapple out, or maybe puree it.
Friday night pizza



I've been making home made pizza every Friday. It's surprising how easy pizza dough is. I got the quick rise yeast and it is a piece of cake! We make ours with pineapple because that's what the kids like. Sometimes I throw on some bacon, or I split it in two and put mushrooms and peppers on once side.



Our week in photos:
Tyler, my Irish baby boy
Eileen in her birthday dress

Pip and Squeek, our new chics
Travis playing with old school blocks and Indians