Out with the old, in with the new!

This time of year a lot of manufacturers are bringing out the latest models of running shoes.  For example, Brooks just brought out the latest model of adrenalines.  This means that for many manufacturers and models, this is the ONLY time you can get a discount on them.  

Running shoes are one of the most important pieces of equipment a runner can invest in.  Sure, you can have fancy running clothes but are they absolutely necessary or have an effect on how you run and any potential injuries?  Not so much.  Most running stores offer a grace period to try out a pair of shoes that can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 90 days, but keep in mind some stores may not offer this for shoes on clearance.

To make way for new models, stores need to make space by selling off the older models at a discount. Even if you're not ready for a new pair yet, it never hurts to have a pair on hand when the time comes if you know what model you like!  I'm only 146 miles into my latest pair, but because of a fantastic clearance deal at my local running store I now have a second pair lined up and ready to go when the time comes.  

So if you know what running shoes you like, now is the time to get another pair!  You can check out your local running store or even Shoekicker to look at the deals online.  

.US National 12k Race Recap

After last week's Across the Bay 10k, my Dad was inspired to race more.  Apparently he had also been eyeing the .US National 12k race in Alexandria, and when he after asked me if I wanted to do it I jumped at the chance.  I had been eyeing it too for the last couple of years since we moved back to the area.  Not only that, but despite it being a road race championship race for the USATF, it was a super small race compared to all the others I've run this season.  (The MCM10k was about 8,000 participants and the Across the Bay 10k was 25,000 although the staggered waves helped it was still pretty crowded.)  This one had 805 finishers for the 12k, but there were also a kid's fun run and a 1 mile run.  Everybody who finished got a SUPER big medal...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The packet came with a shirt, bib, parking information, a few brochures and safety pins.  (Another reason I decided to do this race--the shirt!  Love it.)

It reminds me so much of the Nike DC Half's shirt, but Old Town Alexandria themed!

As usual I put my gear out for the next morning.  I figured the more colorful I could make myself, the easier it would be for my husband to see me finish on the live feed.  (Yes, the race was live streamed over the internet!  Kind of exciting, and because of that along with last weekend's race, I gave my husband a free pass to stay home for this one.)  

Pretty sure I could have worn more pink, but I thought better of it.

Fortunately, this race was basically a 15 minute drive from my parents and parking was free in a nearby garage so race morning was ridiculously easy.  As I got ready my Dad threw a small bagel in the toaster for me and I put a quick smear of peanut butter on it and basically inhaled it before grabbing my usual bottle of caffeinated nuun.

Mmmm nuun and peanut butter on a mini bagel--the breakfast of champions!

The commute over was awesome.  It was SO easy getting through Old Town towards the waterfront, and since the garage was only open for the race there was a LOT of parking!  After the last couple races, I was eager to get to the portajohns so I told my Dad I would meet him there since he was having a hard time deciding what layers to take off before leaving the car.  (Note:  The garage was very warm compared to the outside.  It was in the low 40s, felt like the upper 30s, while the garage was at least 10 degrees warmer.)  Fortunately, there was hardly any line and soon we started looking around for the starting area.  And of course we took a few pictures of the Potomac en route since the race started by Oronoco Bay park.

Obligatory sunrise pre-race selfie!

The Potomac river at sunrise from Oronoco Bay Park

Although the finisher's party and portajohns were in Oronoco Bay Park, the race actually started and finished between the two Robinson terminal warehouses.  For this race, there were two sets of guns that went off--the first for the elite women at 7:45am, the second for the elite men and masters divisions and everyone else at 7:55am.  Before either gun went off and the National Anthem was played, there was a moment of silence for those who lost their lives in Paris on Friday evening.  

The first mile went really quick.  There were two hills--you basically go down one that is fairly steep, then up another that is more rolling as you pass the pathways to go to the Wilson Bridge and Jones Point Park.  I heard my watch beep just as I was passing the one mile marker, and I wasn't too surprised--it said 10:23.  Usually in races I end up starting pretty strong but over time drop back pretty significantly.  After that, the course was fairly flat.  When my watch beeped for mile 2, I was even more shocked--10:04?!  Negative splits?!  I kept being shocked with every mile marker beep on my watch.  One of the nice things about the race too was that there were several timing mats that you crossed throughout the race.  

That resulted in even more splits throughout the results and made it a little bit easier for me to view everything in terms of kilometers after that first mile.  After looking at this, I realized I completely blew my previous 10k time from the Across the Bay 10k out of the water--I was a full 90 seconds faster for this race than last weekend's race!  I couldn't (and still can't) believe it.   It even blows my 5k and 8k times away.  (My previous PR's being 32:52 for a 5k and 1:01:58 for an 8k.)

The course itself is gorgeous--it starts through Old Town going alongside the waterfront before two turns leading to Washington Boulevard which becomes the George Washington Parkway (site of the George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler put on by Pacers.)  The course itself is pretty flat except for two hills in that first (and last) mile.  I managed to get one picture during a walk interval (yes, those fantastic times included WALKING!)  Also since it was such a small race it was really easy to get around people when needed, even when the course squeezed down to one lane of traffic.  There were also technically four water stops--one fairly early on soon after the first mile marker, and another close to the turnaround.  After runners passed one side of the street, the volunteers simply moved to the other side and offered water and gatorade there.

Looking out towards National Harbor.

Another really cool perk to this race?  Getting to see the elites pass by and being able to cheer them on!  Getting to see Molly Huddle run past (and she had a strong lead on the rest of the elite women runners) was very cool!  She's the reigning women's champion of the race and has won it all three years since the race began and is training to run the 10k in next year's Olympics.  We also got to see the elite men go running past, but it was a much tighter pack of runners and it was hard to tell who had the lead.  (In the end, the men who won first and second place were milliseconds apart!)

At the end, we were given our finisher medals along with water, gatorade, bananas, granola bars and big blueberry muffins.  (My Dad and I passed on the muffins since my Mom stayed behind to work on some baked french toast. We definitely got water, bananas and granola bars though!)  The medals were HUGE!  

Probably my heaviest one yet!  

Across Oronoco Bay Park showing the DC Water Treatment Plant.

Overall, I would probably do the race again.  I love a small race especially after running so many large ones recently it was nice to run another small one.  Also the views were gorgeous along the course, and I'm a sucker for Old Town Alexandria.  I grew up in the area and it was wonderful to get to experience it in a different way.  I've done a few runs in the area (my favorite is very close to part of the course in fact) but actually getting to do a run with support is even better.  The race was super competitive and I credit that to helping me do so well.  My one con in regards to the race would be that there really isn't much swag, but with the great shirt and medal I'm willing to overlook it. 

My shirt, bib and medal!

Across the Bay 10k 2015 Race Recap

I was SO excited all year for this race.  In February I dragged my husband to the to get postcards with entry codes so we could register early.  I also signed up to volunteer at the starting line setup the second that registration opened up.  

I went to the expo last Friday and it was pretty similar to last year, only with more vendors.  This year some of the vendors included the Tube wearable waistband (with a race-specific design), Charm City Run, and Fleet Feet.  This year they had you get your bib, then you had to walk through all the vendors to go upstairs to get your shirt, at which point you got to walk back down and go through the official race store.  (This year you could buy finisher gear at the expo and avoid the long lines on race day!)  

The next morning I got to help setup the starting area, and it was so exciting to get a first look at everything!!  

The night before the race, my parents came up from Northern Virginia to stay the night because my Dad had registered for the race as well.  For some reason despite all preparation and reason, my race anxiety kicked in full force.  I had a hard time sleeping, and having a cat yelling at the door at 1am didn't help either.  She's normally a chatty cat, but it was odd for her meowing to be so insistent.  After my husband got up to see what was wrong, I got up to see why she was still complaining, and found that she was fine (naturally.)  After that I was dreading when the alarm went off at 5am.

That morning I was glad I had put a bottle of water with caffeinated nuun (this time in wild berry) in the fridge before going to bed.  I was definitely thirsty, and the caffeine helped wake me up for the race and I ate my usual pre-race luna bar in the car.  It took us about half an hour to get to our exit, and another 15-20 minutes to actually get to the stadium and parked.  I was in a hurry for us to get there, so I insisted we wait on using the bathroom until we get to the starting area since I knew there were a lot of portajohns.

Have I mentioned how nice it was that they overloaded the starting area with portajohns?  After having to be so strategic with a pre-race bathroom stop for the MCM10k, it was lovely to not have a line to use the bathroom before such a big race!!  

Just on the other side of the Northrup Grumman building there was a beautiful sight:  The sun rising over the bridge that we would soon be running over!

And of course did the obligatory pre-race selfie.

We then made our way to the starting area which was awesome.  (But then again, I'm a little biased since I helped put it together.)  

After the national anthem (which they announced they would be doing before most of the waves so almost everyone would be able to hear it) we were off!  The first mile was a breeze.  I looked down when my Garmin beeped signifying I had finished the first mile, and I was semi-shocked because it said 10:17!  I mostly brushed it off because I usually start races way too fast.  Which was proven by the second mile, which took 12:21.  This is also where the incline was the worst--the dreaded 3% incline.  I tried powering through it, but I knew I needed to pace myself so I ended up starting my walking intervals.  I didn't totally mind since it gave me a chance to enjoy the view and get some pictures!

I knew I would have a chance to catch up once the downhill part of the race started.  And for once, I was right!  My splits just kept getting better, despite having to dodge people taking selfies almost constantly along the bridge, especially when a cruise ship passed underneath.  (I was definitely glad the organizers banned selfie sticks!!!)

I kept an eye on my Garmin mostly to make sure it didn't mess up like it did during the MCM10k, but once I kept seeing the splits I thought "Wow, if I keep this up I am going to annihilate my PR!"  I couldn't believe it when I crossed the finish line and stopped my Garmin.  My finishing time was 1:06:30.  I had not only beat my previous year's time by over THREE minutes, I had beaten my overall 10k PR by two minutes.  I couldn't get to the medals fast enough.  I had worked my butt off for it, and it had finally paid off!  

I love this year's medal!  Right side out, the strap shows the Across the Bay logo and that it's the 2015 medal...

And the backside of the strap shows a Maryland flag pattern!

Added bonus:  This year's medal connects to last year's medal, and will connect to next year's medal as well!  (The plan is for the first 5 years to connect together.)

After getting my bag of snacks and bottle of water, I waited with my Mom for my Dad and my husband to finish (we all PR'd!)  We then visited the vendors in the finisher's area.  I got the obligatory bag of kettle corn from Calvert County Kettle Corn (just the perfect balance of sweet and salty) and picked up some freebies from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and entered a fundraising raffle they had for some fun prizes from the foundation, origin and a selection of local coffee.

Once we had seen all the vendors, we hopped onto the shuttle bus to go back to the stadium.  Just like last year, I was amazed watching the amount of people making their way across the bridge.  

Then we saw the sweeper vans and knew the race was almost over!

Cue the "Jaws" theme music!

Overall, I thought the race was very well run like last year.  I think they made some minor improvements like the availability of finisher gear at the expo, and I loved the shirt in comparison to last year.  

The front of the shirt

The back of this year's shirt

Even better--the pictures that were taken along the course are going to be available for FREE!!!  This is something that I love in a race since the photos can get expensive very fast.  (Usually to download a single picture it starts at $19.)  These photos should be available on Friday, and I can't wait to see them.  And yesterday I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me during my lunch break--video footage of me finishing the race!!  How cool is that to be able to see yourself finish a race?  My husband and I had a good laugh at his since you can see somebody trying to take a selfie as they're finishing.  

Overall, would I do this race again?  Absolutely.  And I would recommend it for anybody who wants to try the distance or wants a nearly guaranteed PR.  It's also a must run for anybody who grew up going to Delaware and Maryland beaches.  There is nothing like running over the bridge that strikes fear into the hearts of many a driver.  But PLEASE!!!  Be considerate to your fellow runners and don't just STOP in the middle of the course to take pictures.  And yes, that was probably me glaring at you from behind in your selfie.

Update on 12/12/15:  Interested in doing the 2016 Across the Bay 10k?  Use the coupon code AMBFRENCHH16 for $5 off registration!!

An excuse to eat Halloween Candy!?

Yes.  Seriously.  Hear me out though!  My husband and I have a HUGE bowl of Halloween candy leftover, because I'm still used to buying it at our old house where we had to buy 2 big bags of it just to last a couple hours.  (Our old street in southwest Virginia was a main through street, close to the high school so people from out in the boonies would park or drop their kids off at the high school and make their way down to our neighborhood.  We were lucky if our candy lasted until 8:00, and this was if we had started giving kids candy that wasn't intended for Halloween but still safe to eat...so some kids walked away from our place with Valentine's hearts.)  Now we live at the end of a nice, quiet cul-de-sac where we have dramatically fewer trick or treaters.  So much so, that we could've been fine with just one big bag of candy.  Because we are still trying to make a dent in this pile...

And for the most part, it's Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish.  (Fortunately/unfortunately my husband and I both like them a little too much.)  But an idea popped into my head Sunday as he and I were getting ready to head out for a 4 mile run together because I was feeling a little peckish but didn't want to eat a huge meal beforehand: Halloween candy for running fuel!

Yes.  I am advocating using leftover Halloween candy as a pre-run, mid-race snack.  Runner's World has recommended using gumdrops as a makeshift energy chew, and gummy bears (#22) for during long runs, races and as a post-run snack if you're not hungry.  Anybody who has run the longer Baltimore Running Festival races have seen the trays of candy corn spectators will give to runners.  Granted, Sour Patch Kids might not be the best idea...but Swedish Fish are pretty similar to gummy bears!  So I downed the packet of 5 fish on the drive to the park and drank a little water.  Normally I eat chews as a fuel source on long runs, and I got lucky in that my system treated the fish the exact same way.  

Little disclaimer here:  If you haven't tried fuel before on a run, DEFINITELY try it before when you know you'll be close to a bathroom.  Running is not always the most glamorous of sports, and testing different running snacks is one of those least glamorous times.  You never quite know how your stomach will react to a new food item while running.  A lot of it is just trial and error, like I mention in an older post about fuel.  

Final Prep for the Across the Bay 10k!

This morning I volunteered to help set up the starting area for the Across the Bay 10k.  It was hard work since we basically only moved fencing down the starting area (it was put in the wrong place) but it was totally worth it since I got an insider's look at the start of tomorrow's race!!

So here's what to expect tomorrow:
First, it sounds like there will be security as you board your bus to be sure you don't have any prohibited items (selfie sticks, backpacks, glass containers, weapons, facemasks, large flags and drones.)  Then the bus will whisk you away to Northrup Grumman, and drop you off in front of all these portajohns!!

Some are going to be moved to the bridge, but you get the idea.  There will be ample chances to use a bathroom before starting the race!  (But with 25,000 participants, definitely expect there to be lines.)

This is the other side of Northrup Grumman, facing the Chesapeake Bay.  There are more portajohns and the big blue barrels will have water to refill bottles before starting the race.  There are also several barrels like this along the route.

This is the view across from Northrup Grumman.  It's a great place for pre-race pictures!  Even on a rainy morning it was a gorgeous view.

The starting line!!!  (I helped attach it to the trusses before they lifted it up then strapped a bunch of panels with ads on them to the fronts.)  You'll pass underneath it after a bit of a chute with security fences on either side of the road.

This is the fencing I helped move.  This is after the starting line (facing towards the starting line.)  You won't want to get too close to the fencing because those cement bricks are big and HEAVY!

This also is about how much space you'll have for the rest of the race, as the race takes place on the eastbound side of the bridge which is just two lanes.  At some points it will get a little cramped for the water/bathroom stops along the bridge and for the EMTs.

Hope this helps anybody with pre-race jitters!  It sure helped me and it was actually kind of fun helping with setup for the race itself.  
See you all at the finish!  BEAT THE BRIDGE!!!