Night Run 10k Vancouver {Recap!}

Posted by hellyontherun in 10k, Race, Running and tagged with 10K, Age Group Award, Marathon Training, Medals, Night Run, Night Run Vancouver, Recap, Runcation, Running September 28, 2015

So happy to be home!!!

It was a tad nippy in Canada, totally not what I was used to, lol, and I actually looked forward to my Arizona temps! Anyway, I arrived to Canada Thursday evening and we immediately went to dinner. It was absolutely amazing–steak and salmon for the win!

The race was on Friday night, and earlier in the day we toured the city–I musta walked like 5 miles! We had amazing lunch at this place called Joe Fortes (to die, seriously!) and we were back at the hotel around 3 for an afternoon siesta.

When I awoke, I got dressed and ready and we walked the about a mile walk to the race site. I was hoping I’d get my usual pre-race jitters (i.e. need to use the restroom) but I didn’t have to go. This was a little disconcerting considering I had two big meals still in the stomach.

Anyway, what was nice about the race was that it was at beautiful Stanley Park

Surrounded by water the entire way 🙂

and there was a building at the race start where runners could hang out in–this was GREAT for me because I was freezing. They were playing music, there was a photo op place, FREE McCafe, and even a no-line bathroom! (Except I still didn’t have to go 😦 )

Freeeeee!!!

It wasn’t long before it was time for the 10Kers to line up. The 5k runners had just left and there was about a 10-15 minute wait before our turn.

There were no corrals but “fast” runners were told to head to the front (this is where my husband left me, lol!)

The countdown started and we were off! The beginning portion was a downhill and really, I should have kept this in mind for later–I didn’t.

I was gunning for an 8:45 average pace and when the first mile beeped 8:45 I was THRILLED. I had this guy in front of me who was running a good pace so I stuck with him.

The view were uh-mazing. This was Stanley Park after all. The sun was setting and the colors on the water were so beautiful. We had the city lights behind us and the green trees next to us; it was awesome.

On one side, water….

on the other, city….so beautiful! (pictures are pre-race, lol!)

The second mile beeped 8:35 and I was happy that I was still feeling pretty good. I kept it going with my “pacer” to mile 3 and that beeped at 8:45!

And then my pacer slowed down 😦 I wanted to yell at him, “Keep it going!! I need you!!” lol, but of course I didn’t and I told myself to put my big girl panties on and do it myself.

Yeah, that didn’t work out so well.

Almost immediately after crossing the 5k mark, I begin to falter.

And maybe that guy knew the uphill was coming or something, but I didn’t. I felt like I was still going my pace but mile 4 beeped away at 9:04 and I was buuuuummed.

I tried to get it together and at least keep it under 9 minutes which I barely managed to when mile 5 beeped 8:58.

Mile 6, 8:53.

I was so happy to only have .2 left. SO happy.

And then the goddamn hill. Yes, the one that when I started, took me on a nice swift decline.

I had been trying so hard to get sub 9 miles that I felt I had nothing left to give on that effing uphill–I practically crawled up it and the last .28 took me 2 minutes and 50 seconds (a 10 minute pace). Seriously, Helly.

I crossed the finish line in 55:49 missing my sub 54 goal by a minute and 50. Ugh.

On a positive note, I was pleased my overall pace was under 9 at an 8:53 pace, so YAY to that!! 😀

On an even more positive note, my husband finished 10th overall!!!

The post-race was super cool–they fed us a burrito, fries, and a beer–and they had a DJ playing music. We were inside a building, nice and warm too so it was definitely comfortable and fun.

The DJ announced he’d be awarding top overall male and females so we hung out to see the speedsters. The top 3 men and top 3 women were awarded their medals and then the DJ went back to his music right afterward.

Aaaaand this is when things went awry. About 30 minutes later, my husband and I decided to head back to the hotel. It was late, about 10 o’clock, and we didn’t want to be out in the streets at dark. As soon as we got to the hotel, we checked our results again but this time online. My husband said he’d gotten 1st in his age group!!! Woohoo!!!

Seriously, not about 5 minutes later, I posted our Instagram pic with the hashtag #NightRunVancouver and #RunVan and when I searched both tags, I saw a guy showing off his Age Group medal! Whaaat??? How in the world did we miss that??? We had been inside the ENTIRE time and not once did they announce Age Group awards! I messaged the guy and he told me that he had seen a table with medals and that was how he had gotten his. Whaaaat???? No announcement? No sign? Nada???

We decided we’d head to the running store the next day where packet pick-up for the race was. My husband ran the mile to the store Saturday morning only to be told by the employees there that they had no idea what he was talking about.

My husband returned bummed but over it–it was just a medal.

But I was upset! I don’t know why, maybe the Type A organizer in me, but c’mon! So I e-mailed the race director who responded the next day, Sunday, the day we were leaving, that he’d drop off the medal at the running store my husband had been to the day before, lol!

That e-mail was sent right before we got on the plane to come home, so of course there was no going back to the store.

Bummer, no medal (and again, my husband did not care, lol!) but it peeved me a little that there had been NO announcement whatsoever post-race and I made sure to let the race director know that that was an area which needed improvement–because besides that, it had been a great race. And during my Instagram search, I had found another girl who experienced the same thing.

Not how we wanted to end the race but we decided to solely focus on the positive (or really, my husband kept telling me to focus on the positive, lol!!). The race had amazing views the entire way, it was a single loop which for 10k’s I’ve run is rare, and it had great pre and post race festivities. If I was to eliminate the medal fiasco, this would definitely be a race I’d recommend. Thanks for making it this far and sorry for my long-winded vent, lol!

I’ll be re-capping the rest of my amazing trip later this week–I hope everyone had a great weekend!! ❤ , helly

–Have you ran a race and missed the medal?

–Ever ran a race with super cool pre and post race parties??

Giddy Up and Go!!! MRTT Summer Virtual Race Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in 5k, Race, Running and tagged with Moms Run This Town, Running Club, Virtual Race August 20, 2015

I mentioned in my previous post how last Sunday I met up with my Moms Run This Town ladies.

A little backstory on MRTT: I started my city’s chapter a little over a year ago having no clue what to expect. I was sorta involved in neighboring cities but thought that having one in mine would be fun (and convenient) so I went for it.

Over 150 women later, my chapter has become very active and super fun. It’s been a blast to see the group grow and meet people starting their fitness journey, coming back from a hiatus, or trying out a “run club” for the first time.

We have weekly meet ups on Sundays, but because both my husband and I are currently training, I’m not always able to attend (I’ve been long running Saturdays and my husband Sundays). I do have an amazing co-leader who has been instrumental in helping the group grow and making our meet-ups successful though.

With her help, I finally felt like our chapter was ready to take on a summer virtual race. MRTT national hosts two virtuals a year, one in summer and one in winter. I passed last winter as I was reluctant (and really, still a newb) to take on such a task. But with my buddy Jennifer, this summer I was in.

The theme was “Giddy Up and Go!” and the medals were suh-weet!!

A lot goes in to making a race happen (and this was a suuuuper small one, lol!) and organizing was tough, but after months of planning, last Sunday, we were finally able to see the fruits of our labor. And it was….AWESOME.

We had such a great turnout for our first!

Jen and I created swag bags that our runners would receive (and swag for their littles if they ordered medals for their kids!), mapped out a 5k course, and even had bananas, oranges, and water as post race fuel.

Everyone loved our swag! We had MRTT colored bandanas, headbands, an MRTT magnet, and really cool drinkable glass jars (that had chalk tops to write on!). Inside the jar were hair ties, a rubber MRTT bracelet, running fuel, and a discount card to a local burger joint.

I decided not to race and take pictures for the runners. That way, they could get free race pictures 😉

I also wanted to be at the end so that when they’d cross, I’d be able to medal them. The mom who finished first was so excited that she was the first to cross, saying that she’d never finished a race first in her life. It was so cool to see her excitement 🙂

All in all, it was so much fun and even though it was super tough behind the scenes, the big day was such a success that yes, I’d do it all over again ❤

–Have you ever organized a race?

–Have you run a virtual race before?

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! Who’s racing? Who’s long running? (I’ve got 18!! Eeek!) ❤ , helly

Got Swag? {link up!}

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon, Race, Running and tagged with Race, Race Swag, Running July 17, 2015

Happy Friday!!!

I’m linking up again with the DC Trifecta ladies Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney for their weekly Friday Five. This week’s theme: Race Swag. Awww yeah!!!!

I want to say I’m all about the swag but I’m not lol! I just like a good race and if they give a medal or shirt, extra bonus. That being said, I’ve run some races with some pretty sweet swag and I’ll share them with you today 🙂

1. Hot Chocolate 15k

This is an expensive race, not gonna lie, but you’re paying for a great race and great swag. I’ve had a blast the past two years I’ve run the race and have actually used the jackets they’ve given. Often times, we get a shirt and it becomes lost in the dark corners of our closets, but the jackets the Hot Chocolate race gives out are of good quality and stylish–you want to use it. Plus, it’s cool being out and about and seeing someone else wearing it. I always give and get a smile when I see people with their jackets on 🙂

In addition to the jacket, you get a cup of hot chocolate and treats AND a medal!

Post race meal

Unfortunately, it’s not edible.

2. Aravaipa Trail Race

I love trail running and if you want to run a trail race, you have to do an Araivaipa one. For this swag, you get a shirt (again, another one you can actually use) and a beer cup. No medal, but I do use that cup pretty often 😀

For overall winners, you still don’t get a medal. You get a more unique award that differs each race. This is the hardware from badass Run EMZ who placed 1st female overall in a 100 miler (yeah, you read that right):

Check her insta.

3. Flying Pig Marathon & 1/2 Marathon

This was seriously THE funnest race I’ve run. It didn’t produce my fastest time at all but it was the fastest in that time was a-flying!

The swag for this race lives up to the hype of the race itself. Each year it’s something different and this year I got hooked up with a one shoulder bag pack–very functional and useful, a race shirt (that is very stylish and wearable), a poster of the race, and a finisher’s medal.

My Flying Pig Medal.

At the end of the race, there’s a buffet as you leave the finisher’s area. I’m not kidding. A BUFFET. They have a chip table with different types of chips, a fruit table, a cereal bar table, a soup kitchen!, a candy table–I mean, you don’t have enough hands for all the food they give out at the end.

Probably one of my favorite races ever and I wish I wasn’t so far away so I could do it every year.

4. Marine Corps Marathon

Love. This. Marathon.

First, you get your race swag from a Marine.

Cheesin’ real hard

Second, I really enjoyed the Expo and they offered tons of items race related at affordable prices. Yeah, this happened.

This pretty much means you spent too much money.

A lot of people weren’t thrilled with the long sleeved given to us (I actually didn’t mind it. It looked Marine-ish which is what I’d expect from the Marine Corps Marathon). But I couldn’t help myself get another piece to add to my MCM wardrobe.

Taking my new jacket for a stroll by the White House–nbd.

And then of course, the medal.

So beautiful.

5. Phoenix Marathon

Their medals are legit. It is seriously the most awesomest medal in my rack — and it was my first marathon so there’s that too ja!!

Seriously, how beautiful is this medal??

I didn’t finish 2015’s marathon (ugh.) but the race shirt they gave is still the best one I’ve gotten from a race–a racerback and good quality material. However, I’m always reluctant to wear it (because I didn’t finish the race– btw, I hate typing that) but my running friends tell me to heck with it, I trained for that marathon and ran half of it so wear it with pride. It really is a nice shirt.

There you have it! I hope everyone has a great weekend!! Who’s racing? Make sure to share your swag on social media 😀 ❤ , helly

–What’s your favorite race swag? Did the swag live up to the race?

–Any races with sub-par swag items?