Bring it back, Bring it back

  One of the first things I have to do is give a shout out to my 4 loyal followers whom remind me that I have the least consistent blog (much like my training) in the world. So I am taking baby steps to getting back into the groove with something to write home to mom about. Since my last post in March a few obstacles were placed in my path on my effort to break 15 in a 5000m race, mainly a stress reaction in my shin which halted my training completely just after the Cooper River Bridge run. I will provide quick recaps on the few races i have competed in and what I have been up to over these past 3 months if you care to read any further, I promise I will throw in some pictures!

  Cooper River 10k: I Was fortunate enough to get a seeded entry into the elite corral and as well as housing for two nights at the new Crowne Plaza Hotel in North Charleston which was amazing. Let's just say after the race it was a bit embarrassing to have a seeded entry with the way things panned out, I was kind of dodging the elite coordinators the best I could after the race to avoid any communication as to why I had such a bad day.  In short, this was the 1st time in the history of the Bridge run that it was delayed by 1hr due to over registration/busing conflicts. We all stood around on the start line for an hour as the sun rose higher and higher making it hotter and hotter.
   I was fortunate enough to start next to national champion Janet-Cherobon Bawcom who said it best, "You know, at least everyone is dealing with the same thing. The elites are dealing with the heat and fatigue and so are the walkers. We may not run as fast but I am happy just to be out here". She had some kind words that really calmed my nerves and gave me hope for a stellar race, but after the gun sounded the hope ended as I crossed the start line. Ending up 44th overall somehow I was very disappointed but knew that it would be my last race for awhile as my shin was just not right.

Palmetto 200 Relay: This was kind of a "take it for the team" race for TrySports as we had been talking about this relay for months. Bill Shires put numerous hours preparing for this race and I just felt that I needed to show my appreciation despite the fact that I hadn't ran for 2 weeks due to injury. Overall this was a lot of fun, I ran myself into the ground in typical relay fashion as this was my 6th 200+ mile relay. Our team was amazing, we had such a good time but yet again with fatigue and lack of sleep the Hulk came out a few times. I managed to mouth off a bit to some teammates, through some late night/early morning hours, my sincere apologies again. As a disclaimer I always state before the relay starts, that I am bound to loose it with someone, so please do not take it personal! 1 month would pass before I would run again after this relay. We finished 2nd overall with a mixed team which is CRAZY! Go TrySports!

  Twilight 5k: This race was more than sporadic as Scott Greenapple posted online that he had a few entries for the nights race and it spiked my interest. I thought, " You have only ran 2 times in 39 days but just go out slow and try to pick up the pace who knows that could happen, maybe sub 17:45 if I run smart." As a total surprise to myself I ended up running much faster as I took my time through the mile and began weaving my way through traffic. The 2nd mile was the killer for me as I ended up running 5:08 in order to catch and pass Alana Hadley who ended up being my main motivation for the race. She is one hard working talented runner and as the race went along I just could not let myself accept the fact that she may beat me so I pushed on. Thanks Alana! 16:35 for a top 10 I believe, congrats to her on breaking 17minutes for the 1st time ever (incredible for a teenage girl!)

Summer Track Series: Since I love the track and getting a bit uncomfortable, I was excited to go into the month of June with a goal in mind; SUB 4:30 mile at 30 years old by the championship mile. It's no record breaking mark by any means but would be pretty awesome if I could achieve it since I have had some setbacks over this past year. The first week started off great with a 2:07 800m that really surprised me followed up with a sub 11minute two mile. In the 2nd week I came back to race the mile and had a nice battle with Aaron Linz as I knew that if I could stay with him I would be able to run a sub 4:40 mile and came out with a 4:33, followed up with a 55 1/4m and 25.4 200m run. My speed has turned the corner a bit but that really took it's toll on me the following week; I am not as young as I used to be and the spikes aren't as kind to the body. Looks like I have qualified for 4 events in the championship, mile, 800, 400, and 200m somehow but will most likely only be competing in the mile.

Charity Case Mud Run: This was an undercover race that I was hoping that no one else locally would be doing given that it had a big prize purse of $2000 for the overall win. I was training for this race a bit, lifting more weights, doing some more squats and hoped that it would pay off on the day. The morning of the race Karin and I drove up to Davidson and quickly realized the organization was very sub par as one hour before the start, no volunteers or organizers were to be found. After finally catching the shuttle to the start line 5 minutes after the listed start time, I put on my old XC spikes and duct taped them to my feet. Right away myself and Mike Earle separated ourselves from the rest of the field with a quick opening mile. We hurdled hay bails, went through mud pits, went across balance beams, dove through tires, it was a BLAST. Mike unfortunately started to gap be a bit as we climbed back up towards the finish line. 3rd place was closing in fast and I slowed to catch my breath just before the final few hundred meters of the course. After climbing a big wooden wall, I surged hard leading up to the final obstacle of monkey bars. I knew I had 2nd place wrapped up then CRASH...I slipped on the 2nd to last monkey bar which apparently was rotating and I just did not grip the bar enough. The consequence was 10 push ups as the 3rd place (Will) made it through and just nipped me down the last straight away. 

    The biggest fiasco was the awards ceremony, which was non-existent for one and two, they totally screwed us on the prize money. The competitive race showed full online meaning that the prize pool would be the full $2000 - 1st, $1200 - 2nd, $800- 3rd....As we waited and waited the event director inform us that he was giving $200 for 1st, $100 for 2nd and $50 for 3rd a far cry from the stated prize pool. After tempers flared and negotiating in sued, Will's wife managed to beef up the winnings slightly to cool everyone down. 

   All in all, I am the most satisfied I have ever been with my running, even though I am not setting PR's I love the joy I get from heading outdoors to get in a solid run. My training consist of 4 days of running 2 days of lifting and 2 days of cycling, which provides plenty of overall fitness. My stated goal of this blog being "Sub 15minutes for a 5k" has obviously been lost in the mix for those of you who know me. After having injury issues, the two main races that were my targets to optimistically get as close to sub 15 as possible were wiped away leaving no other options essentially as the collegiate season is over. Looking back, if I had known that the CRC would be putting on a 5k during the track series I could have refocused to at least set a new PR in the event but we can't look back and say "I wish I had...".  

   

One person that I really would like to point out as my saving grace with my running is my fiancé' Karin Helmbrecht. If any one that is reading this blog right now knows Karin, they know that she is not a racer or a competitive person, she essentially runs to stay fit and to be healthy with a few random races here and there. Karin has allowed me to kind of refocus my life to different areas and not put near the time into running, which allows me to enjoy other aspects of life that I have been missing out on. I have found that I can still be competitive locally after redefining my training to a format that allows the most bang for the buck so to speak. Looking ahead onto my long term goals for the year, I am going to compete in my first NYC marathon along with Karin and I would really like to run a decent time with soaking up the full personality of the race it self. Some days doing lunges or squats really take the spark out of my legs but I have to think long term and injury free. As life goes along, priorities change and one of my priorities is to grow stronger as a person with her as we take steps towards a better future, which may in fact not involve an extensive amount of running.

   Thank you to anyone who took the time to read my blog, even after a 3 month hiatus. I have no plans for racing past the Ultimate runner in Winston Salem on June 30th and look forward to just seeing where the wind takes me. As I have been doing nearly every Sunday, I will be enjoying a longish trail run with no watches, no goals, no pace, just running to be free. One of the key aspects that I fail to do within my blog is to give a "shout out" to those who have helped me out along the way and I plan to change that as my blog will be evoking despite the title.

  Karin Helmbrecht, thank you for helping me take a step back to take a step forward in life, Scott Greenapple, thanks for always being a supportive/ healing person I can talk to about my athletic pursuits, Jamey Yon, thanks for giving the basic insight to achieving goals that could almost seem unattainable, Mary Jane Lamperski, thank you for always being around and pushing me towards success. and to TrySports for being a great outlet to the world of endurance.