June: Race #6
Who- Me, Jana and Robert Troskie
What- 2nd Annual Jammin' Jog
Where- Dudley Park, Athens, GA
When- June 23, 2012 at 8:15 am
Weather- sunny, humid and warm mid/upper 70s
Time- 25:41
Other notes- This race has been my favorite course so far. It was a good mix of flatness and slight hills. Along the course there were musicians playing music to get our mind off of running! My favorite, an acoustic guitarist, was around mile 2. He made up songs as we ran past him! There was an orchestra at another part. While musicians weren't around, I had One Direction's "You Don't Know Your Beautiful" as well as Jana's go to song "Apple Bottom Jeans" in my head to keep me going. Jana and I ran together until around the 2 1/2 mile marker, then a hill got the best of me. I wasn't used to running in the humidity since Kosovo was not humid at all and I had been running on a flat path for three weeks. I even had to get water around mile 1 because I was so thirsty. Robert came in at 25.11 (36th place) and Jana came in at 25.17 (37th place). I came in about 23 seconds after Jana and got 41st place overall out of 178 people. We all PRed this race and were pretty excited. Jana and Robert came in 3rd in the age group at the race, but when the results were posted online, Jana actually got second and I got third in ours. However, I think they marked a female as as male.
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| Jana hated it that I had the washcloth around my neck to cool off. Woops- no touching the neck next time. |
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| I can't decide if I think this is amazing or awful! |
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| coffee for 3rd place |
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| trying to drink the beans |
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| love the shirts |
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| Jeremy's all into cars right now and we saw this on our way home |
May: Race #5
Who- Jana and Robert Troskie, Kelli Coletti (a work friend), me, and a family whose girls go to our school
What- Connect Race Series (Chick-fil-a)
Where- Athens (Beechwood Shopping Center- by the Chick-fil-a)
When- May 19th, 2012 at 8:15 AM
Weather- sunny and low to mid 70s at the beginning of the race.
Time- 26.53
Other notes- The entire course was uphill! It was a challenge and I didn't think I would get an amazing time, so I didn't hurt myself trying to beat my PR. Jana wasn't feeling well and couldn't breathe out of one nostril, so I ran with her for the first 2 1/2 miles. Then she told me my goal was to catch Robert so I went ahead. I did pass him. Jana and I took first and 2nd place in our age group. I was 9th out of the 77 females and 50th out of 163 people. It was a great way to start our anniversary!
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| I love the outfits! |
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| It's a blue day. |
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| waiting on everyone to finish |
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| The cow made an appearance. |
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| Happy 5 year anniversary! |
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| Race shirts |
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| I can't see! |
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| The family from our school brought ducks for the spirit competition. |
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| It definitely scratched Jana as she held it. |
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| 1st and 2nd place finishers. |
April: Race #4
Who- Jana, Robert and me (one of my students ran too)
What- Dale Sanders AHS 5k (it turned out to be .24 mile short because the people went the wrong way)
Where- Apalachee High school/neighborhoods around our school (Winder, Ga)
When- April 27th, 2012 @ 7:00
Weather- 80s; lightning and sprinkling at the beginning right before the race; humid
Time- 24.26
Other notes-
March: Race #3
Who- Jana, Robert, and me
What- Connect Race- Northeast Georgia FCA 5K
Where- Oconee Veterans Park/Watkinsville, GA
When- March 31, 2012 at 4:15
Weather- 79 and sunny
Time- 25. 58
Other notes- Our goal was to get under 26 minutes. I was dying but made it, barely! Jana had a cramp and had to walk close to the 2nd mile marker. I kept going. She was pretty close behind me though but made it just over 26 again. I finished first and Jana finished 2nd in our age group. Robert finished 3rd in his. A few of the Gym Dogs (Christa Tanella and Noel Couch) helped with the race. Coach Jay Clark was there too. It was pretty hot, but maybe it was the black shirts. When planning to do this race, we thought it would be pretty flat. After looking it up we saw it had a slight hill. We were told it wasn't bad though. I felt like more than half the race was going up a hill.
Who- Jana, Robert, and me
What- 14th Annual Frog Hop 5K
Where- Sandy Creek Park/Athens, GA
When- February 19th, 2012 at 2:30
Weather- 51 and rainy
Time- Me 26.08 (36th overall)/ Jana 26.09 (37th overall)/ Robert 27.20 (43rd overall)-- out of 156 people
Other notes- We all watched the weather all week hoping it would be nice. We kept finding that the temperature kept inching its way closer to the low 50s and the weather kept us praying it wouldn't rain. Our winter has been so mild (and fairly warm) and this weather is probably more like winter than what we've been having, so I can't complain. The whole way to Athens, I kept my thoughts positive because I know how bad my self talk can get. The course was different than the one we ran in the December race. This one was much more challenging. It included the hill over the dam that was pretty steep. During a warm up run, we ran up the hill and I was ready to walk. We would hit the hill at mile 2 so I knew it would be tough. The first half of the race wasn't bad. I kept trying to concentrate on my breathing because I have found myself to get cramps when I'm not breathing correctly. This probably due to my sports induced asthma. I kept my thoughts positive and kept trying to think of songs to sing. There's something about a race that makes a normally easy run tough. I stayed with Jana yet again. Our feet were in sync. We hit the hill and started to struggle. I kept pushing through and made a little bet with myself about not letting myself give up. Jana started walking and I really wanted to as well, but I kept going. Mile 2-3.1 the rain started picking up to more of a rain than a mist. I knew I was pretty wet but kept going. I pushed it into full gear down the hill and to the finish line, with Jana right behind me encouraging me. We wanted to get below 26 minutes. My time was 26.08 and hers was 26.09. We were so close. I'll blame it on the hill and the rain! Robert finished a little over a minute behind us. Soon afterwards we started getting cold and put on our race shirts so we could get out of some of our wet clothes. I took 2nd in our age group and Jana and Robert both took 3rd. Our medals were cute with frogs on them!
January: Race #1
Who- Jana, Robert, me, (Kirsten-one of our b-ball players), and Kirsten's friend
What- ML5K
Where- Athens (downtown area)
When- January 16th at 3:00 pm
Weather- 57ish and overcast
Time- Me 26.48 (not as good as the December race); Jana got 26.04; Jana got 29.18
Other notes- As the race started, a person in front of us fell. It was a little nerve racking but we kept going. The first mile was a little hilly but not too bad. I had a cramp from mile 1 to mile 3.1. It was pretty bad. I had to stop running with Jana at mile 2.5. I tried to keep running, but I had to stop and walk. Yeah, I know. You can hate me for walking. I never walk when I run on my own, I don't know what was going on. I think I was pushing too hard at the beginning and my body gave out. Jana now makes fun of me because of the noises I make when I'm hurting during a race. Gotta love a good friend. After the race, we got to eat at Weaver D's. It was quite an experience. Jana ended up taking 2nd in our age group and I was 4th. Robert took 3rd in his age group. Jana got 35th, I was 45th, and Robert was 73rd out of 182 people. Maybe next month I'll place and get something. That's my goal and well maybe not walk and get it under 26 minutes! Check out this person's blog and perspective on the race. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/16/1055376/-Walking-the-ML5K
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