Time Trial Success

Hey everyone!  This past Friday I ran a 5k time trial out on the cross country course at McAlpine Park here in Charlotte, NC.  I wanted to see what type of shape I was in after 6 weeks into my new training cycle.  But it was 80 degrees and 85% humidity (75 degree dew point) the morning of my time trial, not exactly the conditions I would want to try and run fast in.    But then I figured, "hey not all races will have perfect conditions either", so I would just give it my best and take whatever it gave me.

My Mom, Dad, little brother and sister all went with me to McAlpine to cheer me on for my time trial.  My Dad rode his bike around and gave me my splits at each kilometer, while Mom, Bryce and Rose wandered around to see me at different points and cheer.  I really appreciated all their support.  It felt different doing my time trial on a Friday because I normally race or time trial on a Saturday.   I wonder if that helped me or not but I know I wasn’t nervous like I normally am before a race.  I felt calm and confident, like I just knew I was going to run good.  It was an awesome feeling, almost super-hero-ish. J

My Dad helped me adjust my expectations for the heat and we decided on a goal pace of about 3:35 per kilometer or a little faster and maybe be 5 seconds quicker on the first kilometer to bank the time I’d probably give back in the 3^rd kilometer when you have the big (and only) hill to deal with. ;-)   When I finished my warm-up I was already drenched with sweat, well I guess I should be prepared to get wet on a day like this.

Then I reviewed my plan in my head, got to the starting line, and smiled, this time trial was going to rock!  Then I started;  the first kilometer was good, I felt a little uncomfortable but thought,” it’s a 5k of course I’m going to feel uncomfortable, no big deal.”  I went through in 3:27 – perfect!  The next kilometer was harder but I made sure I kept my foot on the gas and stayed aggressive and went through the second k in 3:28, absolutely perfect, I was ahead of pace!  On the straightaway leading up to the hill I mentally prepared myself to attack the hill.  It was my turn to be the predator and not the prey that the hill can often turn people into.    So I did attack the hill but the following downhill was a little scary, with all the ruts in it, but I still managed to run a 3:38 kilometer for k number 3, not bad with big hill and given the extra few seconds I banked in the first 2k.  Man though, that hill takes a lot out of you, making that 4^th kilometer tough.  But I knew I was starting to slow down some, so I pushed as best I could and hit 3:37 for the 4^th kilometer.  I was a little discouraged with that splits but then my Dad challenged me to try and a 3:30 last kilometer; I liked that so I took off and pushed it.    My chest felt a little tight from the humidity but I wasn’t going to let anything keep me from getting a 3:30 that last kilometer.   As I ran around the lake and hit the 3 mile point, I took off and tried to sprint in the last 200 meters as best I could, which is very hard to do at the end of a fast 5k.  I pushed all the way until I hit the finish line.  I had run 17:40 for the 5k cross country time trial on a hot muggy Charlotte summer morning.  I was SO happy.  Plus I had run the last kilometer in 3:29, I had met the challenge …. HA!

After that successful time trial I can’t wait to attack my next 6 weeks of training until the Virginia Beach Half Marathon.  And then see what I can do at McAlpine again later in the fall.  But first, Virginia Beach here I come! J

I Just Love Summer

 Maddy and me

Hey everyone!  I hope you are having an awesome summer like I am.  I have been having a great time but it’s already July, man time fly’s when you are having fun.

This summer I started a new training cycle and now running 11 times a week for a total of 78-80 miles per week.  The humidity is bad, but that is pretty typical for this time of year in the south.  So we are adjusting my training paces for the weather conditions and I continue my training as normal.  Everything is going really well so far, and I’m already on my 5^th week of this new cycle.  I’m incredibly happy with how well everything has been going considering the weather.  Definitely my best summer of training ever.  Next week, I am going out to McAlpine Park to run a 5k time trial on cross country course to see where my fitness level is at so far in this new training cycle.  I am really looking forward to that.  It’ll be just me, the trail, and if I am the first person on the course: spiderwebs!  Ha Ha!  It’s okay though, I’ll be moving so fast I won’t even feel it.   Definitely a great summer of running so far!  Go running!

On a different topic, I have also been doing some volunteering this summer.  I have been volunteering at the Speech Garden, which is a speech therapy camp.  My little sister, Rose, is going to the camp, so I decided to go and volunteer and help out.  I am so glad I did that too.  I just have the best time watching and helping the kids.  So far I have been helping out in the younger kids classes.  The kids are just adorable and I always look forward to days when I volunteer.  I have been volunteering 2 days per week and on the other days I miss playing with and seeing all my little friends.  With Rose being 6 and getting ready to turn 7 later this summer, I miss getting to play with younger kids.   I forgot how tiny and cute they are.  I’ll be helping out for another 2 more weeks and know I’ll miss the guys when I’m done volunteering there.

The last week in July and the first week in August are coming up fast.  I am pretty excited about it but can’t say the same for my parents.  During those 2 weeks I’ll be taking Driver Ed.  That right everyone, I’m gonna learn how to drive!  How is that for exciting?!   This going to high school thing just keeps getting better and better. J

Another fun thing I did this summer was meet a talented young runner name Maddy from Austin, TX.  Maddy is running the Jr. Olympics this summer in TX and is doing great.  She has a big meet coming is in New Orleans in a few weeks, that I know she will do great in.  Maddy and her parents were in Charlotte this past week and met with my dad and I to talk about kids and running (my favorite subjects).  We had a great talk with them and enjoyed meeting them.  Maddy and I got to take a walk around and chat while our parents talked, she is just the sweetest girl, I had a great time meeting her.  Good luck in New Orleans Maddy!

Well, I definitely having a great summer this year and hope you are as well.  Now on to high school and that means school supply shopping!  Yay for shopping!!!

My Awesome Adventure In Albany

Joan & I at the School Visitation

Hey everyone, as you may know, I spent June 2^nd -5^th in Albany, NY, for the Freihofer’s Run for Women 5k.  Going to Albany was an incredible adventure and I had an amazing time there.  I had so many awesome experiences while there that I just had to tell you all about.  The hotel I stayed at was just down the street from the capitol building, which was really cool to look at on walks being it was an older style of building than what I would normally see in Charlotte.  Right across the street from the capital building was an office building park that they held the awards for the race on and some running events for the smaller children.  The park was really cool with a lot of abstract sculptures on it, one even looked like a turtle on stilts, and it was hilarious.  There was also a building in the park that kind of looked like a sideways egg, it was a very cool building to just look at, everyone loved it and it even was on our race t-shirts, which were bright green by the way and all of the words and pictures on it were pink, talk about a fabulous shirt.  I will defiantly wear it for as long as I can, it matches my bedroom so that adds a level of awesomeness to it J. On Friday, I went to Bethlehem Central Middle School, where I had the privilege of talking with some of the students alongside Joan Benoit Samuelson.  Oh my gosh was that special, I was nervous when I had to answer questions because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to focus since I was watching Joan the whole time wondering if it was a dream or not.  I had a blast though, Joan was so nice and is a fun person to hang out with.  I was able to get my picture with her and I think I’m going to print it out and hang it on my wall with all of my running posters so I can always remember that moment forever and ever. 

After that amazing honor I went back to the hotel to go to the press conference for the race.  It was super exciting being there with so many amazing professional female runners.  I sat at a table with some of the master’s women, Joan Samuelson, Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, Lisa Harvey, and Lori Kingsley.  They were all super nice and I enjoyed sitting next to them and chatting.  During the expo George, the director of the race, presented Victoria Michalek, the oldest runner of the race, and I our race numbers.  Our numbers each were our age so my number was 14, how cool is that!  That night for dinner my dad and I ate with Lori and got to know her better, she is a great, friendly person, who is a joy to be around. 

start line less than a minute before the start

The next morning at the race I was trying to decide where to do my warm-up, when Carmen told me of a cool place to run down the street.  As I headed down the street I saw Benita Willis going down as well.  So I was able to do my warm-up where amazing runners do theirs as well, that totally pumped me up.  At the end of the race down the final straight-away I was super tired and was having trouble kicking in.  Lori was right in front of me and saw that I was having trouble so she in courage me to kick in to the finish.  At the end of the race I was a little upset with how my race went, but Lori was right there to cheer me up.  For that I am very grateful, Lori will always be a great friend to me.  After the race my calf was a little tight and sore, so I got a massage therapist to work on my legs, it was awesome. I have never gotten a massage before, so it was really cool.  That afternoon I had lunch with Dulce Rodriguez and even though she didn’t speak a lot of English and I defiantly didn’t speak much, if any, Spanish, she was still great to sit with. She is incredibly nice and it was cool to sit next to a three time Olympian.

The whole time I was there the hotel had breakfast, lunch, and dinner for us.  I enjoyed it because they always had doughnuts and cookies, aw the joy of having the race’s major sponsor being a baking company (Freihofers).  The doughnuts were SOOOO amazing, I brought a box home with me. Yummy!.

 I had an amazing experience while at Albany and I want to thank everyone who was part of the race so much for an amazing time there, everyone was very nice and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.     

What's Going On

(my doggy Jake)



Hey everyone!  I hope everyone has been having a great summer so far.  I just wanted to give you all an update on what has been going on lately around here.

First of all, the recent June issue of Running Times has an amazing article in it written by Jonathan Beverly that I think many of you would like.  It is called "Let The Kids Run", and it has the truth about children and mileage.  You guys should check it out, I really liked it.  Also there is a podcast available on the Running Times website where I describe my weekly training schedule.  Very weird to here my voice on a podcast!

Second, I have to say I am VERY excited.  On Saturday (June 4th) I am going to be racing in the Freihofer's Run for Women 5k in Albany, NY.  I was lucky enough to be invited up to run in it and will be flying up on Thursday.  So it's not very long before we leave!  On Friday I get to take part in their athlete visitation program and go with other invited athletes to talk to kids at local schools about big healthy and living a healthy life style.  That will be so much fun, I can't wait!  My training has been going very well and so I am really looking forward to that race on Saturday as well.  It will be fun to spend the weekend in Albany!

I hope everyone has a great week and hopefully I will have a new blog up next Monday to tell you all about how the weekend went. :)

Track 10k - Here I Come

Last Friday afternoon, April 29^th, I went to Radford University for a track 10,000 meters race.  I was so excited because this was my first track 10k.  I couldn’t wait to see how fast I could go for 10k when it was on a perfectly flat course (a track).  The ride in the car took over 3 hours and it was horrible because I wanted to get there so badly.  I was so glad when we finally arrived and I could walk around and get out of the car.  My Dad and I went and got me checked into the meet and picked up my number to wear.  I think it’s so cool to be in races that require a hip number, just like in the major track meets I see on TV.

As we waited for time for the 10k to begin, I watched some of the long jump.  It was amazing how far they can jump and how coordinated you have to be in order to do that event.  I would never make it as a long jumper, I don’t have that type of coordination.  But it was very cool to watch. 

When it was time for me to warm-up, I jogged around a big grass field and listened to some new music I had just downloaded to my MP3 player.  Country music always gets me in the mood to race.  Love me some country music. J   Then I did some strides, switched into my racing flats (Mizuno Ronins), and did my drills.  I was starting to get into the “zone”.    As I entered the track my head started to fill up with different things to do during the race to help me and butterflies started to flutter their way across my stomach.  I met the other competitors, then went to the starting line and pushed the nerves aside, it was time to race!  

When the gun went off, I immediately took the lead and tried to get right into pace.  In a 25 lap race its best to try to get comfortable in your pace as quickly as you can.  There was a hard wind against us on the back straightaway and turn but I didn’t think too much of it the first few laps.  I was able to stay right on goal pace for the first 2 miles, but then the effects of the wind started to take hold.  You had to push the pace into the wind to keep from slowing down and then push again with the wind in order to make up any lost time, all of this made hard for me to get into a sustainable rhythm.  I remember my legs hurting more after each straightaway with the wind then they did before it.  I was able to keep the pace from falling off to much but realized that this probably wasn’t the day I would break 36 minutes.  During the last mile I pushed as best I could and practiced not thinking about how tired I was getting but rather concentrating on one lap at a time.  I used little things to help distract me from the fatigue of the race, like the guy on the infield offering cups of water to the runners as we passed by and how annoyed he looked that I never took any (sorry dude but it was only a 10k).  With 600 left I started pushing as hard as I could and on the last turn I gritted my teeth and give it everything I had left.  I came across the finish line in first place in 36:14, a new stadium record.  Not bad for a debut. J

Off To College I Go!

This Sunday night, April 17^th, I went up to High Point University to get in a fast 5K on the track.  When we arrived to the campus that afternoon I was taken away by how beautiful the campus was.  As we made our way to the track, I stared out the window the whole time looking at the university campus. 

When we parked at the track and got out I was bursting with excitement about how perfect the day was. When we went into the stands I was amazed by the track it looked awesome and I couldn’t wait to run on it.  My dad and I then went to check in at the tent.  I found out that I was assigned lane 1.  Everything was going perfect.  As we headed back to the stands we ran into Caitlyn, Jordan, and Meagan, I was really happy since I did not know that they would be there.  After talking with them for a little while we saw Jenna and were able to say “Hi”, since she was busy running around doing a great job of running the meet.

We watched some of the races and cheered for the runners.  Then I saw my grandma and gave her a hug.  I was excited to see her and on top of that, it was her birthday.  After talking with her for a while, I went and started my warm up for the race.

I went to final check in and picked up my lane number.  I went onto the track, switched my shoes, and put the number on, as my excitement was building.  I went onto the infield and did my strides and drills as nerves mixed into my excitement.  Then we got lined up, the announcer called us to the line and the gun fired.  We went off and Meagan took the lead getting me off on pace.  The first mile went very smoothly with Megan pacing me, we hit 5:20, right on plan.  I am very grateful to her for driving to High Point to pace me for the first mile.  But soon after I started getting tired as I got deeper into the race.  Laps 8, 9, & 10 were really hard as I struggled not to slow down.  I hit 2 miles in 10:51.  With 600 meters to go I pushed to speed up.  I was 16:28 at 3 miles and then the last 200 meters was really tough, but as I rounded the turn into the final straight away I saw my little sister Rose trying to get on the track, this made me smile and I sprinted with all I had left.  I crossed the line at 17:06, a new PR for me and I got the win.  It was not as fast as I had hoped, but when you give all you got and get a new PR and win, you cannot complain. 

I was given a bouquet of flowers for winning.  I gave them to my grandma, because I got the PR on her birthday.  I was so excited that I got a PR, that I texted a friend as soon as I got to the car.  The meet was amazing and I had a wonderful time.  What an awesome start to Spring Break!

A New PR For Me!

Last Saturday, March 26^th, I ran a 5K on the track at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC.  The Charlotte Running Club (CRC) was trying to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest 100 by 5K relay.  I was lucky enough to run a leg of the relay, because who would not want to break a world record.  When I arrived it was raining and cold, I wasn’t happy about this.  The past 3 weekends had been beautiful, what happened, why did it have to rain this weekend, why not next weekend? As I stepped out of the car I could see the tents set up for timing and hanging out in.  After I said hi to my dad, who had come out earlier to support all of his runners, I went to the press box to keep warm and dry.  I got to chat with Caitlin, Aaron, and John and watch a few of the runners complete their legs of the relay.  Then my dad came up to let me know it was time to warm up.  As I did my warm up, I just kept getting more and more excited.  As I did my drills and got ready to go to the starting line felt pumped.  I was not nervous at all!

Once I grabbed the baton, I took off.  The adrenaline I felt over took me the first lap and ran too fast (74 – Yikes!).  But who wouldn’t be super excited?  After the first lap was able to get back on pace, I enjoyed having people cheering for me every 200 meters as well as Megan, Jordan, and Catlin cheering from the infield.  It really helped me keep going when I would get tired.   About halfway through I started to feel that first lap and started feeling tired.  Mike Kahn was able to help me keep pushing through the pain when he ran across the field with a boom box blasting; the sudden noise scared me and I jumped out of my skin which gave me a jolt to keep going.  As the laps continued to click off, I could feel myself slowing down slightly, so I intentionally pushed harder as the rain kept coming down.  With 600 to go I gave another big push, kicking up water as I when making my butt and back wetter than it already was.  With one lap left I heard the bell and everyone cheering, I sprinted hard to the finish and handed off the baton.  I was so glad I did not drop the baton.  When my dad told me I had gotten a PR, I was ecstatic.  I thought if I could run 17:08 (17:09.1 officially) on an asphalt track by myself and in the pouring rain, just think what I could run on a good day with competition.  They race got me wanting to run a race on the track to see if maybe I could break 17:00 for a 5K in my next race.