NYRR Oakley Mini 10K

On Saturday I raced the NYRR Mini 10K for the 3rd time in so many years (2012 and 2011 recaps). It’s not easy to find 6.2 mile races around this area, especially through New York Road Runners, so it seems to always be a good goal race. It’s right before marathon training truly starts and the distance allows me to push “my speed” some while also not being in full sprint mode like I am for repeats or a 5k race. I love that for a month or so I can focus and I end up having a strong base to begin marathon training.

However, I wasn’t really confident in my abilities this year after a less than stellar few weeks of training. Yes, Bo and I did a great job of staying active during our Turkey and Switzerland adventures and I logged a few workouts during the work travel to San Francisco and Seattle but at the end of the day flying over 25,000 in a month time period can leave you exhausted regardless of how much water you drink, number of workouts, or healthy meals. However, Saturday morning I woke up after a few glasses of wine and a delicious home cooked dinner with my in-laws and decided to give the race every ounce of effort and enjoy myself. If nothing else at least it’s hard not to smile when one is wearing this much neon.

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I have an amazing running coach who continues to motivate me daily both by her accidental PRs and her attitude. On Friday, while we emailed and texted back and forth about the race plan, she reminded me that I’m stronger than I think and that I have sub 9 inside of me for at least a few miles. While I think in a perfect world those sub 9 miles would come later in the race, like oh maybe mile 5, I’m not complaining with my new shiny PR which now tops my Mini 10K race history!

  • 2013: 57:57 9:20 pace per mile
  • 2012: 1:00:15 9:43 pace per mile
  • 2011 1:01:36 9:56 pace per mile

So now that I’ve let you all in on the news that I set a new PR, let me give you a glimpse into how it happen. Keep in mind, do as I say not as I do. Therefore, one should always strive to negative split. However, when you’re tired and unsure of what your body can do running as fast as possible is a whole lot easier.

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I met Katie, my awesome running buddy who is looking to mingle with new running friends after my July 11th move, in the Times Warner Center around 7:30 before we headed into the corrals. We had time to chat and stretch in the corrals while enjoying some epic people watching. Everyone was so pumped for the race. There were teenagers running in neon and cool shades while the elite were walking right by us ready to take their place in the front. The energy was contagious and with temperatures in the mid 60s it was the coolest Mini 10K on record! Combine that with some great jams (LOVING Daft Punk, Bastille, Icona Pop,  and will.i.am right now) on the iPod and a running bud who promises to push you makes for a great race.

I went light for this race, running without water, phone, or fuel so I don’t have pictures to share with you or even conscious thoughts since I definitely zoned out for parts of the race. Though Jen caught this picture of us running around mile 3 which pretty much summarizes the way I felt in the early miles. Also, note to self, wear more supportive running bras.

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Mile 1: Running is amazing! Look at all these powerful women. I’m so glad I wore my compression socks. My legs feel great. This cool weather needs to last for the entire race. Quick glance at watch to ensure we’re keeping a pace we can maintain reveals 8:20. Oh, hello. Rack my mind to decide which approach I want to take. Decide to give it all I have and can always recover in the middle.

Mile 2: I tell Katie to prepare for some hills as we are approaching the start of Harlem Hills. She smiles and says she’s loving the race so far so I smile back and tell her that we’ll keep up the pace. Icona Pop comes on just as I glance down at my watch finishing mile 2 and see that we kept a 8:28. Right at this moment I start to wish this was a 5k race.

Mile 3: Okay we crushed that hill so just one more big one. I tell myself that I can start grabbing water in this mile so focus on the water station’s arrival instead of the hills. Catch myself rapping Ludacris out loud. Oh well. Grab water and see that we’re at a 8:53 pace. I’m fine with this.

Mile 4: Coming into this mile my body starts to feel the pain. I just sprinted the first half and am left pretty empty. I tell Katie that I’m going to slow it down big time to ensure I can finish strong and that she can leave if she wants. I still don’t know whether she laughed or yelled bullshit but regardless she stayed at my side. I remember what Gia told me and lean into the down hills letting gravity do its job. Feel like we’re keeping a good pace but notice that we’re at a 9:30. Ugh. Really?

Mile 5: Start to get negative in my head because 9:30 is a number I didn’t want to see. To make matters worse Katie misread the sign and tried to tell me we only had a mile left. Ha. But then I realize that was only in the initial race plan which included negative splits. I get out of my head and focus on people watching. I see people I recognize from other races, the gym, a blogger, and then oh hello co-worker. Watch beeps with 9:43.

Mile 6: This race really needs to be done. My legs are screaming and my left quad is straight angry. I grab more water and pour it on my wrists and in my mouth. The humidity is definitely present and I know we have some rolling hills in this mile before the final uphill. I barter with myself. I know I have a PR in the bag and know that reaching the stretch goal is pretty impossible. I want to walk. It’s hot. But then I tell myself that this is when I prove my strength to myself. A year ago I would have walked. This year I trudge through saying that anything is better than walking or stopping. I look down and see 9:39.

Mile 6-6.2:  Why does this race always end on an evil uphill. Let’s see if I see anyone on the sidelines. Oh wait there is Leanne – it’s sprint time. Uhoh, that’s a dry heave. Hold it down Ashley, that will make for an ugly race picture. Look at watch to see the time and give Katie a huge, sweaty hug! We did it! None of the pain matters now because I pushed through and achieved my goal of setting a new PR while leaving myself hungry for the stretch goal Gia set for me of a 57:00 10k.

So there you go. Do as I say (negative split, train hard) and not as I do (push it for as long as you can). But more than anything, reach deep and believe you can do it. There is someone out there who knows you can do it!

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Morning Run in San Francisco

Greetings from another new city – San Francisco! After a day filled with meetings and a very interesting flight down via Alaska Air.The below picture of my oh so lovely dinner is a perfect example of just how luxurious business travel is – not. Our terminal had only two dinner options: Burger King or a small bagel cafe.

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I crashed in bed at 9:30pm and didn’t budge until 6:30am. Needless to say I was beyond exhausted. When I woke up this morning I definitely felt like I was on West Coast time but wasn’t fully rested. In fact, even though I had the morning to go through emails and complete multiple conference calls, all I wanted to do was go back to bed. Luckily, Theodora was my accountability buddy and convinced me that a quick run outside would make me feel better. I ended up running 4 miles along the Embarcadero at a faster than normal pace. I may or may not have seen a 7 in front of one of the miles. Okay, yes that mile was downhill for half of it but still. I’m not sure where the energy came from but I hope I can bottle it for Saturday. These pictures are also proof that I’m getting better at running and taking pictures simultaneously because the only one that was taken standing still is the one of my feet.

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Now I’m spending the rest of my day in business lunches, meetings and a dinner with the customer. Am I rested? Nope. Do I feel 100 times better after this run and fresh air? You bet!

I hope you guys have a great Thursday and if you’re in the Southeast United States I hope you’re staying safe from the first tropical storm of the season.

What’s your favorite running city?

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My Running Evolution

This morning, while enjoying a quick 5k run along the Seattle waterfront I thought about why I run. Maybe it was all the Facebook and Instagram updates related to National Running Day that spurred the thought but it definitely made the run more enjoyable.

Running has evolved for me over the past seven years. In the beginning, I ran for weight loss. Then, in Philadelphia I ran because I was depressed and lonely. In New York City, running became a social activity and something I did to build friendships and develop a new passion with Bo. But, now, running more than anything is the way that I experience and see new cities and places. As Bo and I embark on this new adventure running will be one of the only stable things in my life. So while I may not qualify for Boston anytime soon and I may not achieve every goal that was on my list at the beginning of this year, I will continue to run everywhere I travel whether alone or with friends and loved ones by my side.

These Legs Run

So now, in addition, I wanted to share my running story with you guys especially for those who are newer readers.  This hasn’t been updated in a while so the current section has evolved a bit more but what I said in March of 2011 still holds true.

“Have I always been a runner?”

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Hell no! In fact, my passion and love of running only began 7 years ago. My relationship with running has evolved quite a bit from when it began.

The Beginning

On July 2nd, 2005 I walked into a Philadelphia Weight Watchers center desperate for a change. My size 14 shorts no longer fit, I had outgrown my favorite clothing store J.Crew, and I was perpetually the girl with the “great personality.” I was depressed, tired,  and finished with settling for being a “big girl.” Per my mom’s suggestion, I gave Weight Watchers a try. She insisted that it would be a safe, friendly area without the normal intimidation associated with idea of weight loss. I loved it! Within two weeks, I had lost my first 5 pounds and was learning about portion control and incorporating more fiber and protein into my diet. I was reading everything I could get my hands on ranging from books to health magazines.  But, then I hit a plateau and found that even two straight weeks of eating well weren’t helping the weight loss. My “coach” suggested I try running. I laughed at her and explained that I was the girl who avoided the mile run during elementary and middle school. I even avoided team sports in high school for fear that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the other girls even though I loved volleyball and soccer in middle school. She challenged me to start walking and take it from there. That night, in an old Villanova dorm fitness center, I stepped on the treadmill for the first time. I started out slowly, setting the speed to 3.5 just trying to find my balance. After 20 minutes, sweat dripping down my face and body, I increased the speed. I remember bartering with myself. “If I can do 1 minute at 5.0, then I can stop.”

Success!  That night, I jogged for 1 minute and felt invincible. I had taken my first true steps towards finding an exercise that I would come to enjoy and love.

In the days that followed, I added one minute every evening. I kept track of my mileage and time in my Weight Watcher points diary each day until I realized that I was half way towards a 5k. Every summer, during college, my sorority sisters celebrated the end of the season with a lake weekend in Macon. Each year, I stood and cheered by the sidelines of the Macon Labor Day Road Race while they ran past. This year would be different. I kept my new found activity a surprise from everyone. By the last day of my summer internship and my final Philadelphia weigh in, I had lost 11 pounds and was able to jog, albeit at a 11:45 pace, a 5k on the treadmill. My friends and family couldn’t compliment me enough when I returned to Georgia. This positive energy, along with the fact that I was finally under 190 pounds, kept me yearning for more. By Labor Day weekend, I was able to finish the Macon Labor Day Road Race in 33:12!

Throughout the rest of my senior year, I lost 30 more pounds through careful eating and exercise. I ran three days a week throughout campus, normally logging 3-4 miles. I spent this time thinking, releasing stress, and thinking. Sometimes, I was able to convince another sorority sister, who was willing to jog at my pace, to join me for an evening run. It quickly became my favorite time of the week.

Middle

When I moved to Philadelphia on May 14th, 2006 I was excited for the future, but very aware that I was leaving a great deal behind. I left my friends, boyfriend (now husband Bo), family, and past in Georgia in order to start the next chapter in my life. I was pursuing my dream job, but I was miserable. I spent my time immersed in working out and cooking when I wasn’t working. Each morning, I woke up at 6am and logged 4 miles on the treadmill. Each night, I would return to the gym and bike or spend time on the elliptical. I wanted to be anywhere except in the loneliness of my apartment. During this same period of time, my best friend Amy, who had also started with P&G, convinced me that I could run further than 4 miles. She thought that training for races, virtually, would help me. It gave me something new to focus on and something fun to think about. We planned her visits around our Philadelphia races, often making a weekend out of the hour or two hour race. We were second class citizens at our first race, The 2006 Philadelphia Marathon’s 8k. Trust me, on a marathon weekend, the event planners do not think twice about those folks running their smallest race. But, for me, on that day I ran my first race with Amy and my furthest distance. I was immediately hooked on the endorphins I felt after a race and the energy I gained running a new distance. This confidence spread into my everyday work as well as my social life. Bo and my friends saw a new, happier and more confident Ashley while my co-workers quickly termed me “The Running Gal.”  Over the next few years, we conquered multiple mileage marks together including 5k, 8k, 5 miler, 10k, 10 miler, and eventually half marathons together. We planned for each race in the same way. We used Runner’s World to build a training schedule and would each train religiously, never missing a day and recapping our runs and training on email and phone. By the time I left Philadelphia, we had logged 10 races together spanning from Philadelphia to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Current

Since arriving in New York City, my relationship with running has evolved into a ritual. It is something that completes my day, providing me time to think, challenge myself, and spend time alone with treadmill or pavement. It has also taken me to places I never imagined. The New York Road Runners has allowed me to run a marathon, a feat I never thought possible. Moreover, I have been able to challenge myself by running multiple races across the city and multiple boroughs.

The 38 races I’ve run since moving to New York City have been run in a different mindset though. For the past few years, I’ve been trying to get better. I’ve been reaching for lower splits and longer distances, while dealing with more daily stress than ever before. I grew aggravated with my body’; upset that my long legs couldn’t outpace the shorter female runners. It wasn’t until after I missed my New York Marathon goal by 4 minutes did I start to truly evaluate my running routine. I spent an hour reviewing posts, searching through Athlinks for all my old race times, and studying my routine eventually, I started working with Gia, my lovely friend and running coach.

I realized that I had not varied my training during my four years of running. Sure, I had added miles to one run a week in order to reach my marathon distance. Why did I think I would see a change in my body, results, or endurance if I didn’t alter my training. In essence, I had been bringing all the stagnant results upon myself. I spent my Christmas break researching speed training, listening to podcasts about endurance training and fueling, and testing my body. I tried varying my normal runs to see how my legs, lungs, and body felt afterwards. I found that this change reignited my passion for running. Finally, after years of the same movements, I felt something different. I felt the feeling of true breathlessness for the first time, I felt my hip flexors as I completed strides, and I found solace in running alone again. No longer did I need the companionship to finish a long run. I could lace up my shoes, throw on my Garmin, and head towards the park knowing that my legs would take me somewhere I’d never been before because every run, should be different than the last.

If you’re a reader who needs help getting started, please always feel free to reach out to me. As you can tell from this post, I was there once too. It can be intimidating to start, especially at a gym, but once you start you’ll never stop!

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