All things Running
The before, during & after
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There is nothing more satisfying than being able to cherish and celebrate the one aspect of life you love the most with others. Yep, this past Saturday was my Albany Running Exchange racing team debut at one of the best races in the area: the Freihofer's Run for Women 5k. A little background on the event, Freihofer's itself [founded in 1913] is a baking company that focusses on providing the freshest, purest, ingredients in their baked goods. The company features sliced breads, specialty breads, buns, rolls, croutons, and sweet goods such as donuts and their famous chocolate chip cookies (SO MUCH GLUTEN). This year marked the 39th year that the company has been hosting a women's only 5k in the the Capital City (Albany, NY). The course features an uphill start from the Capital building itself, leading into and around Albany's beautiful Washington Park, and loops back around to finish where it begun; right next to the Capital Building. The run as I stated before is a women's only event, and thousands of women of all ages and abilities come to compete alongside many of the country's greatest long distance runners (including Joan Benoit, Sara Hall, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Katie Matthews, Meghan Peyton, etc.). In addition to the main event, the weekend events also include a Health & Fitness expo held at the Sage College of Albany and a Kids Run series. The 5K used to be an International event, however a few years ago that aspect of the race was altered to encourage more American pros to come to the area and race. Oh and of course at the expo you're handed a full box of Freihofer's famous chocolate chip cookies and a huge loaf of bread...again...so..much...gluten. I'm # 177 in this picture, right next to #6Women in this event have been racing it for YEARS and when I first moved to the Albany area all the females I had met constantly mentioned that I HAD to run Freihofer's, and that it's a race I surely would not regret. Needless to say they were correct -- this might just be one of my favorite races I had ever attended and raced ...besides the pain I endured (we will get to that). I would be lying if I said I wasn't nauseous Friday night and Saturday morning before the race. I don't think I had even been this nervous before my Half Marathon last October and I thought I wasn't even going to cross the finish line during that race. The nerves were going wild, and as always I questioned if I was really prepped for this race. Sure, it's not a race I was expected to win by any means so I wasn't racing for any prize money, but the weekend prior I had just ran 19:55, so Saturday's big stressor was: "Am I really a sub 20 5K runner? Can I stay consistent?". As a competitive athlete, I am always doubting myself however Saturday I found the slightest bit of confidence in my head. I was ready to go sub 20 once again and shoot for a new PR. The goal was to go out in 6:20-6:25, maintain through mile 2 and then explode as I exit the park finishing the last mile with everything that I possibly had left. Well that plan SORT OF played out... not surprised I actually went through the first mile in 6:15 and quickly died from there. The course is rolling inclines and it's quite difficult once you get going. After hitting mile 2 I could not WAIT to be done to be honest. At the 2 mile mark I checked out my Garmin and my pace had dropped to about 6:34 and I immediately started to panic. Extremely fatigued and in pain, and slightly nauseous, I thought I was done. I kept repeating the phrase in my head: " find your groove", something my old coach would remind me of the morning of a race. Well I never really found that groove but I managed to find a kick instead. I passed a sign that had said "800 meters to go" and I gave it everything I had left. I watched as the clock time increased... 19:30...19:35...19:40...19:41... I had to finish before 19:55, I just had to. I saw 19:44 pop up and I just flew, even if I fell I was going to PR, I had to. I crossed the line 61st overall out of 2,768 females, 10th in my age group, 6th overall for the team, and with a time of 19:49 - a new PR! I was overwhelmed in excitement and I couldn't wait to meet up with my teammates and my mother who had driven down to come watch. It was overall a great day! Our A team had placed 3rd overall, the C team (my team) placed 5th and our B team placed 6th overall, and we surely lucked out with weather. (Me and Sara Hall to the left). The first place finisher was California's own Sara Hall (total babe by the way). For those of you who don't know Sara is the wife of Olympic marathoner and American half marathon record holder Ryan Hall; the first US runner to beat the 1 hour barrier in the half marathon. Sara herself has had countless successes in track events including the 1500 indoors and the 3000m steeplechase outdoors. She is also a two-time world team member for the US at the world indoor track and field championships. She crossed the finish line in 15:49. Oh AND I got to meet her which completely made my day, she's such an inspiring woman and gave a fantastic speech about running can empower females and how strong we are as female athletes. I have nothing to complain about what-so-ever, I am still in shock that I am running sub 20 5K's!! Looking forward to this week with having the OK5K on Saturday in Kinderhook, I am excited to see what my body brings to the table. The course is a fast rectangle so i'm looking to hopefully PR once again for the summer. It's exciting to see what is in store for me next, I am FINALLY beginning to feel like a pretty competitive runner and I feel so blessed to be running and representing a team of such beautiful, strong, competitive women (shout out to my ARE racing ladies). Well, until next time... Stay Green, Amanda
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February 2018
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