Fall Five Miler - Race Report

Above: The swag!!

In spite of my complaints, I did my 5-miler yesterday evening. When I got off my vanpool to get to the gym, I felt like I was going to pass out in what felt like 100+ degree heat and slightly smoky air. So much for Fall, huh?! So Cal is awesome.....?

I hopped onto a treadmill at my workplace's gym, turned the industrial fan toward me, and started off running an 8:57 min/mi pace. It was around 3:30 PM. My goal was to finish this run in 45 minutes, hoping to get it done before "The Ukrainian" showed up.

As usual, the treadmill TV kept me entertained. I was watching an episode of Full House on ABC Family. And also as usual, my iPod was on.

I felt pretty good as I rounded out the 5K mark. It was slightly after that point that "The Ukrainian" showed up early and asked me if I was going to FitMoves class. I said I'd be done by 4:15, but he was like, "Probably more like 4:18." Grr, he of little faith. By the last parts of my run, I was going 7.5 mph (8 min/mi) and finished the run in about 44:20. I spent a minute or so walking and headed to my class for 25 minutes of circuits.

Thus ended my little first-day-of-Fall race. I had to drive 30 miles straight away to a classmate's house to work on a project, so my post-workout nosh was half a Clif bar and most of a bottle of Vitamin Water. This was later supplemented by a few jelly beans and a cup of Honey Nut Cheerios with vanilla soymilk.

Today, I feel as though most of my body has been treated with a meat tenderizer, but oh well. I'm happy that I got this run done. I would have done somewhat less had it not been for this, so anything that can whip me back into running/racing shape is helpful. Thanks for the great idea, RunningLaur!

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Original Post: Monday, September 14, 2009

Next Tuesday (September 22) marks the first day of the long-awaited autumn! I signed up for RunningLaur's Fall Five Miler as an incentive to run that day. I will post my "race report" above this entry, so for now, this post is serving as sort of a place-holder.

I'm not sure if I will run more than 5 miles, but the commitment I made was to do at least that.

And I did not promise to do this outdoors, either. I run around my workplace, and at the hour that I have time to go, people are starting to leave work and have had "sightings" that I don't exactly enjoy. Plus, all the exhaust from their cars heading home for the day can't be good for me.

Either way, any way to commit me to a run these days is much-appreciated...

Fall is great, though in actuality, I'm sure the weather will remain summer-like until Halloween. Which reminds me... I gotta get started on my costume -- I put it off due to not wanting to stress myself out too much while I recover from my exams and start vamping my next steps (dissertation, field hours -- i.e., looking for an internship in a tough market!).

Giveaway Winner! -- Sony W Series MP3 Player (Update)

Updated Post: 3/20/11 As promised, here are the Sony W Series giveaway winners: -- both have been contacted and prizes sent -- Please e-mail me at (Gmail) Nobel4Lit2 with your addresses, and I'll ship out the units soon! Thanks to everyone who entered. Stay tuned for another giveaway soon (maybe later this week)! (Note: I ended up putting everyone's retweets starting after the comments when it came to numbering the entries.) Original Post: 3/10/11 Sunday, March 20 2011, the day I will run LA Marathon for the 4th time (and embark on my 8th 26.2 journey overall), will also be very special because it will mark the 5th year since I did my FIRST training run with the intention of running a marathon. (Check out that life-changing post HERE ). Yep, on March 20, 2006, I went to the track and ran my first 3.25 miles with the dreams of marathon glory (or even half-marathon glory). I think it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I was a sprint/tra...

Rebecca Michaels Performance Clothing (Giveaway)

UPDATE: 6/21/12 -- This giveaway is closed, and the winner is #43, Jacqueline!! I will contact you, but if you miss it, please e-mail me! ------ I'd like to credit in advance "The Ukrainian" who helped me stage some photos for this post. =) Perhaps because I don't dress well when working out, I was offered the opportunity to try some fun pieces from the Rebecca Michaels summer collection. Since I complained about my issues with headbands staying on my head, I also got to try their Violet Love headbands. "The Ukrainian" didn't hesitate in throwing one on, and I think he said he looks like Rambo in it. Anyway, I'll start with my experience with the headbands . They are very soft and actually look SUPER cute on! They also cover a large portion of the top of your head, so those little fly-aways don't come drooping down. Or is that just me? My hair is normally cut in layers, so I do experience this quite a bit. Unfortun...

Sharkies Prize Pack (giveaway)

It's giveaway time! On a long run recently, I took a couple packs of Sharkies Organic Sports Chews with me to keep me going on a hot day. I got through those 15 miles eating these, versus normal gels. I've been opting to eat chews over gels in my running nowadays because I just find them more palatable and easier on my stomach for some reason. Plus, they do pack a few more calories, which is a good thing in this case. I normally associate cute little chews with candy, but these actually contain natural electrolytes. Plus, they were light to carry and very tasty, too! Each pack is about 140 calories. The only downside I found to the sport chews is that they stuck to my teeth a tiny bit more than my normal choices, and the packaging gave me a fight at times. This could easily be solved by conslidating them into a baggie pre-run, or eating them BEFORE running would be much easier than during. Want to win the prize pack below?...

A Case of the Runs

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