2018 Frosty 5k
Peoria, IL
Saturday, January 27//9:00am
-21:44 (7:00 pace per mile) *with stroller/Gabey!*
-2nd in F26-35 AG (weird age group range, eh?!!)
-6th Female of 111
-18th overall of 178
(My 1st race of the 2018 season)
I ran the Frosty 5k race last year (it was my first race of 2017) with Clint and some other friends and teammates...and had a an blast (last year's report HERE). Last year we treated it as a "date day" and left Gabe with friends in BloNo! This year, I loosely planned on doing this event again as I knew, once again, that we had a bunch of friends and teammates planning to make the trek up to Peoria like last year. As an aside - this race benefits FamilyCore, a Peoria, IL-area non-profit committed to strengthening children and family relationships in the Central IL area - now that's something worth supporting! :)
Not to beat a dead horse (I have spoken and written about this topic lately ad nauseam!), but I haven't really been on my A-game running-wise for a while now. I don't want to depress myself by calculating months of consistently personal low performance, so instead I will say that I did have 3 weeks of strong training (the last week of December and the first two weeks of January) and I will just focus my thinking positively to that end - I am confident that I have potential, I just need to figure out the best way to tap into it without getting injured. I constantly tell others to have patience, give themselves grace, you can't always "do everything," etc. and I am trying to internalize these thoughts related to myself as well. As a "hobby jogger," there is a lot more going on in my world than running - and that is ok (by the way - I wrote that last sentence for my own therapeutic benefit, not for the readers'. HA! :)).
The weeks leading up to the Frosty 5k event, I was non-committal about actually running but Clint and I did confirm that our plan was to attend the race with Gabe. We would either all run, some of us would run and some of us would spectate, or we would just all spectate - after all, we had a big friend group going that we wanted to support no matter what. The Saturday prior to the race I ran a really strong (for me) negative-split 10-miler with Gabe. I felt great during the run...but afterwards my left achilles was like WHOA. So, I took the next six days off (other than a bit of spinning on my tri bike and a bit of strength training) and decided to make a game-day decision regarding running.
The morning of the race, we packed up and did our usual pre-race prep. I dressed as if I was racing and Clint made me breakfast and got the jogging stroller squared away and in the back of the SUV. With the 9am race start, we planned to leave home at 7 to get to the race site before 8 to register and run a warmup/shakeout run (Peoria is about 45 minutes from our home). I decided that my plan was to run a mile as soon as we arrived and if that mile felt "ok," I would register for and run the race.
Our friend and neighbor Nick was planning to do the race as well and he and Clint had exchanged some text messages about carpooling. Clint offered for Nick to ride with us at 7am, but Nick opted to plan to drive himself since that was a little early in his opinion for a 9am start. Well, as tends to always be the case with the Wells Fam, we got a later-than-planned start so Clint texted Nick to say, "come on over if you haven't already left!" Nick did end up riding over to the race with us and, during the trip to the race, let us in on some of his new and exciting running-related news - it's been fun watching his training and racing the past few months. He has been showing some amazing improvements!
After we arrived, Clint and Nick grabbed their packets - Gabe and I waited in line with them and one of the guys registering runners asked if we wanted to register...I replied that I wasn't sure but might be back later. Ha! After we got their things, we headed off in search of a bathroom. While doing so, we found some other teammates and friends and chatted a bit before heading out for a warmup.
Clint joined me and Gabe for a mile warmup along the river. It was cold-ish, but the mild temps felt ahhhh-mazing for January. The sun was shining...the river looked beautiful...Gabe was content and enjoying time in the stroller...it really was a great day for a run. My achilles didn't hurt right away, but it did start in with the achy-ness about a quarter mile into the warmup. It didn't get "bad," though. Right, wrong, or otherwise I made the decision to register and run. It definitely wasn't a PR day or even a "great" 5k day, but it could be a good workout opportunity at the very least. I mean, let's be frank, for a LONG-time cardio-fiend like myself it's pretty difficult (mentally) to not be able to get in my running fix thanks to achilles tendinitis or whatever "ailment" may be plaguing me ;).
After we got back from our mile warmup, I headed over to the race registration area. I parked the stroller right outside the door (the registration was inside a building, past a narrow hallway) and headed inside with Gabe to register. As I started giving my information to the individual at the registration table I realized that the blank check I had put in my jacket pocket to use to register was gone. Crapola - I am assuming it blew away during our warmup. I crossed my fingers that it had blown INTO the river and was ruined and that someone wouldn't find it along the riverfront and try to fill it out and drain our (super gigantic - that's sarcasm in case you couldn't tell ;)) bank account. I ran over to the car to grab my debit card and went back to register. Should I have instead taken this as a "sign" that I shouldn't register?! Perhaps. HA! Gabe had the privilege of giving a high-five ("fuh-fii") to the guy dressed up as Frosty who hung out by the registration area a few times - he LOVES him some mascots!
After registering, I headed over to the starting line and took of my pants (shorts underneath!) and stowed them in the stroller (stroller racing perks - mobile storage options!!) and got ready to race. I didn't do any preparatory strides (right, wrong, or otherwise) but just stood in the starting area and stretched my limbs out a bit before getting ready to hit it. I decided my goal was to shoot for a 7 minute pace - sure, wild thoughts of getting closer to my PR went through my brain, but short of a miracle that wasn't going to happen. COME ON!! Can't have the results without the work (or without the healthy body).
Before long, the signal was given and we were off! As usual, I stayed too close to teammate and friend Gary for too long (guys, I can't hang with Gary...but for some reason at the start of races I always seem to think that I can by my actions that include busting out from the starting line ahead of him). My first few strides were awkward at best - I definitely felt stiff and was feeling the lack of speed work in my body. I saw BloNo area speedy runner Carianna Gibb had also made the trek up to Peoria for the race - she ran up next to me on my right side within the first quarter mile and we chatted for a minute before I cheered her on her way and let her know there would be no way I would be keeping up with her today! :) Other than Carianna, I knew there were just a few other females in front of me but I did my best to push the selfish thoughts of being one of the top female finishers out of my brain - not in the cards today!
Mile one dinged in 6:46 - sub 7, so that was honestly pretty darn great and encouraging. I was definitely "feeling it" in my achilles and legs. However other than that, it felt just plain GOOD to be MOVING...and to be moving a little FASTER than I had in a while!
Sometime around the first mile I saw Holly-Rae's husband Tim and their kiddos cheering! It's always a great pick-me-up to see them...and sometimes you even score some funny pics of yourself afterward, thanks to Tim!
I definitely felt my body sl-o-o-w down as we started the second mile. I tried not to care and just to keep powering through. I hoped and prayed that I hadn't made a mistake by running the race - clearly I don't want to jeopardize finishing Boston in a few months by harming my less-than-heathy body in a silly 5k! As I neared the turn-around on the out-and-back course, I saw the leaders start to come back and cheered as they passed us. I love out-and-back races for this reason - especially when Clint is running so I have the opportunity to see and cheer for him. I saw that he was in 3rd - awesome!! I cheered a few other guys as they passed and cheered for Carianna as she made the turn - at this point she was probably just under 100 years in front of me. I rounded the turn and headed back toward the finish line.
Around 1.7, I saw friends and teammates Holly-Rae and Amber running together approaching the turnaround. I cheered for them and continued on my way, pushing the stroller up the only real "ascent" this pancake-flat race course offered - a tiny little molehill of a "hill" to the right. Mile two dinged in 7:08 - yeah, yeah, slower than 1...but I knew my average pace was still sub-7 so I was more than content.
As I started in on the third mile, I glanced behind me and saw a familiar face - our friend Todd. I knew I didn't have the physical strength to hold him off so I prepared for the inevitability that he would be catching up to me. He caught up to me around 2.5 and we chatted for a bit...I almost told him, "come on Todd...don't be kind and stay with me, just GOOOO!" However, before I could, he did gradually start to work his way away from me. Way to go, Toddy! :)
Mile 3 was over (not soon enough!!) in 7:09. I turned to the right toward the finish line and saw Clint's lovely face cheering. I picked it up to the best of my ability and crossed the finish in 21:44. According to my watch, I had a 6:56 pace for the final 0.11 - at least I had a teeny tiny bit more in the tank!
I congratulated a few of the females I saw in the finish area who had finished ahead of me and then turned around right in time to see Holly-Rae and Amber finish....and promptly took Gabe off to find "suh-snuh" again...he asked for the guy dressed up as a snowman REPEATEDLY as we neared the finish. Hilarious!!
I didn't join my friends on a cool-down, decided resting my rather sore achilles was more valuable to my body than a cool down was. After all, I had just run 4.1 miles after running 0 miles a day for the previous 6 days. Sigh.
After a while, we all headed up to the awards ceremony/post-race festivities that were held in the upper level of the Gateway Building on the riverfront. We were quite entertained by the "centerpieces" on the tables....HOLY CANDY!
Someone was reallllllly excited about all of the (king-sized!) Snickers bars!
Last year, I earned second place in my age group with a 20:45 - I was SUPER excited to start off 2017 with a new 5k PR. Fast forward to this year - I was a little disheartened to finish an entire 59 seconds slower this year - but, I guess the "excuse" of pushing a stroller and having a body that isn't exactly healthy right now at least explains things. It was nice to still place in my age group this year - second in my age group (like last year, oddly! :)). The age groups were kind of weird this year ten year spans that started in the middle of each decade - 26-35F was my age group. It was fun to have a bunch of friends/teammates receive age-group awards...Often Running had a great showing. I am excited for another year on the team and thankful to Mitch and Saucony for the opportunity, for sure!
After the race, we met up with my sister and her family and ate lunch at CoreLife Eatery (a favorite!!) and then went to The Peoria PlayHouse Children's Museum for some FUN...it was great to be able to make our Peoria trip serve a few purposes!
If you are in the Central IL area, I would HIGHLY recommend checking out the Peoria PlayHouse! Our kiddos had an absolute blast!!
Just like THAT, January 2018 is history. I vividly remember the end of January LAST year and it doesn't feel like it was 12 whole months ago! I didn't run after the Frosty 5k again in January and ended the month with 87.4 miles - not nearly what I hoped to accomplish, but the month still did have some wins: strong 16.5 mile run with Amber, a strong 10 mile run with the stroller, a decent 5k, and two strong weeks of training including some hill and speed-work the first two weeks of the month. I still have a long way to go before being ready to run a marathon, BUT there are still a few months between now and Boston for me to get my act together. I seem to always do my best work "cramming for the test" in more than one area of my life, so we will see if I follow suit with this event.
Recently, I read the following quotation on a blog that I follow: “If your life is a constant blur of activity, focus, and obligation, you are likely to miss critical breakthroughs because you won’t have the benefit of pacing and negative space. What’s not there will impact your life as much or more than what is.”–Todd Henry, The Accidental Creative {the blog post where I read this was: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Time Management}.
Wow.
This really, really jumped into my soul today. I, like SO many people, really battle with how I fill (or over fill!) my time. It doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, a working parent or a stay-at-home-work-from-the-home parent, a pro runner or a "hobby jogger" like me, someone who loathes exercise or someone who spends 8 hours a day at the gym - all we each get every day is 24 hours....and how we CHOOSE to fill (or NOT to fill) those hours is important.
As a pediatric speech-language pathologist, I KNOW the importance of what we call "pause time." Pause time (aka SILENCE!) gives students time to process, time to think, time to wonder, time to formulate, time to connect. The purposeful NOT-filling of that pause time with my voice, my requests, my instructions, etc. is so SO important because it gives my students the space, time and freedom to communicate. This is, of course, crucial for students who present with any of a variety of communication disorders but it is also useful for EVERYONE to practice. This pausing...this NOT-filling is important in so many areas of life.
I've really spent a lot of time this month NOT running and NOT rushing around (because my achilles is forcing my "hand"...or feet...ha....ha....ha ;)). I actually spent more than a few evenings just sitting on the couch for a while {usually watching Koo Koo Kangaroo or Chuggington with the boys :)). It felt weird and I often felt guilty about it - you know the drill, because I have THINGS to do! I have WORK! Therapy to plan, evaluation reports to write, IEPs to prepare for. The BOSTON MARATHON is now under 10 weeks away! There are miles to run, muscles to roll, achilles tendons to ice and stretch, weights to lift, clean foods to prepare and eat, yoga to engage in. I am working on my crazy DOCTORAL DEGREE! There are classes to prepare for, tests to grade, PowerPoints to write, articles to read, papers to write. Oh, and a house to clean, ababy toddler and husband to bond with, and laundry to fold...and...and...and..........
Sometimes we DO need to just STOP and be still. "What's NOT there will impact your life as much or more than what is." Yes. This.
Here's to February...and to the rest of 2018. Here's hoping it's full of GOOD, good things including space and time for some purposeful pauses (and...here's to not having injuries force us into this gift of space and time!).
I ran the Frosty 5k race last year (it was my first race of 2017) with Clint and some other friends and teammates...and had a an blast (last year's report HERE). Last year we treated it as a "date day" and left Gabe with friends in BloNo! This year, I loosely planned on doing this event again as I knew, once again, that we had a bunch of friends and teammates planning to make the trek up to Peoria like last year. As an aside - this race benefits FamilyCore, a Peoria, IL-area non-profit committed to strengthening children and family relationships in the Central IL area - now that's something worth supporting! :)
Not to beat a dead horse (I have spoken and written about this topic lately ad nauseam!), but I haven't really been on my A-game running-wise for a while now. I don't want to depress myself by calculating months of consistently personal low performance, so instead I will say that I did have 3 weeks of strong training (the last week of December and the first two weeks of January) and I will just focus my thinking positively to that end - I am confident that I have potential, I just need to figure out the best way to tap into it without getting injured. I constantly tell others to have patience, give themselves grace, you can't always "do everything," etc. and I am trying to internalize these thoughts related to myself as well. As a "hobby jogger," there is a lot more going on in my world than running - and that is ok (by the way - I wrote that last sentence for my own therapeutic benefit, not for the readers'. HA! :)).
The weeks leading up to the Frosty 5k event, I was non-committal about actually running but Clint and I did confirm that our plan was to attend the race with Gabe. We would either all run, some of us would run and some of us would spectate, or we would just all spectate - after all, we had a big friend group going that we wanted to support no matter what. The Saturday prior to the race I ran a really strong (for me) negative-split 10-miler with Gabe. I felt great during the run...but afterwards my left achilles was like WHOA. So, I took the next six days off (other than a bit of spinning on my tri bike and a bit of strength training) and decided to make a game-day decision regarding running.
The morning of the race, we packed up and did our usual pre-race prep. I dressed as if I was racing and Clint made me breakfast and got the jogging stroller squared away and in the back of the SUV. With the 9am race start, we planned to leave home at 7 to get to the race site before 8 to register and run a warmup/shakeout run (Peoria is about 45 minutes from our home). I decided that my plan was to run a mile as soon as we arrived and if that mile felt "ok," I would register for and run the race.
Our friend and neighbor Nick was planning to do the race as well and he and Clint had exchanged some text messages about carpooling. Clint offered for Nick to ride with us at 7am, but Nick opted to plan to drive himself since that was a little early in his opinion for a 9am start. Well, as tends to always be the case with the Wells Fam, we got a later-than-planned start so Clint texted Nick to say, "come on over if you haven't already left!" Nick did end up riding over to the race with us and, during the trip to the race, let us in on some of his new and exciting running-related news - it's been fun watching his training and racing the past few months. He has been showing some amazing improvements!
After we arrived, Clint and Nick grabbed their packets - Gabe and I waited in line with them and one of the guys registering runners asked if we wanted to register...I replied that I wasn't sure but might be back later. Ha! After we got their things, we headed off in search of a bathroom. While doing so, we found some other teammates and friends and chatted a bit before heading out for a warmup.
Clint joined me and Gabe for a mile warmup along the river. It was cold-ish, but the mild temps felt ahhhh-mazing for January. The sun was shining...the river looked beautiful...Gabe was content and enjoying time in the stroller...it really was a great day for a run. My achilles didn't hurt right away, but it did start in with the achy-ness about a quarter mile into the warmup. It didn't get "bad," though. Right, wrong, or otherwise I made the decision to register and run. It definitely wasn't a PR day or even a "great" 5k day, but it could be a good workout opportunity at the very least. I mean, let's be frank, for a LONG-time cardio-fiend like myself it's pretty difficult (mentally) to not be able to get in my running fix thanks to achilles tendinitis or whatever "ailment" may be plaguing me ;).
After we got back from our mile warmup, I headed over to the race registration area. I parked the stroller right outside the door (the registration was inside a building, past a narrow hallway) and headed inside with Gabe to register. As I started giving my information to the individual at the registration table I realized that the blank check I had put in my jacket pocket to use to register was gone. Crapola - I am assuming it blew away during our warmup. I crossed my fingers that it had blown INTO the river and was ruined and that someone wouldn't find it along the riverfront and try to fill it out and drain our (super gigantic - that's sarcasm in case you couldn't tell ;)) bank account. I ran over to the car to grab my debit card and went back to register. Should I have instead taken this as a "sign" that I shouldn't register?! Perhaps. HA! Gabe had the privilege of giving a high-five ("fuh-fii") to the guy dressed up as Frosty who hung out by the registration area a few times - he LOVES him some mascots!
After registering, I headed over to the starting line and took of my pants (shorts underneath!) and stowed them in the stroller (stroller racing perks - mobile storage options!!) and got ready to race. I didn't do any preparatory strides (right, wrong, or otherwise) but just stood in the starting area and stretched my limbs out a bit before getting ready to hit it. I decided my goal was to shoot for a 7 minute pace - sure, wild thoughts of getting closer to my PR went through my brain, but short of a miracle that wasn't going to happen. COME ON!! Can't have the results without the work (or without the healthy body).
Before long, the signal was given and we were off! As usual, I stayed too close to teammate and friend Gary for too long (guys, I can't hang with Gary...but for some reason at the start of races I always seem to think that I can by my actions that include busting out from the starting line ahead of him). My first few strides were awkward at best - I definitely felt stiff and was feeling the lack of speed work in my body. I saw BloNo area speedy runner Carianna Gibb had also made the trek up to Peoria for the race - she ran up next to me on my right side within the first quarter mile and we chatted for a minute before I cheered her on her way and let her know there would be no way I would be keeping up with her today! :) Other than Carianna, I knew there were just a few other females in front of me but I did my best to push the selfish thoughts of being one of the top female finishers out of my brain - not in the cards today!
Mile one dinged in 6:46 - sub 7, so that was honestly pretty darn great and encouraging. I was definitely "feeling it" in my achilles and legs. However other than that, it felt just plain GOOD to be MOVING...and to be moving a little FASTER than I had in a while!
Sometime around the first mile I saw Holly-Rae's husband Tim and their kiddos cheering! It's always a great pick-me-up to see them...and sometimes you even score some funny pics of yourself afterward, thanks to Tim!
 |
| Someone needs to work on her posture :) |
Around 1.7, I saw friends and teammates Holly-Rae and Amber running together approaching the turnaround. I cheered for them and continued on my way, pushing the stroller up the only real "ascent" this pancake-flat race course offered - a tiny little molehill of a "hill" to the right. Mile two dinged in 7:08 - yeah, yeah, slower than 1...but I knew my average pace was still sub-7 so I was more than content.
As I started in on the third mile, I glanced behind me and saw a familiar face - our friend Todd. I knew I didn't have the physical strength to hold him off so I prepared for the inevitability that he would be catching up to me. He caught up to me around 2.5 and we chatted for a bit...I almost told him, "come on Todd...don't be kind and stay with me, just GOOOO!" However, before I could, he did gradually start to work his way away from me. Way to go, Toddy! :)
Mile 3 was over (not soon enough!!) in 7:09. I turned to the right toward the finish line and saw Clint's lovely face cheering. I picked it up to the best of my ability and crossed the finish in 21:44. According to my watch, I had a 6:56 pace for the final 0.11 - at least I had a teeny tiny bit more in the tank!
I congratulated a few of the females I saw in the finish area who had finished ahead of me and then turned around right in time to see Holly-Rae and Amber finish....and promptly took Gabe off to find "suh-snuh" again...he asked for the guy dressed up as a snowman REPEATEDLY as we neared the finish. Hilarious!!
 |
| The kiddos with Frosty...don't let his "look" deceive you...G was THRILLED! |
I didn't join my friends on a cool-down, decided resting my rather sore achilles was more valuable to my body than a cool down was. After all, I had just run 4.1 miles after running 0 miles a day for the previous 6 days. Sigh.
 |
| A rare Dada+stroller sighting |
Someone was reallllllly excited about all of the (king-sized!) Snickers bars!
 |
| Clint and Gabe receiving the 1st Place 26-35 Male award! |
After the race, we met up with my sister and her family and ate lunch at CoreLife Eatery (a favorite!!) and then went to The Peoria PlayHouse Children's Museum for some FUN...it was great to be able to make our Peoria trip serve a few purposes!
 |
| When we got Gabe out of the car after lunch at the children's museum, he was covered in chocolate...mama made the mistake of giving him a chocolate Square Bar that ended up just melting all over the place! HA! |
Just like THAT, January 2018 is history. I vividly remember the end of January LAST year and it doesn't feel like it was 12 whole months ago! I didn't run after the Frosty 5k again in January and ended the month with 87.4 miles - not nearly what I hoped to accomplish, but the month still did have some wins: strong 16.5 mile run with Amber, a strong 10 mile run with the stroller, a decent 5k, and two strong weeks of training including some hill and speed-work the first two weeks of the month. I still have a long way to go before being ready to run a marathon, BUT there are still a few months between now and Boston for me to get my act together. I seem to always do my best work "cramming for the test" in more than one area of my life, so we will see if I follow suit with this event.
Recently, I read the following quotation on a blog that I follow: “If your life is a constant blur of activity, focus, and obligation, you are likely to miss critical breakthroughs because you won’t have the benefit of pacing and negative space. What’s not there will impact your life as much or more than what is.”–Todd Henry, The Accidental Creative {the blog post where I read this was: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Time Management}.
Wow.
This really, really jumped into my soul today. I, like SO many people, really battle with how I fill (or over fill!) my time. It doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman, a working parent or a stay-at-home-work-from-the-home parent, a pro runner or a "hobby jogger" like me, someone who loathes exercise or someone who spends 8 hours a day at the gym - all we each get every day is 24 hours....and how we CHOOSE to fill (or NOT to fill) those hours is important.
As a pediatric speech-language pathologist, I KNOW the importance of what we call "pause time." Pause time (aka SILENCE!) gives students time to process, time to think, time to wonder, time to formulate, time to connect. The purposeful NOT-filling of that pause time with my voice, my requests, my instructions, etc. is so SO important because it gives my students the space, time and freedom to communicate. This is, of course, crucial for students who present with any of a variety of communication disorders but it is also useful for EVERYONE to practice. This pausing...this NOT-filling is important in so many areas of life.
I've really spent a lot of time this month NOT running and NOT rushing around (because my achilles is forcing my "hand"...or feet...ha....ha....ha ;)). I actually spent more than a few evenings just sitting on the couch for a while {usually watching Koo Koo Kangaroo or Chuggington with the boys :)). It felt weird and I often felt guilty about it - you know the drill, because I have THINGS to do! I have WORK! Therapy to plan, evaluation reports to write, IEPs to prepare for. The BOSTON MARATHON is now under 10 weeks away! There are miles to run, muscles to roll, achilles tendons to ice and stretch, weights to lift, clean foods to prepare and eat, yoga to engage in. I am working on my crazy DOCTORAL DEGREE! There are classes to prepare for, tests to grade, PowerPoints to write, articles to read, papers to write. Oh, and a house to clean, a
Sometimes we DO need to just STOP and be still. "What's NOT there will impact your life as much or more than what is." Yes. This.
Here's to February...and to the rest of 2018. Here's hoping it's full of GOOD, good things including space and time for some purposeful pauses (and...here's to not having injuries force us into this gift of space and time!).
