Crescent City Fall Classic 5k race report

Saturday morning I ran the Crescent City Classic's fall 5k, the only allowable 5k qualifier for the 10k in the Spring. You can also qualify with a 10k time for a seeded corral, but I registered for this race because 10ks are few and far between.
My goal going in was to break 21 minutes. I ran the Oktoberfest 5k in 21:31 a few weeks ago, but I ran with reserve. Plus, it was a hot evening race, so I assumed I would do better at an 8:30 am November race. The course has lots of turns, but like all of NOLA, it's flat, so as long as we had good weather I guessed that I could knock 30+ seconds off my last time.
I woke up Saturday and just had coffee, although the late race start time had me wondering if I'd start feeling hungry during the race. I left the house to overcast, damp weather in the high 50's, but by the time I drove to City Park, the sun was showing occasionally and temps were up in the 60's. The threatening storm never materialized, despite fitful gusts.
I arrived early and parked far away, building a warm-up in, and did a last-minute check of the race website for starting location, T-shirt pick-up, and other details. I clicked through and realized that qualifying times for the 10k seeded corrals were 17:30 for A corral, 20:00 for B corral, and 22:00 for C corral.
Hmmm.
I just ran 21:30 and now was shooting for 21:00. I mean, who cares about that improvement? Either way, it's a "C" time. To move up a corral, I'd need a sub-20:00.
I jogged to the start, picked up my shirt, jogged back to put it in my car, then hit the bathroom line. The whole time I was tossing pace ideas around in my head. I got in close to 3 miles warm-up, then did three 100m strides in the grass near the start. I squeezed about ten rows back as the national anthem started, and finally made up my mind - I'd go for 20. The worst that could happen is that I'd blow up, slow down, and run close to 22:00 - still a "C" corral qualifying time!
The gun went off and I surged with the pack. I had my Garmin screen showing lap pace and average pace, but it was having trouble generating data (for some reason, always a problem in crowded race starts) and the numbers were bouncing or just blank for much of the first half-mile. Up ahead I saw my friend Melissa, and tried to just keep her in view. I felt like I was running about the right pace, doing quick math, and resolved to keep the average pace at 6:24. I was too fast at the start: mile 1 was 6:19.

I did not see any pictures of myself on the website, so instead you can look at this fast food. Har, har, fast food, get it? They passed me in mile 2. Nothing like getting passed by a taco mid-race.

For the second mile, I wanted to slow enough to prevent a blow-up in the last mile. I overdid it, and ran 6:29. The course was opening up a bit finally, and I ran tangents as best as I could. I definitely felt the pace by now! And I began to question whether I could hold on to break 20.
Yet at the start of mile three, I wasn't dying. I actually felt kind of good. I was scared to speed up, but in retrospect I don't think it would have killed me. What DID kill me was my usual finish-line nausea, this silly stomach issue I get as I near the end. We turned to finish on the track, and I was so nauseated that I couldn't pick it up for the last quarter mile. In fact, I slowed. I hit mile 3 in 6:27 and realized that I might not make 20! But I could NOT sprint without barfing, and crossed the line in - seriously - 19:59 chip time.

Holy moly, did I cut it close. Luckily, the CCC uses chip time for qualifying, and I'm in! Corral "B", here I come!

WWII Airpower expo

We had beautiful, clear, fall weather a few weeks ago, perfect for an air show!

(As opposed to all the other air shows I've attended, each of which took place in 100+ degree weather and ended up with one or several children throwing up with or without heat stroke. Ah, childhood memories.)

The Airpower expo featured aircraft used in WWII. We didn't have the $995 we'd need (per person) to ride in one, but we watched them taking off and landing, making comtrails in the sky, and giving rides to rich people. While they were on the ground, we checked them out up close, including getting to go inside a B-17.

My husband is cute.

I'm so glad the Commemorative Airforce is preserving these planes and maintaining them in flying condition.

Sandbagger

One more try

I signed up for another 5k - tomorrow! I know I'm slow, and still hurting sometimes, and still recovering, and - heck - still walking. But I wanted to give the 5k another try. Last race I was so unused to racing that I was basically a hot mess. I want another come-back 5k to kind of get me more into the racing mood.
Because honestly, even though I said I would be happy to have surgery and just be able to run - forget racing, really! - I like running races. I don't have to place. I don't even have to do well. I just like the atmosphere and I like to be pushed a little.

My hip has been feeling pretty good lately, and I will be running the Crescent City Fall Classic Saturday morning. This race is a qualifier for the Crescent City Classic 10k - it's the only 5k that you can use to get a seeded time for the CCC. Otherwise, you have to present a 10k time.
The chance of my time being good enough for decent seeding is exceedingly slim, but in case I run the CCC, I'll need some kind of qualifying time or I'll be stuck behind several thousand drunk New Orleanians, most of whom manage to have either a stroller, a rolling cooler, or a tutu.
Contrary to last race, I DO have a time goal for this race! It's 21 minutes. I'd like to get back there. Can I do it? Eh, probably not. Anything under 7 is like torturous at this point. Really hard, really taxing, really anaerobic. But I'm giving it a shot anyway. We shall see!

My morning routine

I'm lazy, so I'm not one of those early morning runners. I don't get up before 6:00am, and then I need my little coffee time. Because - you know. I'm lazy. Now there's a little more time crunch, though, because I have to fit in my hip exercises. So here's what my morning looks like these days:

6:00 am. Wake up.

Get coffee. Read email and look through calendar. Stare in dull horror at the day's schedule.

6:15 am. Get dressed for running. Put hair up. Etc. By "etc" I mean "bathroom".

6:30 am. Read bible and do planks. Basically I plank while I read. It makes sure I do both! 

6:35 am. Hip exercises. I do a combination of PT and strength exercises I picked out myself; more on that in another post. 

7:00 am. Go running. Time varies. Generally, I run for forty-five minutes to an hour because I'm still alternating with walking. Three miles (normally completed in maybe 22 minutes) will take me at least 35, for example.

7:45 or 8:00 am. Stretch. I have a specific stretch routine I do after running; it takes just a few minutes, so if I get back early from running, I also foam roll. I haven't been foam rolling as much lately as I used to, mainly because I haven't been doing as much hard work that leads to tight muscles. Yes, I'm drinking coffee while I stretch. Multi-tasking!
8:00ish. Shower and get dressed.
8:15 am. Pack lunch.
8:20 am. Make breakfast and eat with David. We read the paper while we have breakfast because we're basically 70 year olds at heart.
8:30 am. Out the door to work.
9:00. Open my pharmacy.

So that's my morning. Notice the complete lack of "Make sure Suzie is wearing shoes", "Feed Buster", and "Get kids to school bus". It's nice having no responsibilities besides myself (and my husband, who would starve to death if I didn't feed him). But I still feel like I have so much stuff to do in order to run - over half an hour of stretching and strengthening. I know I have to do it, but it eats up my time. I think I need to stop nursing my coffee for so long in the morning, but then, I do enjoy my coffee time!

What's your morning look like? What time do you wake up?

I miss them so much.

Today I dug out a pair of hoarded Kinvara 1's.

I think I bought these four years ago.

They were just as wonderful as I remembered.
I switched to the Brooks PureCadence after my femoral stress fracture. With no other explanation for the fracture (and not knowing that I was compensating for a torn labrum and had the associated instability), I looked for a shoe with some motion control. I like the PureCadence, but...it's just not the Kinvara. I LOVE the Kinvara. It feels light, soft, flexible, and foot-shaped. I miss them!
Will they be able to make a full-time comeback? I'll play that by ear. Or play it by hip. You know what I mean.

First race back: what I wore

Back to racing, and I picked my most Octoberish outfit for Oktoberfest!

Orange singlet (Nike, from Varsity Sports) - a great, soft top but the fabric ended up being too warm

I was in flip-flops pre-race, but I'm holding my shoes for the race - Brooks PureCadence. Yeah, not the best 5k shoes, but given my projected (slow) pace and my hesitance to try anything different right now, it seemed the smartest choice. I didn't want to risk my hip with flats or lighter shoes.

My all-time favorite shorts, the incredibly comfortable and flattering Fleet Foxes Run Short from Coeur

Buy yourself some here. Non-affiliate link. And I paid for those shorts myself. But I got a discount. And I really adore them. They stretch a little with you, let in a little breeze without being terribly revealing, and the style is, indeed, quite flattering to the thighs!

Oooh! My underwear! I wore my bra with pockets, also from Coeur, which was brilliant. I stuck my chapstick and ID in there so I could enjoy Oktoberfest for the rest of the night! 

Also a picture of my new sunglasses, courtesy of Walgreens. I liked the subdued (non-reflective) lenses, but they didn't provide as much protection from the sun as I would have liked. It was super sunny.

What didn't work: I shouldn't have worn that top - honestly, I should have run in just a jog bra - but I liked the Halloween color combo. It was very hot out!
The sunglasses are new, and I haven't had a problem with them in early morning runs, but for full sun like this, I was squinting the whole time. I do like that they are vented to prevent fogging up, though. It works, but imperfectly.

And an action shot! Thanks, NOTC!

What did work: Shorts were a huge win. If I don't think about you once while racing, you're doing your job!
Bra - Ok, didn't really need the pockets for a 5k (for Gu in a marathon, though? That would have been great). But for post-race car key and chapstick, etc? Great choice!
I questioned my shoe choice initially, but I've really only been running in the PureCadence since I started back, and I didn't want to take any chances. Next time I'd go back to the Mizuno Mushas for short races.