The Triple Crown of Running!

The Triple Crown of Running is officially over. I can't believe all three legs are complete! My friend told me about these races back in November, and I remember saying I wasn't sure I'd be able to complete them since I was scared of injury. I'm happy to say I can eat my words! 

The Triple Crown of Running is a collection of 3 road races in Louisville, KY of varying lengths. Each race can be run on their own, but if you run all three you have discounted entry fees and get an extra finisher t-shirt. We all know runners love free t-shirts! All of the runs benefits the Crusade for Children which has received over a million dollars in donation from the race series since 2002. 

The 3 races are:

• Anthem 5k, March 9th 2013
• Rodes City Run 10k, March 23rd 2013
• Papa Johns 10 miler, April 6th 2013

The Triple Crown of Running began back in 1984, but featured different races then the current 3. Back then it was the Rodes, the Run for the Arts 15k, and the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon. In 2004, the Triple Crown removed the miniMarathon and replaced it with the Anthem 5k. 

Even though the race series does not include the mini marathon anymore, many runners (including myself) run the Triple Crown which leads to the mini a few weeks later. I have to say training for these 3 races really helped prepare me for my half marathon. Last year I tried training on my own for a half and failed. I got up to 7 miles and got injured. This year, I've run gotten the chance to run 10 miles at a race pace, and it felt pretty darn good.

Anthem 5k

My friend and I were counting down the days until this race. We both knew we could easily run a 5k and have done them before, so we were excited to have a chance to run a race together and mark the beginning of our half marathon training. I heard that this was one of the largest road races in KY, but I did not really appreciate it until I got to packet picket and saw that there was Bib numbers ranging from 0 to 9000... All road races I've run outside of cross country have been around 100 to 500 individuals. The logistics of almost 10,000 people parking alone seemed impossible. 

The day of the race I met up with my friend and her training group at the local YMCA. We got to park for free and walk together to the start line. It was a good idea meeting my friend away from the start line, especially after I realized that the start line was two blocks long. There would have been no way I would have found her! The weather was beyond perfect for the race. If I remember correctly, sunshine and 40 degrees. Perfect for leggings and a zip up, my favorite running gear. 

We weaseled our way into the crowd at the start line. I think we lined up near Witherspoon, which was a full block away from the start. It took us just about 10 minutes to actually walk to the start line. We were so pumped and ready to go though that we shot out of the start but quickly realized that we just started a game of frogger. Between slower paced runners, walkers, children, and strollers! the first two miles was a constant zigging in and out battle. I have the race etiquette that if you are going to be super slow or walk the race you shuffle on over to the side so that runners can easily pass. Apparently these people did not hear of this. Some walkers were even holding hands!! A few times I almost plowed into children or people who decided to just stop mid track. My friend and I lost each other within the first 10 minutes of the race unfortunately.And by mile 2 my frustration level was extremely high. I had wasted so much time and energy running side-to-side there was no way I was going to reach my time goal. 

 Race map courtesy of: http://anthem5k.com/course_info.php

According to my Nike + running application I ran the race in 28:34, but my official time is 28:57. Almost a half minute of side-to-side running! My mile break downs were: 

• Mile 1: 8'49"
• Mile 2: 9'30"
• Mile 3: 9'24"

This is definitely not my fastest 5k, but it was for sure my most frustrated. The one really cool thing was they filmed the finish line and you can watch as you cross the finish line. Pretty nifty. 

Bottom line, would I run again? Probably yes, but I'll regret it afterwards because Ill remember how frustrated I was.

That's me in the bottom right corner in the blue jacket and pink shoes! Walking to the start line, all ready to go!

Rodes City 10k

This next race in the series came days after a very traumatic event occurred in my life. I hadn't run as much as I would have liked that week, but was ready to use this race to get some of my emotions channeled. I didn't get a chance to even look at the course map and luckily my friend's training coach picked up my packet (which had cookie butter in it!!). 

The race started downtown in front of the famous Brown Hotel and took us on a large, scenic loop around Cave Hill Cemetery (Colonel Sanders is buried there!) on Grinstead Dr and Lexington Rd and back downtown for a finish line almost in the same spot as the Anthem 5k's. Miles 2-5 were winding fast, rolling hills. It was a pretty run since the trees were beginning to bud and you could feel that spring was just around the corner. The weather was pretty similar to the first race, about 45F with a slight breeze.

Race map courtesy of: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/4288894

This was another big race, apparently the 12th largest road race in the country! Weirdly enough I didn't feel that I did as much side-to-side running. I felt relaxed and had enough space most of the time to do my thang. After mile 2, I did end up losing my friend, but more so because I knew I needed to slow down a bit. 

My mile break downs were: 

• Mile 1: 9'12"
• Mile 2: 9'43"
• Mile 3: 10'07"
• Mile 4: 9'58"
• Mile 5: 10'08"
• Mile 6: 10'04"

I think it is pretty impressive of how consistent I was! I only mentally pace myself, I don't ever check my speed while I'm running. My Nike app tells me my pace each mile, but half the time I don't hear what she says since I'm so engrossed in my scenery or my music. Pretty impressive!

My official time ended up being 1:01:27 (Nike + stated 1:01:04). I wanted to finish in under an hour, but under the emotional circumstances I dealt with that week I was very happy with my time. I loved this race and cannot wait to run this course again next year. 

My friend and I after the race!

Papa Johns 10 Miler

I have run plenty of 5k and 10ks in the past, but I have never run a 10 miler. My friend and I trained with many long runs, but at this point in our training we had run at most 8 miles. Running 10 miles at a race pace? I was a little scared. 

The Papa Johns 10 Miler is famous for racing through Louisville's Iroquois Park, which contains one of the highest points in the city. Aka MASSIVE hills. I had never been to Iroquois Park so I knew I needed to train there at least once before the day of the race. I am so glad I did, because Iroquois Park turned out to be 3 miles of up and up and up and down and up, etc. I knew what I had to do and knew what kind of energy I needed to preserve for miles 2-6. 

Race map courtesy of: http://www.papajohns.com/louisville/index-3.html

This race is the only race in the leg that did not start downtown, so we weren't able to meet the training group at the Y and had to fend for ourselves. This meant traffic and getting to the start line a wee bit late. We ended up walking up to the start line 10 minutes after the race began. It was kind of nice since we didn't feel that initial push from the thousands of runners trying to funnel in. But it did mean we had to do some major zig zagging to get through all the runners who already started. I remember a few times I freaked out because someone would close in on me while I tried to run through a small gap. Once we got into the park I turned found my powersong (Lil Jon's Throw It Up, don't ask), downed a PowerBar GU Pack and put on my game face. I definitely slowed down a bit during the hills, but not a crazy amount. I felt good and loved racing down the hills and finding the momentum to keep powering up the next. Once we hit flat ground at Mile 8, I started to feel a lot of pain in my right knee and had a massive slow down. I still trucked through the end of the race and really enjoyed the last half mile, which lead us into Papa John's Cardinal Stadium where the finish line was at the 50 yard line on the football field. They had an announcer and the jumbo tron on making us feel like we were hot shots! It was pretty darn cool! 

My mile break downs were: 

• Mile 1: 9'08"
• Mile 2: 9'12"
• Mile 3: 9'51"
• Mile 4: 9'55"
• Mile 5: 10'28"
• Mile 6: 10'12"
• Mile 7: 9'53"
• Mile 8: 10'58"
• Mile 9: 11'09"
• Mile 10: 11'09"

This was my favorite of all the races. My official time was 1:43:01 (Nike + clocked me in at 1:41:55). I love racing in Iroquois Park and 10 miles was sort of fun! I felt so accomplished! I was only a 5k away from completing my goal of a half marathon!

Immediately after I finished I kept on walking, got a Gatorade and a banana, but I wasn't feeling anything. Of course there was rows and rows of Papa Johns pizza, but the smell of the food made me feel worse. A friend and I had made plans to grab lunch and go shopping after the race, I ended up bailing out after lunch because I was so sick. I spent the rest of the day, home in bed feeling like I had a hangover (nausea, chills, etc). I felt so sick and dehydrated all day! It took all week for me to get back to normal. I learned my lesson and this race helped me better physically prepare myself for the half marathon. 

The only race photo of my friend and I! This was taken seconds after the start, as why we were so chipper!

The last 100 yards. Powering through!

Well there you have it! My first experience with The Triple Crown of Running! I truly enjoyed participating in this race series and cannot wait to pick up my Series Finisher T-shirt. I have a feeling this race series will become a yearly event for me. I'm so glad my friend pressured me into doing it with her! We had a blast and it really helped us get in shape for the half marathon. I think part of the reason I was able to reach all my goals running-wise this spring is because I had these races to keep me on track. Next year I can work on crushing times and making some killer personal bests!

Why I Run...

Last year (2012) I joined a gym after realizing I had put my health on the back-burner  I was not happy with myself or my body. With my membership I got a few free personal training sessions, I loved the sessions so much I decided to invest in bi-weekly sessions. After a few weeks, my personal trainer asked me what were my favorite ways to work out. I immediately said running and dancing. I let him know I did Zumba class every now and then to get my dance on, but that I didn't run anymore because of all of my former injury.

Running cross country and track from ages 12-18 did a number on my body. Shin splints are no joke. Senior year I decided I wasn't going to run but some peer pressure pushed me into joining cross country the second week of the season. I upped my mileage from 0 to 30+ in a week wearing old shoes. A few weeks later I had pretty bad shin splints. I ran through it a bit more, until I woke up one day and never felt worse pain in my life. I still remember crawling around for a few days since I couldn't walk. The X-rays didn't show stress fractures, but now that I am older and have a better understanding of my body I have absolutely no doubt that I had bilateral posterior stress fractures. I stopped running and every time I'd try and start up again, the pain would come back...

My trainer was blunt with me and asked why I didn't start running again? I realized I was using the memory of pain as a crutch. There was absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be running! At that time, I lived blocks away from the Mt Vernon Trail in Arlington, VA across from Washington, DC. It is a mixed-recreational trail that goes from downtown Arlington all the way out to George Washington's house in Mt Vernon. It follows the Potomac River and there you will see some of the most amazing views of the National Mall and all the monuments. After one run on that trail, I remembered why I loved running.

(image via: flickr.com)

So why do I love running? Running lets me relieve tension, emotion, and built up stress, it helps me to refocus and reenergize, I feel a sense of accomplishment when I reach mileage or time goals, I am the healthiest when I am actively running, it makes me feel calm, it boosts my confidence, and it makes me happy. It is one thing in my life that I do for me and me alone.

Runner's high is real. If you've experienced it you understand. On mile 7 of a run a few weeks ago, I started dancing to my music and was smiling like a crazy person. I forgot all about my ankle pain and how tired I was. I kept thinking to myself how much I loved life.

Unfortunately, my New Year's resolution didn't pan out. Between the stress of grad school and shin splints (yet again), I missed the half marathon I signed up for. I felt defeated. I don't like not following through, especially with personal goals. And then my life became so chaotic during the summer since I was packing up my life in DC and moving to Louisville, that I completely stopped running for a few months. It wasn't until August that I started back up again. Injury again plagued me (this time with my toes). I'm going to need surgery to correct the problem, but it isn't bad enough to stop me. My orthopedic surgeon said that I can keep on running and can schedule the surgery at my leisure. With proper toe protection, I can run without any problem.

So here we are in 2013. I have a new New Year's resolution to run my first half marathon. I will be running the Louisville Kentucky Derby Festival mini Marathon. The race is part of a week long festival leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The course will take us through Churchills Down (where the Derby takes place) where we will get to take a lap on the race track! Pretty darn cool. The marathon has three road races of varying length (5k, 10k, 10 miler) that lead up to it that I am also participating in, called the Louisville Triple Crown.

I'm running all four races with a close friend! We have been able to motivate each other throughout the training process. We run at very similar paces, so it is awesome to get that support and motivation! Be it finding the energy to get out of bed at 8am on a Saturday or coaxing the other to go running after a bad day. I don't think I could do it without her!

I may not be the fastest runner. I may not run the most miles weekly. Hell I may not even have the best running posture. But running is for me and it is part of who I am.


Do you run? Have you thought about starting? What is your favorite hobby or past-time?

Favorite Music Friday: Alex Clare

This week has been a trying one. Technically as I write this I am only half way through. I am 5 weeks away from graduating from graduate school and have probably 60-70% of my grades for all of my classes incomplete. Meaning these next 5 weeks are going to be the most insane, stressful weeks.

As most of you know, I had planned on running a half marathon at the end of April. What do you mean past tense? Well because of the amount of school work I have, I don't have time to train, nor can fathom spending an entire weekend out of town. Therefore, I will not be running the race I have been looking forward to for months. However upset I am, I know physically and mentally I could have run it and done well. I will find another race to run early this fall (there is no way im running a summer race, I overheat enough as it is). I'll definitely run shorter races in between, but until I finish my last final ever, running is sadly on the back burner. It is my favorite destressor, but I literally have no time. I'm even thinking about only working twice a week since I have so many assignments to complete.

Okay enough anxiety ridden boring crap. I've got a lot of things to look forward to, including spending my summer being a young, single female in the city. I cannot wait until I can go out with my friends and spend the night dancing away or sipping on ice cold beer at happy hour. This week's Favorite Music pick makes my dream of summer feel so much closer....

Every so often I go onto iTunes and browse through the top 100 songs. I don't ever listen to the radio, so unless a friend recommends a band, I'm clueless to new music/bands. I heard Alex Clare's Too Close on the top 100 and freaked out. Lucky for me his debut album launched in the US the same week. I of course got it immediately.

Alex Clare is a 25 year old British singer-songwriter from London. Other than being an adorable ginger (yes I have a thing for red heads), he is extremely talented. Alex grew up listening to his father's jazz band and has been influenced by The Fugees, Stevie Wonder, and Donny Hathaway. He was unhappy with the music his friends and siblings were listening to and found that the jazz, blues, and soul he grew up on were a comfort. He realized his passion for music playing in bands with friends, but felt he needed some security and decided to become a chef. He ended up hating his job and started to play open mic nights often. He landed a very small songwriting deal that allowed him to live on a boat and write songs. A few of those songs got into the hands of Island Records and two weeks later he was signed.

His drum n' bass, soul style got the attention of Diplo & Switch (two of my favorite DJs/producers) who then worked with Alex on his first album. They brought together his crooning, rough, soulful voice with the bass lines of dubstep and catchy chords that make a hit.

The song that I am featuring "Up All Night" is one of the songs that was created during one of Alex's first sessions with Diplo and Switch. The song scream teen spirit. With lines like 'watchin my youth slip away surely is a crime' and 'sun is up while I'm walkin' home but my heads up in the clouds.' The beat and the lyrics just make me want to get up and dance! It reminds me that I am alive. Definitely a song that I can appreciate when my life feels weighed down and so stressful.

You can listen to the entire album for free here on this page with the SoundCloud app. My other favorites are Too Close, Treading Water, Hummingbird, and Tight Rope.


(Note: If you are reading from a feed reader, you'll have to visit the actual post to be able to view the SoundCloud app)

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Review: Biofreeze Pain Relieving Gel

This is as good a time as any to review my new favorite pain reliever. And by a good time, I mean a bad time for running because I am sadly plagued by shin pain. Runners, don't ever mess around with shin pain!

I received multiple samples of Biofreeze from the front desk guy at my gym. As a runner it is extremely important to practice proper RICE:

• Rest
• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation

Rest: If your body is screaming at you to stop what you are doing, listen and rest!! If you continue to work your tired muscles or your injured body it is possible you will cause your body more harm and it may lead you to chronic problems and longer recovery periods.

Ice: The area of pain/injury will create a lot of heat from the inflammatory response. Ice reduces inflammation, reduces pain temporarily, and just feels darn good on that hot skin. Limit icing to only 15 minute applications, too long can be detrimental because it will limit blood flow that helps recovery.

Compression: You want to reduce swelling because it can delay healing. Use an elastic bandage to compress the swollen areas. But if you feel it throb or it cuts off circulation, bad news bears.

Elevation: Swelling is also reduced by elevating the area of pain. You want the injured part of your body to be raised above the level of your heart. It increases the venous return of blood and therefore increases circulation.

I also massage the area of injury to prevent scar tissue from forming, as scar tissue can cause chronic pain in the future due to inadequate blood flow and movement. And also slowly stretch the area.

So why do I love Biofreeze?

Biofreeze Pain Relieving Gel

I find it extremely irritating to sit as still as possible while trying to keep the ice on the spot of my pain. Or if Im using an ice pack, the ice pack doesn't extend the length of my injury. And even if cover my skin somehow the ice still makes my skin red as can be. Biofreeze's active ingredient is menthol. Menthol is a natural compound found in mint plants. Menthol relieves pain by numbing your pain receptors in the area it is applied and causes a cooling sensation created by a signal sent to your brain by menthol that your body interprets as coldness. All this equates to a great pain reliever for aches and pains. Biofreeze is great for sore backs, strains and sprains, arthritis, and any other body soreness. 

All you have to do is slap on some of this gel, rub the gel until it is fully slathered on and wait for the cooling, pain relief to kick in. The amount shown in the photo was enough to slather up my sore shins. You can feel the effects of Biofreeze almost instantly and there have been studies proven that Biofreeze works quicker than ice. Plus it also has been shown to work deeper than ice since it promotes vasodilation in the area reducing skin barriers. 

You should limit yourself to only 4 applications a day, too much can be a bad thing because of the fact that the coldness reduces blood flow and therefore if you keep it too cold for too long, the body wont be able to promote healing. I suspect that the fact that the skin is cooled and then goes back to normal temperature in a time period that even though blood flow is initially slowed, that it will increase once the area has adjusted. But I'm not a doctor and only able to speculate. 

Either way, I like Biofreeze better than ice. I get to control the area of application, I can move around while Im cooling my muscles, and I dont get freezer burned skin. 

Biofreeze comes in a gel, like what I have purchased, but it also comes as a spray, wipes, roll-on, and a non-colored gel. My 4oz Biofreeze gel retails for ~$20. But I was able to snag a 2-pack on Amazon for $18. You can read more about Biofreeze at www.biofreeze.com. 

The bottom line: all-natural product, easy to apply, quick pain relief, faster and deeper pain relief than ice, and amazing cooling sensation. 5/5

New Running Shoes!

My new running shoes are here!!! Mizuno Wave Riders 15!!! They were on backorder since this color is so new. I couldn't resist since orange and blue are my favorite colors. They look sweet and feel amazing. I cannot wait to run in these babies tomorrow after my exam. 

Why did I get new running shoes? Well I bought a new pair in December (Brooks Ravenna 2s), have probably run 100-150 miles with them, but since the beginning of Jan the tops of my feet right above my arch (running along my first metatarsal) felt bruised. It felt like it could have been a stress fracture, but is very uncommon to get stress fractures in both feet in the same position at the same time. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, but I finally realized it was my shoes! I was sold a pair of stability shoes, when I need neutral shoes. So all the extra stability was causing my feet to freak out. No good, I could have gotten seriously injured. 

I bought my new shoes from RoadRunnerSports.com. They have a 60-day Perfect Fit Return Policy. No matter the condition of the shoe, no matter how many miles you've run, they will take them back if they are not the perfect fit. No questions asked. Plus, if you are a VIP member it is a 90-day return period. You don't get a refund, but you get to select a different pair! I wish I had bought with them initially, because I wouldn't be stuck with a $100 shoe, nor had to shell out another $100.

I'll do a post sometime in the future about choosing the right running shoe, but for now I just cannot wait to get into my new Mizuno Wave Riders 15. 

This is my first official week of half marathon training. Now it will be extra amazing. Run, run, run!

The road to the half marathon begins...

Hello lovelies!


I have exciting news. I have officially registered for my first half marathon!
I will be running the 13.1 mile race on April 28th in Ocean City, Maryland.
The half marathon is called The Island 2 Island Half Marathon.
It seems like it will be a lot of fun, the half begins at the Ocean City boardwalk and wraps around back to the coast of Maryland then back onto Assateague Island National Seashore. The entire way will be close to the water and the race is almost all flat, which I appreciate since it is my first.


I really wanted to run the Rock n Roll Nashville half marathon that was the same weekend, but Nashville round trip plane ticket, transportation around town, hotel, the entry (almost 50 bucks more) would be too much. Maybe next year...


Im also slotted to run the March 17th Irish Sprint 10k that takes place in Quantico, VA. This 10k has a pot-o-gold at the end of the race. Really. I mean really! Every finishers gets a golden ticket that allows them to register for the 2012 Marine Corp's Marathon! Well its gold for runners. Last year all 30,000 spots for the MCM were sold within 28 hours! That is absolutely insane. But I'll have a guaranteed entry! No need to sit around clicking refresh 20x and rushing with my credit card that day registration opens up. Plus, it is the perfect time in my training schedule to run a 10k. All in all win-win.


Currently my body is super sore from my training session this Sunday. My trainer is building workouts that will get my body in tip top runner's shape. So it's well worth the pain and effort. Tomorrow Im going to a physician that is an expert in runner's health. I'm getting an all over check up to make sure I stay injury and pain free during my months of training.