Thursday, September 17, 2015

Women of Wonder 5k

At the start.
Well for once I did this one right. I've done the 10k at this event for the past couple years. It's a fun event but the 10k is challenging for a lot of reasons. Its a big event and for the 10k, on the second loop of the course you hit a lot of walking traffic. If you are aiming for a good time, it's very hard to hit that while weaving through walkers and yelling "on your left!" the last mile of a 10k. And it tends to be fairly warm as the race starts late. I actually like that part though as it's nice to have a leisurely morning!

I was supposed to be racing the Ragnar Trail Cascades this weekend. But forest fires in the area cancelled the race 10 days ago. This was good as I was worried about smoke and race impact on a small community hard hit by the largest fire in Washington state history. We've had rain and moderating temperatures but the fire is not completely contained. So i needed another race. I didn't really want a longer one though as I am aiming for a half marathon in mid October. I needed a short race to get a better idea of where I am and to practice a hard race pace.

The 10k again at this race? Ugh. Mentally I just wasn't prepared so I signed up for the 5k thinking at least it would be over with quickly.

I wanted to go out aggressively but at a pace where I thought I could hit realistically. I didn't taper for this race at all and did get in my long run Thursday. I had speed work as usual on Tuesday too. I think i'm in about 7:15-7:20 5k shape and decided to go out at 7:15. I hit 7:17 for the first mile and just concentrated on dodging the few walkers who are typically on the inside path of Green Lake. It's not a closed course!

Of course this is a women's only race. I hadn't really thought about this as I've always been at a slower pace for the 10k which starts at the same time. There were so few other racers about and I had been expecting more competition. I was working very hard though and that was a goal. I battled and kept battling!

It's just Green lake and I run around Green Lake at least 2 to 3 times a week so as I tick along each landmark, it does help me stay focused. The course does go on the streets outside the lake and you can get a surprising amount of tangent running in. I'm always surprised when I don't see other runners doing this. Believe me i want to be done sooner rather than later and I figure every step counts!

I passed a gal with about a mile to go. At 3/4, i got passed by another woman. But then I couldn't make any headway on staying with her or with another gal within site. I do think i was slowing here but I kept battling.

My main hope was that I'd be under 23:30. As I hopped up the curb to the last grassy finish, i could see that I was going to make that! Hooray 23:20! I came though the finish and got a medal (for a 5k!) and heard the announcer say that was the top 10 finishers.

WHAT?! I was 7th overall. That was a surprise and no wonder there was no one else around! I did end up 1st in my AG. My friend and running partner was 2nd overall (and technically 1st in my AG).

the best part of this race was that it started pouring not too long after we finished running. Perfect timing. I haven't run too many 5ks lately and it was nice to get such a solid one in, feel good and work very hard. I have a couple weeks of peak training ahead of me and I'm feeling ready!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Catch Up!

Ragnar.
Vacation.
Work Craziness.

Blog? I had grand intentions and then the Seattle Public Library's Book Bingo NW took over. Book bingo? Yes, the Seattle Public Library ran an adult summer reading program this year and I had to do it.  Six weeks and 25 books later, I am (almost) DONE! And ready to turn in my bingo card. What do I get? A chance for a nice prize and a chance to visit a lot of fun.
Graphic Novels? Yes, i'll be reading more of these.
Mysteries? I'm still not too interested in them.
Young Adult Fiction is even better than ever.
And try rereading a favorite from your childhood and see what you think. I was disappointed by the annoying female protagonist. I remember really enjoying the book because of the female protaganist but found her dated.

Category                                              Book
Checked out from the library               Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett
From an Independent Bookstore          Peak by Roland Smith
Set in the NW                                       Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
#WeNeedDiverseBooks                       Tankborn by Karen Sandler
*Translated from another language        A Hundred & One Days: A Baghdad Journal by Asme Sierestad
Collection of short stories                    Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi
Out of your comfort zone                    Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
*Set somewhere you've always wanted to visit Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All: A New Zealand Story by Christina Thompson
You own, but had never read               Travels in Alaska by John Muir
*Prizewinner                                          All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Banned                                                 Bless Me, Ultima
*Local Author                                        Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage by  Molly Wizenberg
*PASSIONATELY recommend a book to a friend   The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo
Author under 30                                   Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
*Turned into a movie                             A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness/Siobhan Dowd
Graphic Novel                                      The Encyclopedia of Early Earth: A Graphic Novel by Isabel Greenberg
Collection of Poetry                              The Robot Scientist's Daughter Poems by Jeannine Hall Gailey
Young Adult Book                                Silvertongue (Stoneheart Trilogy #3) by Charlie Fletcher
Memoir                                                 If you Ask Me (and of course you won't) by Betty White
*Published the year you were born        Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
*Re-read                                                 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Recommended by a friend                    On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City by Alice Goffman
You've been meaning to read                The Cloud Road by Martha Wells
From Your Childhood                            A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle
You Finish reading in a day                  Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb by Jonathon Fetter-Vorm

The asteriks denote favorite books on the list. I also enjoyed how you had to be strategic about picking a book for a particular category when they could count for multiple categories.  Three of the books were audio books.