My “rest” week ended up running two fast races this week! I was also surprised that I ran so few miles this week because I felt like I ran quite a few days! Just short distance 🙂 Here’s what went down….
- Miles run = 18
Monday – Rest day after Columbus half! Did lots of thinking about what I want to do for the rest of the year. How I should recover? How I need to get back on track for PT exercises to I can kick hamstring issues to the curb forever? Also, debloating (is that a thing?) from all of the White Castle sliders I ate yesterday. Oof.
In case you missed it – Columbus Half Marathon recap.
On the gear side, I’m going through a shoe crisis. I love my Kinvaras, but I just feel like I’m burning through them. And, I got a serious case of shoe lust when I tried on the Nike Vaporfly shoes at the Columbus expo. On the plus side, I won’t be running as many miles now that training is done, but I’m on the lookout for something different!
Tuesday – Rest day! I had big plans to wake up a little early and walk on my treadmill, enjoying a movie, but I forgot to set the alarm. Oops. I did end squeezing in one mile walking on the treadmill before work, but that was it. I did no PT, and I just camped on the couch and watched a movie all night. Chillaxing! Isn’t it funny that a cat can find the only piece of clothing in the whole room and lay on it?
Wednesday – 3 miles. My morning started off right with some PT/glute/hamstring/core exercises. Amazing what can happen when you set your alarm properly 🙂
At night we went to the Toledo Roadrunners Officers Fall Bash. A low cost night of running, eating, and of course drinking. The race was only 3 miles, but my overall pace was 8:24. Whoohoo! I was happy with that effort.
There was a bit of confusion with the awards and I may have received either first in age group, or female grand masters (!!)! I think it was age group – btw, doesn’t female grand masters sound like a lady from Hogwarts?? Regardless, I got a nice award. Cozy blanket and shirt!
Thursday – 3.15 trail miles. Had a great morning with my husband. We ran around the park where the leaves were turning colors, and then went out for breakfast. Perfect way to start my day!! And no, we don’t coordinate our outfits before we head out for a run. LOL!
Other SUPER DUPER exciting news… my daughter got her first car! It’s a hybrid. I’m soooooooo jealous of the gas mileage this gets. 50+ MPG! This beauty should last her a long time. Can you believe this has 77,000 miles on it?? It’s MINT. My husband was thrilled to find it after weeks of searching.
Friday – 6.2 miles, trails. Went to another park for a run. Tried to keep my heart rate in zone 3 and this run took forever. Still, it was a beautiful morning!
These deer scared the bejesus out of me when they were on the path!
Saturday – Rock’tober virtual 5K! (5 miles total) I will admit, when I saw the shirts for this race I really wanted one. The Rock’tober race always has cool shirts!
But I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to drive to the race. It is a local race, but after the half last week I didn’t want to get in the crowds again. So, I opted for the virtual race! This is a new option for this RunToledo race. I could have also run the 10K. I warmed up, then ran my 5K on a new street near me. The street was so new (newly paved) that I did notice it was closed *after* I ran on it, and I had to dodge a few crews working on it. HAHA!
But hey, it made me speedy 🙂 I was super happy with my time on this race. This was my fastest 5K this year.
Sunday – Rest day.
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
Hope you had a good week! Let’s chat…
Q: Have you ever run a race just for the shirt?
I know a lot of people like the medals, but I’m a sucker for a good race shirt!
Q: Do you have a pair of Vaporfly shoes??
Several of my friends do. I keep seeing new ones pop up on my media feeds!
Q: Have you ever run a Virtual race?
I’m pretty sure I’ve run races for the shirt but for the life of me I can’t remember which ones! Nice job on your races this week and congrats on that female master’s award. I got that in a race in Alabama last month–I had never heard of it but hey, I’ll take it!
Exactly – I’ll take an award no matter what it’s called. haha! I think it’s a RCAA thing. I always see that title come up at our Toledo Roadrunners club events.
I have never done a virtual race. I have many friends who have, but it’s just not my thing. Can’t get excited by it. But you did great so well done!
Cats are funny creatures all around. Good thing that they’re so lovable.
My car has almost 75,000 miles. It’s also 19 years old. It definitely doesn’t look mint, but looks fairly good considering its age since we lived in the south so long (no salt!). Congrats to your daughter! That must be nerve wracking for you guys, though.
My car has 87,000 and it looks pretty good. I was shocked to learn how much used cars cost. I figured we could get one for $2,000. Nope, those were all disasters waiting to happen. Terrible condition. My next car will probably have some hybrid feature to it. My gas mileage sucks compared to a lot of new cars.
Off to read your recap, I missed that one.
And yes,definitely sounds like it’s Hogwarts. Would be a fun medal
Definitely team shirt > medal. In fact when my medal hanger fell off the wall earlier this year I only bothered re-hanging the NYC ones that got me 4/6 and the NYC Half.
Haven’t done any virtual in a while though – they were helpful when I needed the motivation to get out the door and run.
I do have a medal rack but my husbands have just been piling up on his desk. We need to get him a rack! I always take my medals to work on Monday. It forces my coworkers to ask me about my race. haha!!
I wouldn’t say that I’ve run a race *just* for the shirt, but if I’m on the fence about a race, the shirts have definitely been a factor. Medals are nice, but you can’t (well you can but most of us don’t) wear them after race day.
I switched from Saucony to Brooks launch last year. The Sauconys were done after 300 miles but the Brookies are still strong @ 500 and work better for my feet. If I was in a position to win a race or going for a Boston qualifier or something big like that I’d definitely consider the Vaporfly.
My daughter runs in Brooks Launch. I should borrow them for a run and give them a try! I do really like the test shoes from Brooks I got. I would buy them when they go into production in the spring. Luckily they are holding up well so I’ve been wearing them a lot again. But they are white. White just isn’t my favorite color at all for shoes!
I have always lusted after the Frank Lloyd Wright 10K shirt. They always have a cool design based on a FLW design. I finally got around to signing up a couple of years ago and was so disappointed in the shirt design that year. To make matters worse, when I washed it, it shrank up to a child’s size. I was so pissed I just skipped the race entirely. I actually do have a pair of Vaporflys that I bought from a friend who didn’t like them. I think there is something to the carbon fiber plate but I don’t think I’m fast enough to get a lot of benefit.
Ugh, that figures about the shirt! When I qualified at Erie in 2014 they had a lame race shirt which I actually wear to bed because it was too big. Bummer. Lucky you on those shoes! I’m still kicking myself. The expo had the Vaporflys for $200 out the door pricing. That’s a deal!
I have run races for medals and other swag for sure! Can’t really remember what they are now though lol. That is a speedy 5K congrats!
Shirts are such a tricky part of the race too – the fit varies so much between brands, and mens/womens cuts. Sometimes I think that’s the hardest part of directing a race. You have to take all of the heat if people don’t like the shirts!
I’m so not someone who cares about the race swag although I was super pumped when I ran the Vermont 100 on 100 Relay and found out we got long sleeve half zip tech shirts. I love it!
I need to run a trail race where I get a hooded sweatshirt. That would be a big sell for me 🙂 Or a jacket! Quarter zip would be a big draw for me too!
I used to be a Nikey gal before I got introduced to Mizunos (and later, Brooks). I have often thought of going them another try (I wore the Structure).
I did get a new pair of Saucony ISO Freedom, because I was told they are similar to Kinvaras, but with a “tougher” sole. I’m not sold on them yet, but I haven’t run in them. New shoes should just spark joy when you try them on, right?
I have the Vaporfly’s but am only wearing them for races, since they only last for 200-ish miles!
That’s what everyone has told us so far about them! I’m starting to think I should be saving my Kinvaras because they feel worn out after 200 miles too! ugh. So far the Vaporflys have been getting good reviews from all of my friends that have them. I’m wondering if there is a lower cost model which has similar (obviously stepped down) concepts which could be worn weekly.
200 miles? Wow, I can get 700-800 out of my Newtons.
Too bad the lugs keep falling off my Newtons!!
You know I love my Brooks so I will say go for them. I think I’ve run 1 virtual run? Not a fan of them. And no I’ve never run a race just for the shirt. Congrats on your 5k!!
I didn’t really think I was going to “race” my virtual race, but once I got going I really gave it my best! I just hope the shirt fits. I’ll be getting it in a few days 🙂
See – and you and Sydney thought I was just being picky when looking for a car. Just have to be patient and wait until the perfect one comes along.
You did a great job shopping around and finding this winner!
I haven’t done a virtual race in a while but when I did them I usually picked ones that benefited charity. That always gave me an extra push to actually go out an do the run!
I’m loving that Rocktober shirt – so cool! I basically love anything besides a basic short sleeve t-shirt, lol.
Shirts are such a great advertising resource for the race when you think about it. They need to make sure it’s a winner people want to wear!
I did a virtual race one year by almost accident – it was a Christmas themed 10k that got snowed off so they allowed us to run the distance and send in some kind of proof and they sent us out our medals. I’m doing a marathon thing between Christmas and 6 Jan where you prove you’ve run the distance between the dates and get bling, but you also donate to charity, which is fun.
I like that they still wanted you to run the distance instead of just mailing out the medals! Even though I worked packet pickup for the Rocktober race I have to wait for the medal and shirt to be mailed to me. Anticipation!! I do like getting mail, so at least I have that to look forward to 🙂
I forgot to mention – Rocktober goes to a great charity “Racing for Recovery” which provides help for substance abuse. A very worthy cause!
I haven’t done a race just for the shirt, but I get more excited about a good shirt than a medal. Although often times I feel like the shirt it is a let down because it ends up not fitting well or not being good quality. Congrats on your race!
mmmm white castle sliders…
your cat is adorable. and I agree. though with my black british short hair, it’s shoes. she needs to lay in shoes…
congrats on your award, no matter what category it is! ha!
I haven’t run a race just for the shirt, but defintely for the medal(s)!
I do not have vaporflys and I don’t think I ever would buy something like that. They will never make me fast enough to make a difference! but I could see my husband wanting them. Luckily I have 3 local friends who work for Nike and we can get a discount!
I have never run a virtual race!
Since the Vaporflys are so recognizable, I’ve been having fun counting the number of people I see wearing them at races!! Not that I’m obsessed with them or anything. haha
That blanket and shirt for the age group award are great! I don’t think I’ve ever run for the shirt but I usually don’t see the design until really close to the race anyway. I do enjoy virtual races, it’s so much more convenient then having to drive somewhere specific for the race. But at the same time, I miss the exciting race day atmosphere. So I guess there’s pros and cons to both sides.
The blanket is really awesome – it’s soft and made out of sweatshirt material. So warm! Now I need to keep my kids from stealing it.
I actually did a virtual Turkey Trot last year just for the shirt so I could wear it to our local Thanksgiving morning 5K.