2015 American 4 Miler

Yesterday I ran the American 4 Miler, part of a Run for Your Life series, with my favorite 7am workout buddies. I thought it was a great race! 

Packet pickup was super organized and simple, and the course was well marked, had plenty of volunteers, and took us through pretty neighborhoods with lots of shade! I could have done without several of the hills, but we can't really get away from there here! 

After the race, there was live music, good music, and free beer! We took advantage of the finish line being right at Toast and ate breakfast there. 

I didn't try to "race" this run, but ran it as a training run using Galloway intervals of 30:30. Even though I stopped for a full 30-40 seconds in the first mile to look for friends, I was happy to have finished in about 48 minutes. What made me even more happy was when I looked back at data from a training run from last September (when not only was I much slower, but felt like I was dying the whole time). Take a look at the difference!

This is a race that I'll definitely be on the lookout for next year!

2014 BB&T Corporate Cup Half Marathon

I'm going to run a half?
Two years ago, I ran my first long race, the 2013 Tower of Terror 10 Miler. I was vastly undertrained and terrified of earning a DNF, but I finished. Last year, I ran the TOT 10 Miler again, but was more in shape and actually trained! It was a great experience and reminded me why I love running so much, even though I never considered myself a real runner.

After taking some time off and focusing lesson on running for a while, I got a Facebook message from my coach at About Face Boot Camp that pretty much said, "Hey, I think you need to run a half in March." One of my goals for 2015 is to run 2 half marathons, so without even thinking about it, I said okay and signed up for the BB&T Corporate Cup Half Marathon on March 7.

When I signed up, I had a pretty solid 3 mile running base and knew without a doubt that I'd be training using Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run method. Implementing his methods has meant a major improvement in my running and recovery times. However, I signed up without enough time to follow the mileage on his half training plans, so I used Hal Higdon's training plan mileage while implementing the Galloway walk-run-walk method. During training, I missed a couple long runs thanks to aggravating an old knee injury and catching a stomach bug, but went into the half with a long run of 10 miles, so I felt pretty confident about being able to finish the distance.

What I wasn't confident about was finishing 13.1 miles in the time limit. While my speed has improved a whole lot in the last two years (thanks to consistent runs and lots of hill sprints and strength training at AFBC classes), I'm still nowhere near being a fast runner! I started with no real time goal, except for to finish within the time limit of 3 hours.  In fact, I was so nervous about it that I barely told anyone that I was running, never posted anything on social media about registration or picking up, even up to the morning of the race.

Packet Pickup
My mom went with me to pick up the packet on Friday afternoon before the race. Finding the location and parking was super simple. After experiencing a couple of runDisney race expos, I was a little shocked at just being handed a bib and my T-shirt and that's it. There were a few vendors, but it was a tiny little pickup. Next year, I'd feel comfortable waiting until the morning of the race to pick up my bib.  After getting home, we went on a walk to try to get rid of my nerves, I made sure that I had all my race stuff together since I was spending the night at my parents, and tried to get to bed early.

Race Day
On race morning, I woke up way before my alarm because of my nerves! It was the morning of my first half marathon! And despite successful training runs and knowing I was in much better shape than in a few months before when I'd run the 10 miler, I was still doubting myself. But, I forced down a Bagelthin with peanut butter (my long run go to), coffee, and water and got myself ready to go. I was undecided on what to wear since it was SO cold and windy, but ended up wearing running leggings, a Raw Threads sleeveless shirt, a longsleeved 2nd later, and my lightweight running jacket. Of course I wore my trusty Brooks Ravenna 5s and taped my knee! I also had my Fitletic hydration belt with one bottle of water, one bottle of Nuun, and a pack of Shot Blocks.

I found the parking garage in uptown Charlotte with ease, and within a few minutes I was standing the atrium waiting for the start. I had enough time to find a bathroom (a real one!), second-guess my coat wearing decision, go back to my car to leave my coat, and walk leisurely to the starting line. Several people from my gym were running, but in the crowd of people I never found anyone. I was so nervous that it was probably just as well, especially since I think I needed to run my own race on that day.

There were no corrals, and all half marathon and 5k runners started at the same time. If anything, that's what I would love to see changed. I love corrals where you start with runners who are at about the same pace. I got as far to the right as I could since I figured I'd be a slower runner than most, started my Garmin and my Nike+ app, and started running! It was super hard to make myself run intervals from the beginning, but from reading the course description and other recaps, I knew the course would be flat to start but pretty hilly in later miles. Knowing that made me really want to try to stick to my intervals at the start, even if I felt like running the whole thing. I knew that I'd need energy in the last half. As far as pace goes, I was hoping to stay around 12:30 minute miles.

Corporate Cup Half Splits 

Let me say here that I've had my Garmin F10 for 3 years, and it has been great with no problems whatsoever! Of course though during this race, it completely shut down and stopped during Mile 7. Which means that I lost the data for those 7 miles! I am so glad that I was also using the Nike+ running app on my phone. I was able to restart it, but it only has the last half of the race. As you can see, I started out super fast for me! I felt great and was running a 2:1 interval (so run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute). During the first 6.5 or so miles, I felt like I could run forever! Well, I should have made myself stick closer to the goal pace during those first 7 flat miles, because I paid for it during the last half of hilly miles! 

Corporate Cup Half Splits 2

You can definitely tell that by mile 8, "rolling hills" had started and my legs were feeling it. Somewhere around mile 9 I stopped and took my shoe off because I was feeling like my sock was bunched and thought I had a really bad blister. Nothing was actually wrong, but I loosened the laces on my shoe and that helped.  I think it was around mile 10.5 or so that started a hill that was at least a mile long. I dropped down to a 1:1 interval and just tried to run as much as I could. During those hills my left knee also started KILLING me, and by halfway through mile 11 I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep walking on it, much less run!

But, eventually, I saw the Finish Line! One of the awesome AFBC coaches, Misty, was cheering on the sides and at that point it was great seeing a familiar face. Running across the finish line at my first half marathon was one of the best experiences I've ever had! 

BB&T Corporate Cup Results

I grabbed half a banana and a Gatorade, took a couple pictures, and made my way back to the car to head to my parents' house where I INHALED brunch that my dad made. I was super happy with my first half results, and maybe even more importantly, I learned a lot that I can use to improve next time! 

Half Marathon Finisher!

A Different Kind of Trip….Let’s runDisney!

I was lucky enough to be taken to Disney World 3 times while I was growing up, but it wasn’t until a 2011 “adult” trip with my parents to experience the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival that I became hooked. And by hooked, I pretty much mean obsessed! Since then, I’ve made several return trips to the World, with the most recent being last week. What made this trip a little different was that I wasn’t going to just have fun or relax, but to run a race!
Several times a year, runDisney puts on amazing race events at Disney World. runDisney events quickly became my favorite races to run after experiencing my first one last year. It was so much fun that I roped a friend into making this year’s Tower of Terror 10 Miler a fun girl’s weekend. Read on for a couple reasons why I think runDisney events can’t be beat!

We did it!!! #ToT2014 #tot10miler

A photo posted by Leslie Noggle (@onegirlandtwodogs) on Oct 10, 2014 at 9:56pm PDT

1. It’s totally okay if you’re NOT a speed demon! These races really are for everyone! I started running last year in an attempt to get back into shape- and what better incentive that training for a race that was in Disney? I remember being so nervous before last year’s race because I wasn’t a “real runner.” Not only do the runDisney events have a pretty generous pace requirement (runners/walkers must be able to maintain a 16 minute per mile pace), but the events are low pressure and fun!
2. Entertainment- before, during, and after the race! Races can be fun? Absolutely! Not only are the expos packed with speakers and great vendors, but the race itself is made fun! At both races I’ve participated in, there has been a couple hours of pre-race entertainment, in the form of a DJ and photo ops. Not only that, but there has also been entertainment along the course! Characters are out for those who want to stop for photos and there has been music and awesome course decorations as well. I’ve did the last two Tower of Terror races, and of course they were both villain themed, so those were the characters who were out. The course decorations were spooky and eerie, and just plain fun! At both night races, there is an after party of sorts in the parks after the race is finished. It was pretty great to have access to rides and entertainment way after hours with 10,000 or so other runners!
3. The volunteers are simply the best! I appreciate anyone who gives their time to volunteer during any race- runDisney or not! Both years, I was amazed at the friendliness and excitement displayed by the volunteers, even as the back of the pack was running! What you may not realize about the Tower of Terror 10 Miler is that it is a night race that doesn’t start until 10 pm! This means that runners are still on the course way past midnight, but the volunteers handing out water, Powerade, bananas, and medals at the end were still enthusiastic even that late!
4. The medals are amazing! So, we all run for the bling right? Well, I’m pretty convinced that runDisney events offer some of the best bling out there! I mean, take a look at the medal for the 10 Miler! Not only is the design itself pretty great, but the elevator actually moves, AND it glows in the dark! Totally worth all those months of training and running, right?

   Nothing beats @rundisney race bling! (And loving the @newbalance runDisney Minnie running shoes!!) #tower10miler

   A photo posted by Leslie Noggle (@onegirlandtwodogs) on Oct 10, 2014 at 8:21am PDT

I’m already looking forward to registering for my next runDisney race!

2014 Races

Here's what I'm thinking for next year...

May 18, 2014: Biltmore 15k
July 20, 2014: Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half  (maybe)
October 4, 2014: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 Miler
November  8, 2014: Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon

I may be Disney obsessed, but those are the two I already have friends planning to run with me at! Now who else wants to join?

Tower of Terror 10 Miler–Before the race

Way back in April, probably thanks to enjoying a couple of cool spring runs and wishing I had a Disney trip planned for the fall, I decided to register for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 1o Miler, which is a runDisney race held in October. If the name didn’t give it away, I registered for the 10 Mile run.

So after registering, I started training and running and did pretty well for a while! (If you don’t Instagram it, it didn’t happen, right?) I had a love-hate relationship with running all summer long. And if I’m being totally honest, it was mainly hate…because people who enjoy runs in the hot and humid Southern summers are crazy people!  So I followed the official runDisney training plan off and on, but I did get some runs in…and finally, it was time to head to Florida for race weekend!

BUT wait…a couple weeks before race weekend, my brother ended up having to back out of the trip. Thanks to him being a responsible adult and getting a brand new job, he was no longer going to be able to take time off, so I had a couple of days to find someone else to go with me. Enter my dad. He was able to get off work and happy (I think) to take Matt’s place. Since my mom went with me on my July trip, I felt pretty lucky to get a father-daughter trip in the same year! (I should mention that I’m also incredibly lucky that Dad kept all 4 dogs (my 2 and their 2) in July while Mom and I were in Disney, and Mom kept all 4 while Dad and I were gone. I guess this means that it’s my turn to stay home and dog-sit?) Thank you, Mom and Dad! You are the best!

Now, Disney is my happy place. I’m kind of obsessed with it, and usually my trips are planned and scheduled months in advance and I obsess over every single detail…but because of other stresses, and life, this one wasn’t exactly like that. If I’m being completely honest, I was also stressing about the race…because I’ve never run a race longer than a 5k, and this was 10 FREAKIN’ MILES. Not only that…but on average, we walk 7-10 miles daily while in Disney, and would be in the parks starting Thursday. And even though I wanted to do well running…I was not giving up precious Disney time to sit in a hotel room! So to say I was nervous and scared about the race was probably a bit of an understatement. Even so, Dad and I had a great time in the parks on Thursday and Friday. We had Fastpass + reservations for the rides we wanted in Epcot on Thursday and Magic Kingdom on Friday. In just a few hours in each park , we got to do pretty much everything we wanted! We also really enjoyed meals at Yachtsman Steakhouse and Cape May on those nights.

I knew that I wanted to get to the Expo before Saturday, so we headed over on Friday afternoon to pick up my bib and race packet. Since we stayed at one of the host resorts, Disney’s Beach Club, there was shuttle bus service to the Expo, which was at ESPN Wide World of Sports. We waited for a bus for maybe 10 minutes and then it was a quick drive to the expo parking lot, followed by a long walk! I’d never visited WWoS, so it was pretty neat to see! I think that this Expo, which was small by Disney standards, but huge compared to the local 5ks I’ve run was super organized! I loved picking up my packet and t-shirt in one place, and all the volunteers were super friendly and helpful. The only regret I have from this was not buying a finisher’s t-shirt. They were long sleeved, which would be perfect for fall/winter runs here in North Carolina! Honestly, I was still freaking out about maybe not finishing, and I didn’t want a finisher shirt (or medal) if that didn’t happen!

Since this was a night race, we had all day Saturday to freak hang out and rest. We spent the morning at Hollywood Studios making sure to ride Tower of Terror, Rockin’ Roller Coaster, and Toy Story Mania (thank you Fastpass +) since I wasn’t sure I’d want to stick around at the after party to ride.  I also made sure to step up my hydration game on Saturday…it was around 89 outside, sunny, and humid! We headed back to the resort around 1 or so to grab lunch and rest up! After inhaling a turkey sandwich from the Marketplace and texting back and forth with my friend who was running to figure out a meeting place, I tried to take a nap! And I kind of did…so around 5, I woke up with butterflies to start getting ready to run!

Since this is already so long…I think I’ll wrap it up here and post separately about you know, actually running! Stay tuned!

Do you get super nervous before races? Have you ever run a Disney race?