Charles Street 12 2016 Race Recap!

Training this summer was rough.  It was hotter for longer periods of time and the humidity and dew point did not help that at all.  But suffering through the weather was totally worth it for this race.

This was my second year running the Charles Street 12, and I must say this year I enjoyed it even more.  (Check out my race review for the 2015 Charles Street 12 here.)

As usual packet pickup was a breeze, and I was SO excited to get my B3 premium for making it to the third race in the series.  This year for women it was a gray Under Armour wrap up full zip sweatshirt with the race series logo embroidered on the front.

On the back on the right hip there is an embroidered Charm City Run logo.

Then for the Charles Street 12 both men and women received an Under Armour streaker quarter zip pullover.

The women's pullover is purple with a Charm City Run logo on the front.

And a ginormous Charles Street 12 race logo on the back!

Race morning was minimally stressful.  I used Parking Panda (use the link to get $5 for your first reservation) to purchase parking in advance in a lot close to the finish area, so that morning I just had to worry about getting to the garage and scanning the QR code for entry.  After getting my car in a spot it was just a short walk to the shuttle buses that take you to the Shops at Kenilworth, which was about a 15 minute ride.  I arrived at around 6:30 and before gun time I had the chance to use the portajohns twice before running into a few of my running friends and chatted with them before lining up.  And naturally had a chance for a pre-race selfie.

I was so excited to be rocking my Oiselle singlet for the first time!  (It was super comfy and worked well for the race.  In order to get one you have to join Oiselle's Volee running group.  Enrollment is open a couple times a year, and you can sign up to be notified when it opens.)

Soon after we lined up to get started.  (It started a little late this year because the announcements took a little longer than usual.)  I aligned myself right next to the 2:10:00 pacers and kept up with them for the first few miles.  Soon afterwards I lost sight of them and just accepted that I might catch up with them at a later point (which happened a couple of times.)  This year I focused more on enjoying the course and trying to beat the previous year's time.  In general, the course is pretty hilly with the worst hill being at the very beginning and at mile 2.5.

I usually run intervals, and made it a point to try and time them to walk up the hills.  (This is how I ended up losing the 2:10 pacers.)  I didn't take many pictures of the scenery despite the weather conditions being near perfect compared to last year.  It was in the upper 60s/lower 70s and the humidity and dew points were both low making it quite comfortable.

(Borrowed from the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang)

I managed to get a (somewhat blurry) picture of the Washington Monument.

(Remember folks: Don't take pictures while running.  It does not end well.)

By the time I had taken this picture I was starting to feel ready to be done.  (The Washington Monument is at about mile 9.75.)  I began thinking of the race in terms of "I've run 3 5k's and I have less than one left!!" and that helped get me a little extra motivation to keep pushing to the finish.  I also thought of the race in terms of my previous time (2:22:20) and realized I was well on my way to crushing it.  But by how much?  Thinking in those terms helped me push to the finish and made the promenade seem so much easier than the previous year.

This is the only other picture I took since it's one of my favorite places in all of Baltimore--the aquarium!  I definitely paused for this one.

When I crossed the finish line I immediately stopped and looked at my Garmin in shock.  It said 2:10:06!!  (My official time ended up being 2:10:03.)  I had absolutely crushed my previous year's time...but where were the pacers?  I had lost them long ago and somehow they managed to get seriously ahead of their stated finishing time!  (Sometimes this happens, which can be nice if you're able to keep up with them.)  Either way, I'm definitely not complaining about finishing a full 12 minutes before my 2015 time.

Afterwards I grabbed water, my medalS (one of the perks of doing the B3 race challenge is the extra medal), a box lunch (a turkey wrap, apple and cookie) and waited around for my friends to finish.  Soon after running into another Oiselle runner, I ran into one of my friends who knew where to find everybody else.  Soon we all waited for the final person in our group to finish and I mostly hung around to kill time since I knew traffic was going to be a mess.  In the meantime we caught up with one another and checked out some of the vendors since it was a gorgeous morning.  (I stocked up on lip balms from Horizon Plumbing since they're always awesome and they seem to offer different flavors at each event.  This time it was cherry!)

Overall, I really enjoyed this race again.  Charm City Run really knows how to put on a good race and the attention to detail is amazing.  There were tons of water stops (although like last year, they need to spread them out a little more evenly) and the on course support was great.  The race has a lot to offer runners in the way of amenities--bag check, pacers, an amazing premium and medal, ample portajohns pre-race, and after the race the food and water are easily and readily available.

I totally recommend this race.  It's challenging but doable (as you could see from the elevation chart above) and it goes through a lot of scenic, lesser known areas of Baltimore city (the college campuses you run by are gorgeous) and you get a great look at the Washington monument as you run along the cobblestone streets.

Sole of the City 10k Race Recap!

This was my second year running the Sole of the City 10k, which is the second race of the B3 race series.  (Here's my review of last year's race!)  Once again the premium for this race was fantastic!

I am loving this year's #soleofthecity10k shirt!! Can't wait for this weekend's race! It's going to be perfect weather too--mid 60s and sunny :) #charmcityrun #girlsrunfast #sweatpink

A photo posted by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on Apr 12, 2016 at 2:25pm PDT

This year the shirt was an Under Armour Twist Tech Hoodie in cobalt with the race logo printed on the back.  It actually ended up being a little heavy for the race itself since it was kind of warm that morning.  I ended up wearing this Charm City Run tech t-shirt I found while out thrifting a few weeks ago along with my usual Athleta Be Free Knickers.  (I also had a sweatshirt that I tossed to my husband before I made my way to the starting area.)  As usual my pre-race breakfast consisted of cherry limeade nuun and a peanut butter dark chocolate chunk luna bar.

I always love when the national anthem is sung at Maryland races.  Why so oddly specific?  For those of you who have never raced in Maryland, this is the fun part...

National Anthem start! #SoleOfTheCity10K #CharmCityRun

A video posted by Charm City Run (@charmcityrun) on Apr 16, 2016 at 6:30am PDT

This happens at every single race in Maryland as a shout out to the Orioles.  Another cool thing about this race in particular is that it takes place just a mile from where the song was written at Fort McHenry.  (The Charm City Run in Baltimore frequently has fun runs that go to Fort McHenry too!)

The race itself was great.  The course was a little hilly, but not horrible.  The wind began to pick up as the race went on, but the timing was perfect since it felt great as I approached the finishing line.  I found the race was a little crowded at first, but after about the first mile or so the crowd thinned out a little bit.  (I still take walk breaks so I would hop over to the sidewalk for them which made things a little easier.)

One of the big complaints that I heard from other runners is the cobblestones on the course.  Sure, they're pretty to look at...but to run on?  Kinda scary.  The cement between each stone is pretty well worn down so it can be a little scary and the possibility of tripping and falling is a little too high for my comfort.  So my strategy for avoiding them was rather than walking I hopped onto the sidewalk and joined the small crowd of runners who did the same.  The stretches with cobblestones really aren't that long (probably less than 100 feet in total) but still long enough to cause some anxiety.

Despite all of that I couldn't believe my finishing time.  Last year I finished in 1:11:54 and this year I finished in 1:05:17!!!  My pace was a full minute faster than last year too!  (When I told one of my trainers this morning he was so proud!)

Here are what my splits looked like:

This just further proves that I start out running way too fast and need to work on consistency.  Around mile 3 when we started to have to go uphill I began my walk breaks.  (I also had to change my playlist because for some reason my phone kept managing to play the slowest songs!)  Then around miles 4 and 5 I couldn't let myself walk that slowly since that's when we were on the piers which I've run at least a dozen times on my own.  (And I couldn't bring myself to walk in front of the aquarium.  What if one of my coworkers saw me??  I did take it upon myself to wave to the marine mammal trainers on Pier 4 as we ran along Pier 5, although nobody from the aquarium saw me.)  I also had to take an obligatory mid-race selfie with Mr Trash Wheel!  (It was probably the fastest selfie I've ever taken.)

Obligatory mid-race selfie with @mrtrashwheel 😀 Had a great time running the #soleofthecity10k this morning! Unofficial finishing time is a new 10k PR of 1:05:16!!!Thanks @charmcityrun for a great race this morning!! (Race recap coming soon...) #sweatpink #bondiband #nuunbassador #girlsrunfast #runbaltimore #runhappy

A photo posted by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on Apr 16, 2016 at 10:42am PDT

The course support is great--quite a few people are along the course cheering on runners and thankfully the ones who were saying "You're almost there!" were actually right.  There were also 2 water stops on the course at about the 2 mile and 4 mile marks.

Post-race support is also fantastic.  Plenty of water (although they were in those tiny bottles), and the snacks were great!  They had the usual bananas and granola bars, but there were also potato chips and three different kinds of wraps (chicken, ham and veggie.)  There was also some coors light and a shandy available for runners, but I decided against it and woofed down a chicken wrap, potato chips and my banana.

This year there was a bit of a snafu with the timing mats.  For some reason, they didn't catch everyone who finished.  Thankfully though CCR usually has at least one backup for timing and mine popped up 48 hours after the race as promised.  All I had to do was send the events director, Kelly, an email with my name, bib number and approximate finishing time.

Despite it being a great race (and a great day for it) with a fantastic premium I'm not sure if I would do this race again.  I love Charm City Run's races and HIGHLY recommend Sole of the City, but next year I might try another race.  This time of year is full of so many different races that I'm a little eager to see what else is out there.  But this is definitely one race that every Marylander should do at least once!

UA KELLY St. Patrick's Day Shamrock 5k 2016 Race Recap

This is my second year running this race.  (Here's my review of last year's race.)  I signed up again knowing full well I was likely to have a PR since my finishing time was 37:28.  I was fighting a nasty cold at the time so I knew I could beat the time.

Packet pickup was a breeze at Charm City Run's new location in Columbia.  It was a gorgeous day so they had the front doors open to get your bib and safety pins, and go back outside to get your shirt.  I was DEFINITELY impressed with it this year!  (Last year's was nice...but this one is even better!)

Front

Back

My bib!

As usual, in the days leading up to the race I watched the weather super closely.  All week the forecasts called for rain, at different times and amounts.  That being said, my outfit changed several times--short sleeves, long sleeves, shirt under a zippered shirt for layers, shorts, long windbreaker pants, etc.  You get the idea.  By the time race day arrived I had quite a pile going of the possibilities.  I ended up settling on a short sleeved shirt, knee length shorts and a long sleeved shirt.  Then naturally by the time we got to the starting area, that changed again.  I packed my rain jacket and baseball cap from the Nike half marathon in a bag that my husband held onto for me.  I was so glad I did this, because shortly after we parked in the garage it had started raining.  So I put on my hat and rain jacket and naturally it had stopped by the time we got to the starting area.  

Balloons at the starting area

The starting area as usual was super crowded, and with people weaving through the crowd got a little irritating when you don't have any elbow room.  (Then there was the person next to me who kept trying to stretch his quads and kept kicking me in the process.  And the girl in front of me who kept messing with her ponytail and every time she did I got a face full of hair.  Gross!)  But to be honest, this is all the kind of thing to be expected in large crowds like this.  After getting kicked a couple times I followed somebody to a less dense area so I could be slightly more comfortable until gun time.  

Not much space to take a good pre-race selfie.  (Sorry for the bad quality, it was raining so I took it through a plastic baggie that I used to protect my phone.)

In addition to this being my first race of the year, it was also my first race with my new Garmin Forerunner 230 with heart rate monitor. One of the interesting things about using a heart rate monitor for the race was I had a visual representation of last minute nerves right before the gun went off.  Normally at rest my heart rate on a scale of 1-5 hovers around 1.  Moments before the gun went off it jumped to 2.2 which showed that not only was I a little extra nervous, but my heart was putting the same effort as it would on an easy jog.  

During the race itself, I kept a close eye out for potholes.  Thankfully there seemed to be fewer than last year, but the few I saw were pretty bad.  I also remembered when doing last minute research on what to do during races in the rain to avoid stepping on anything metal (grates, manhole covers, etc.) and any road markings.  For the most part, this was easy to do although there was one point where I stepped on one without thinking about it.  I heard the squeak of my sneakers and managed to keep my balance and keep going.  

Going into the race, I was determined that this would be my sub-30 minute 5k.  And I got REALLY close!  My chip time ended up being 30:55 with a pace of 9:58.  I'm definitely happy with the time but there's still a little twinge of disappointment since if I had skipped one walk break I would've hit my goal.  

Post-race I met up with my husband and we went over to get in line for Miss Shirley's Cafe.  (Definitely nice post-race, but not worth the 45 minute wait since people were trying to wait out the rain.)  Since we had time to kill, I ran back over to the post-race celebration to get my banana.  After about ten minutes of trying to get to the table with post-race snacks I ended up getting stuck by the pile of bananas.  Knowing how frustrated I was with this part of it, I started grabbing bananas and offering them to people around me who were very thankful for it.  (If I couldn't go anywhere, I might as well spread the wealth, right?)  Soon afterwards I grabbed a granola bar and bag of pretzels and headed back towards the restaurant to meet up with my husband again.  

The finish line before the race!

Overall, I would probably do this race again.  Yes, it was crowded but what do you expect for a race that sells out every year?  (This year there were 4,560 finishers!)  It's also early on in the year when everybody is trying to get that first race in before a lot of the longer distance races.  (Seriously, running a shorter distance race before a longer one is fantastic for pre-race jitters!  And with this one starting at 1:15pm you can even sleep in a little bit.  What's not to like about that?!)  The course is also awesome--the first mile is a mostly gentle downhill slope then the rest is basically flat.  (Be sure to look up at least for a moment during the downhill because it is SO cool to see the sea of green ahead of you.)  The course is also fun since it goes through the Inner Harbor and past the National Aquarium.  

Did you run this race?  What do you think about it?  I'd also love to hear about other St. Patrick's Day races!

Wrapping up 2015!!

Since it's still early 2016, I thought it would be the perfect time to recap 3 races from 2015 I haven't talked about yet.  (Two of which I've signed up to run for a second time.)  I've figured out most of my race schedule for this year and I'm starting to get REALLY excited for what's in store race-wise.  I'm signed up for 6 long(ish) distance races--3 half marathons, 2 10 milers and a 12 miler!  (Along with some short races here and there too.)  But for now, the recaps!

St. Patrick's Day 5k
I ran this one with my parents and husband last year.  I had been fighting a cold all week and I learned my lesson:  If you have a respiratory illness, do NOT push yourself during a race.  We went out to eat at Family Meal for a late lunch afterwards, and I only ate half my sandwich.  I eat a LOT, especially post-race and this was totally unusual for me.  Once we got back home I showered, put on some sweats and slept off the cold for the rest of the afternoon.  
The race was a lot of fun despite fighting the cold.  It was a little crowded, but not horrible.  We arrived super early (about an hour before it was scheduled to start) so we got to see a lot of people leaving Sunday church services and watch final race preparations.  This race is actually small enough that I felt like we could've taken our time getting there.  There weren't any portajohns at the start, but there were a few restaurants that we could've used if needed. 
The race itself is mostly downhill for the first mile, then totally flat.  (Keep in mind though, this is a normally busy street so DEFINITELY look out for bumps and potholes!)  It mostly takes place around the Inner Harbor and goes down by Federal Hill and past the American Visionary Art Museum which is always fun to see.  It ends at Power Plant Live, similar to the Charles Street 12.  I've already signed up to do the B3 Challenge again this year, and this is the first race in the series.  (This race typically sells out, so if you're interested in running it sign up sooner rather than later!  Also, if you sign up for this one then decide to join the B3 you can just email the race organizers and they'll help you out.)
The premium was pretty nice--a bright green Brooks long sleeved tech shirt!  I still wear it every once in awhile.

Front of the St. Patrick's Day 5k shirt plus a reflective Brooks logo on the sleeve!

Back of the St Patrick's Day 5k shirt

Sole of the City 10k
I ran this one with my Dad (in a matter of speaking...We at least started  together.)  This second race in the B3 challenge race series starts and finishes at Fort McHenry Row, which is the home for Charm City Run's Baltimore location.  The race is fairly hilly, but nice.  It actually helped me figure out where to run around the Inner Harbor.  Some of the areas are fairly narrow but not too bad.  There are some parts that go through cobblestone so you have to be careful, but they keep these areas of the course to a minimum.  I found it to be fairly hilly until you got back to the Inner Harbor, which is pretty normal for Baltimore races in general.  (What a lot of people don't realize is that up from the harbor, Baltimore is VERY hilly.)  I loved running directly in front of the aquarium since I volunteer there in three different areas.  I got to high five one of the security guards I see regularly on my shifts, and later I found out that one of the people in an exhibit I help with was there cheering on everybody.
The post-race support was awesome.  Afterwards there were long rows of tables filled with sandwich wraps and other grab and go snacks like pretzels and granola bars.  The Greene Turtle (a chain of bars in Maryland) provided the runners with post-race beer.
I loved the premium for this race--an Under Armour Kaleidelogo hoodie.  It's fairly lightweight, and the logo for the race was embroidered on the back and a Charm City Run logo on the front.  It's one of the few premiums I wear regularly.

Race logo on the back of the hoodie

The front of the hoodie, showing the Charm City Run logo and Greene Turtle logo.  (The Greene Turtle is a Maryland chain of bars that sponsored the race and provided post-race beer!)

Cinco de Miler
This was my first trail race and I really enjoyed it!  If you've run the Across the Bay 10k, you've already been very close to where the race starts and finishes.  (It's basically on the other side of the office buildings by the finishing area for the 10k, which is actually a park!) The packet pickup was a breeze since it was at the Annapolis Charm City Run, and beforehand there was a free yoga class.  So I got up early, did some yoga, then got my shirt and bib.  (The logo is really cute--it's a great blue heron wearing a sombrero and holding maracas!)  

So cute!!

The race benefits the Midshore Conservancy and the post-race party was at the Jetty restaurant and dock bar.

This is probably one of the few races where you run on every possible terrain--you start on pavement, then a wooded dirt path, a field, a small wooden bridge and through sand!  I liked the challenge of changing my stride and really having to strategize about how to run on each terrain.  (I've run on all of the terrains before, but never all in the same course.)  
Afterwards, my husband and I drove over to the parking area for the park itself and spent part of the morning on the beach.  It was a lovely day for it too--sunny and just slightly warm.  The small beaches didn't have very many people on them, and we spent a few minutes sitting on a washed up log before we headed to DC to cheer on my Dad at his first marathon and stopped at Red, Hot and Blue just on the other side of the Bay bridge.  

Charles Street 12 Race Review!

This past Saturday I ran the Charles Street 12 in Baltimore.  Last year I swore I wasn't going to do any long distance races.  Then seeing that this was the last race in the B3 race series and hearing so many good things about the race, I decided to sign up for it!  

First off, I was super impressed with the value of doing the whole race series.  Since I signed up for the Charles Street 12 last, all I had to do was send in an extra $25 for the extra medal and extra piece of race swag.  For the race itself, I got a long sleeve waffle knit shirt in purple and lime green with a screen printed logo for the race on the front and Charm City Run (the race store that runs the event) on the back by the lower seam.  Originally, the race series advertised that women participants would get a vest.  Once packet pickup came along though, we ended up with this bag in oxblood with the race series logo embroidered on the front.  I was a little disappointed that they changed the B3 premium, but the bag is just lovely!  How could I complain with such a nice bag that retails for $60 when I paid $25 for that AND a medal?

B3 premium above, Charles St 12 below

I ended up taking a chance on shoes.  I've worn Brooks Adrenalines basically since I started running.  The only problem was, my pair of 15's hit the 500 mile mark the week of the race.  Fortunately I had a pair of 14's new in the box sitting in my closet.  I ended up taking a chance wearing them for my shakeout run the day before, and since everything went well I decided to wear them for the race.  I got lucky and these worked out great! I don't know how well it would've worked out with the older pair, since I was already getting some aches and pains from them.  My husband had never taken a look at them until the morning of the race.  And he took one look at them and said "Are those your Pinkie Pie shoes?"  As in the My Little Pony.  For once, I didn't mind the comparison since she's one of my favorites.  (I had a blue chenille sweater once that my sister said made me look like cookie monster.  I never wore it again.)  For those of you who don't know the latest version My Little Pony, here's Pinkie Pie.

And these are my latest pair of adrenalines.

Pink and light blue...just like Pinkie Pie!

Race day started early:  5am, but my husband and I were out the door at 5:30 (I am quite slow that early in the morning.)  My husband dropped me at Power Plant Live and I hopped out of the car and onto a shuttle bus to the starting line.  I chatted with a pediatric cardiologist on the shuttle bus up, which was nice because he had done the race several times.  (He also tried to convince me to do a marathon.  It's on my bucket list, but I'm still looking for the right race.)  By this point, I had almost an hour to get mentally prepared for the race and use the bathroom a couple times.  (Added bonus:  They opened the mall so we had access to REAL bathrooms.  I still opted for the portajohns first thing, then used the sinks inside since naturally the line for the real bathroom was longer.)  I ended up participating a little bit in a warmup session by Sandra Gallagher-Mohler (a personal trainer, certified USATF coach and owner of IRunTons.)  Weather-wise, it was in the upper 60s/lower 70s and VERY humid so it didn't feel very cool.

Here's Sandra Gallagher-Mohler on a platform in the middle.

Afterwards I went to the starting area to wait the last few minutes before the race actually started.  I was a little further up than normal, but it didn't end up being a big deal.  I managed to get right next to somebody I did a course preview run with.  (I haven't run in Baltimore much other than around the harbor, so I made sure I was close to her to get back to the Charm City Run at Fort McHenry Row!)  We didn't chat much, but it was still nice to run into a semi-familiar face.

It was a nice morning, but definitely humid!

After the national anthem, we were off!  ...And the first 3-4 miles were all an incline.  Thankfully, the rest of it was generally downhill.  I got a few pictures of the major sights we ran past.

Like Towson University!

And Loyola!  (Which I had driven past before when I was lost in North Baltimore recently.)

Later in the race we ran through Baltimore proper.  I was excited to FINALLY get a close up look at the Washington Monument.  They decorate the monument with lights at Christmas and one of the things I would LOVE to do is see them light it.

The man and the legend on top of the monument!

Finally the last part of the race was completely flat.  By then, my legs were screaming so I did a lot of walking.  And there may or may not be photographic evidence of "faking it" as I "ran" past one of the photographers in a part of the harbor I've run at least a half dozen times now.

I remember thinking "Hi, work!  Hopefully I can walk when I see you again on Monday!" (I currently volunteer there.)

Soon afterwards I hit the finish line, which was a LOT closer than I was expecting--it was about 10 feet off of Pratt Street!  (At the St Patrick's Day race, it was close to a block away from Pratt!)  Once somebody was urging me on to run to the corner and that the finish was RIGHT THERE (and they weren't lying for once!) I got a last minute burst of energy and gunned it!  I finished the race in 2:22:20, with a pace of 11:52!  Definitely one of my better paces for a long distance race.  (Generally I'm between 12:00 and 12:15 for longer races, but can fluctuate anywhere between 10:30 and 11:15 for shorter distances.)  Afterwards I grabbed my medals, a bottle of water (CCR, pay attention:  Next year we need water stops in the city!) and a box lunch with an oatmeal raisin cookie, orange and a turkey wrap.  Soon after downing the cookie I caught sight of my husband who took this picture of me.

With my medals and brunch!

Totally worth it for the bling!

Overall, I thought the race was very well run.  Some of water stops weren't exactly 2 miles apart, but it worked out fine.  (If it were any hotter, it would've been questionable!)  Once we reached the city, I was totally impressed with the BPD.  They had getting people through the city down to an absolute science.  They would get the driver up as close to the race path as they could without blocking a runner's path.  Then once a gap opened up, they would let the cars shoot through until we got a little closer at which point they would hold traffic again.  (There was one police woman who managed to convince a couple semi's to slow down and let us through!  That takes much more confidence than I have, that's for sure!)

After the race I immediately got into the shower, then threw on some sweats and collapsed into bed for a nice nap.  The rest of the day was pretty laid back because I knew I would be sore (I was, but not as bad as after the Baltimore half!)  

I'm still fighting some soreness, but I'm back in training for my next race:  The Hokie Half in Blacksburg!!  I had to sign up for it.  My husband and I lived in the area for 6 years and part of the race is where I started running.  I miss that trail like crazy and I can't wait to run on it again.  I also ran the inaugural 5k in 2013 while in training for the Baltimore, and absolutely loved every second of it.  (It was my PR until the Freedom 5k this past July.)