Race Report: Dallas White Rock Half Marathon

I was super excited to hit up my first legit race expo on Saturday.  I've never done a big race before, so it was pretty cool.  I hit up some sweet free samples and found about 284937459 things I wanted.  Luke's Locker was having a big sale, and I ended up finding some more Nike tempo track shorts to add to my collection.  After I bought them I realized they matched my new-er Nike tank tops.  Look out soccer mom's, I'm going to give you a run for your matchy-matchy money. :)

I had to take a pic at the starting line in front of all the elites.  Look at me, I'm winning!!  Heh heh.  When I went to pick up my bib, the guy tried to tell me they had given it away to someone else.  Um...what?!?!?  I don't want some other fool running under my name.  No way!  Luckily they found it, but I was freaking out a bit.  When I checked out my bib, I was 8400A.  Not sure what the A meant, I consulted the race packet, apparently it didn't stand for AWESOME like I had previously thought, but corresponded with my race corral.  Um...what?  So maybe I WILL be lining up with the elites.  ;)

After an ice sculpture show (pictures and post to come!) and dinner, it was back to the casa for race freak out mode prep.  All week long I've been trying to decide whether it would be best to wear a tank top or sleeves for the race.  I knew it was going to be in the low 40s for the start of the race and mid 50s for the end.  Option A:  Freeze at the start and be perfect at the finish or Option B:  Be comfy at the start, and be HOT at the finish. Luckily after some consultation on twitter, I decided to go with the tank top.  I laid out all of my clothes and gear Saturday night before hitting the hay, and felt super weird snapping a pic in front of the fam who doesn't know I have a blog.

I went to bed at 11, and easily woke up once per hour.  The alarm went off at 5 and I sprung up out of bed and started getting ready.  My bro and I made the trek to Dallas in some heavy fog.  He dropped me off, and I was on my own.  I left my phone with him because I was super afraid that my bag would get lost and I'd be screeeewed.  I really wish I would've had it for those two hours though.

I met a gal who was running her first marathon, and we kept each other calm-ish for the 2 hours before race time.  Finally it was getting close to the time we were supposed to be in our corrals so we headed outside.  It. Was. COLD!  BRRR!!  I was half tempted to ask some random boys to hug me while we waited.  No shame here. :p  The gun went off and the elites were off, and about a minute later I crossed the finish line.  I was super concerned being in the "fast" corral that I would get swept up in the quick pace and crash and burn.  Luckily there was some bobbing and weaving that took place in the first couple of miles that kept me from going out way too fast.  I kept seeing people throwing off their cheap-o gloves and was half tempted a few times to snag a discarded pair.  I was warmed up but my hands were frozey!!

The first few miles went by really fast.  I didn't really check out the scenery but I was concerned about running over those in front of me and cutting people off while trying to pass.  There were a bunch of skyscrapers which was pretty cool, and I was super happy Mr. Garmin didn't lose a signal because of the tall buildings.  By Mile 1, sweat was starting to roll down my temples, so I was content with my tank top final decision.

1. 8:57
2. 8:57
3. 8:37 

I missed the 3rd mile split, so I tried to pick up the pace a bit after that mile, because I was afraid it was similar to miles 1 and 2.  Also, it was about mile 2 that I started to notice that my garmin was showing about .1 miles long.  Oy!  Tangents Jerbear!  Tangents!  It never failed that each time there was a water station I was on the opposite side of the street and would have to shoot over to the other side.  I also had a sideache for the majority of the first 5 miles.  I took a GU about 25 minutes before the race, and I usually don't, so I think that might have been the case.

The next few miles were in a gorgeous area of town.  The houses were huge and historic looking, with beautiful Christmas decorations strung up.  Because of the fog and 100% humidity, the streets were really wet and slick.  My knees were NOT happy about that part.  I thought I left the slippery/slick running back home on the snow covered paths!

4. 8:41
5. 8:44
6. 8:38 

Around the half way point, I tried to start predicting a finish time to see if I'd be close to a PR.  I knew I was pretty far off from my 8:30 pace goal, so I wanted to come up with a new time to shoot for.  Doing math while running makes time flyyyy by for me.

My 10k split was 54:45 for a pace of 8:50.  My 10k Split rank was 1659.  Right around this point the marathoners and half-marathoners split apart on the course and it was so nice to have some breathing room.  It was pretty congested up until that point.  You know....just running with 20,000 of my closest friends til then.  ;)

Around miles 7 and 8 there was a little out and back portion, so it was really cool seeing some of the front runners in the half.  That kept me entertained for almost a full mile.  Once I hit mile 8 I realized I only had 5 miles left, and I felt GREAT.

7. 8:38
8. 8:36
9. 8:39
10. 8:32 

Once I hit mile 10, it was time to kick it in the booty.  I actually yelled out "5k left kiddos!" because I was so excited.  No one else really shared my enthusiasm, but it's truly my favorite part of the race, because I love me a strong 5k.  [Sidenote:  According to the stats on the website, I passed 120 people during the last 3.1 miles.  I'll take it!]  The last few miles was on a bike trail, so there were less spectators, but also less rolling hills.

My mile 10 split was 1:27:54 for a pace of 8:48.  My rank at the 10 mile split was 1586.  The last 3 miles of the race FLEW by.  My last 5k time was 25:17.

Because my garmin was still showing about .1 miles long, I wasn't quite sure where to start my kick.  When I saw the balloons of the finish line, I thought CRAP! definitely should've started sooner.  I kind of looked like a fool with an all out sprint in from the last .1 miles, but oh well.  Hopefully it made for a great finishing pic, right?! :)

11. 8:23
12. 8:13
13. 8:06
.21 1:26 (6:47 pace 5:27 max pace)

Final time 1:53:09 for a 1:30 PR for 13.21 miles.  I ran an 8:34 pace according to the actual distance I ran, but 8:39 for 13.1 miles.  Bummer, because if my calculators are correct, I would've been pretty ding dong close to 8:30 pace for 13.1 if the course was correct/I didn't suck at running tangents.  Oh well, gives me extra motivation for the next one, eh?

Race Stats?  Sure why not?  :)

Field Placement:	1469 / 6654 (22.1%)
Age group:	25 – 29
Group Placement:	99 / 717 (13.8%)
Gender Placement:	420 / 3483 (12.1%)

I guess I shouldn't have felt soooo weird about being in the first corral.  :)

Hopefully the course photogs got some sweet pics, but my official photog crew was back home.  For the record, I missed my fan club.

Luckily I found my bro right at the finish line.  Wow, was I a SWEATY mess.  Holy crap.  Soooo glad I went with the tank top.

This was by far the most fun I've ever had during a race.  I ran almost a perfect race, except for I should've started my kick sooner.  I crossed the finish line with a HUGE smile on my face.  I beat my best time by 1:30, when I didn't even think that was an option a month ago.  The crowd support was awesome.  And I officially love big races.  This race got me SUPER pumped for my full in May.  :D

Favorite sign of the course:  Hurry ___________.  Run like Tiger Woods is chasing you.

Favorite back of a shirt on the course:  I would let Brett Favre knock up my girlfriend.  I caught up to him and we chatted about The Pack for a while.  I almost asked if the shirt was in reference to current or future girlfriends, because I think him and I could work something out.  ;)

Thanks so much for all of your support on my blog and on twitter.  It's great having such a strong support system.  Love you kids!

Half Marathon #6 is in the record books.  Bring on the next race!!

Race Goals + Adorable Nephew Pics

Race goals.  After the great foot pain of November, I had decided not to have a time goal for this race.  Fast forward to the great mock-a-than , and I got to thinking differently.  I was only a minute off from my actual PR and didn't feel taxed until the last mile when I was just running to be done.  Without further ado, here are my race goals.

Goal D:  Finish the race with a smile on my face.  Ok, I might not FINISH the race with a smile, but I hope to be wearing one for 98% of the 13.1 miles.

Goal C:  Finish under 9 minute pace.  I tried to shoot for right under 9 mm in my long runs for this training.

Goal B:  PR.  Run faster than 1:54:39 (8:44 pace set in the Sioux Falls 1/2 Marathon in September).

Goal A:  Run an 8:30 pace (1:51:26 ish).

Goal A++ (aka. Insane Pants):  Sub 1:50.  Miss Julie seems to think I can do it, so we'll throw it out there just for fun.

And now some pics of my adorable nephew, Harrison, and his little buddy, Mason.

Yeehaw.  The first thing he did this morning, after waking me up by snotty-breathing over the top of me while combing his hair, was to throw on his booooots.  Little cowboy.

Enjoying some animal crackers.  H was in control and would divvy out crackers to me and Mason.

Smiles for miles on the little ones.  It's seriously creepy how much H looks like my bro when he was his age.  CREEPY!!
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Today I'm headed to the expo and to some ice sculpture show that's supposed to be crazy cool.  Hopefully my mind will be stimulated enough so I forget I'm running a half marathon tomorrow.  Ahem.  Have a good day ya'll.  [Had to throw in the ya'll.....]

Presently in Freak Out Mode

I have arrived in sunny cold Dallas, TX.  Where's the sun?  I thought I left the cold back home?!?  My bro apologized for the cold when he got me at the airport, and I told him the 40* was a good 60* warmer than back home (-20).  No worries, it will be gorgeous on race day, and that's all that really matters.

I woke up this morning to some snotty/heavy breathing.  I rolled over to see my nephew peering down at me on the couch.  He has been going since then, including 10 full minutes of jumping up and down in front of the television.  I'm thinking about getting him to run my race for me.  The kid would probably win it for me.  As soon as my nerves die down, I'll take some sweet pics of the little bundle of energy.

I just realized that you can sign up for text message updates of my progress on Sunday.  Ooooooh.  Big step from my rink-dink local half marathons, eh?  If you're interested leave me a comment with your email, and I will give you the necessary deets (unless you're a scary stalker, and then nuh-UH!)

Ok, back to obsessively freaking out about the race.

A Royal Reunion + Last Tempo Run

Monday night was a blast.  It was so great to see one of my bestest friends again.  We went out to Old Chicago to enjoy some beers and calzones, then moved on to a local sports bar to watch the Packers game on some ginormous screens, where more delicious beers were consumed.  I only work 3 days this week, might as well have a crazy Monday night, right?  The night ended great with a Packers win, and it was light's out, as Ryan had to get up crazy early to head off for his job interview.  Fingers are still crossed that he gets the offer!

Tuesday I woke up to snooooooow.  Every time I looked at my window at work it was snowing HUGE fluffy snowflakes.  There were times that the flurries were blowing so hard that I couldn't see a half of a block down the street.  Eeek.  When I left work there was a mountain of snow on top of my car.  :(  After the fender bender last week, I am really scared to drive.  I'm a wuss, I know; but I swear it starts to snow and people drive like idiots.  After sitting at home trying to beg ask for a ride to the gym, I finally sucked it up and headed there myself.  What are the odds of getting hit twice in 5 days, right?  [knock on wood.]

On the schedule I had my last tough workout.  6 miles with 4 tempo miles at 8:23 pace.  I ate waaaaaay too close to my run so I had a pretty stellar sideache through the first half of the run.  The tempo pace didn't feel as easy as last week's but after the stitch eased up, the time and miles flew by.

I did 6 miles in 52:14 for a pace of 8:43.

1. 9:28 2. 8:12 3. 8:20 4. 8:19 5. 8:18 6. 9:33

Our VP at work sent out an email with closing information for inclement weather, so fingers crossed on that one for tomorrow.  Then I won't have any excuse not to get out and take some pictures of our winter wonderland.

I'll leave you with a funny story from one of my good friends.  An old co-worker of mine and her two little boys make it to 95% of my races.  They've affectionately been dubbed Team Green.  I went over to her house to watch a movie and drink some vino on Friday night.  When she told her boys I was coming over, the oldest one (8) got really excited....
Dylan:  I'm glad Jeri's coming. I want to wrestle her.
Melissa:  Why's that?
Dylan:  Because she looks really tough, so I bet she'd be good at wrestling.

I laughed soooo hard.  I have some monster-strong legs, but I will be the first to admit that my arms are scrawny.  I just think its cute that he has it in his head that I'm tough because he's seen me do some tough races.  Just goes to show you how impressionable kids are when it comes to fitness.  It's super cool to be a role model in that way.

Drive safe in all of your Winter Wonderlands kids.  Will my snow to go away so I can make it to Omaha to fly out on Thursday.  Eeek!!

I guess I should put snow shoes on my list to Santa

I should be very VERY thankful that the winter weather held off considerably this year.  Usually we have snow and very cold weather mid-October until late March, hence why I always falls off the running bandwagon mid-October.  Brrrr.  Luckily for us, and probably unluckily for the planet (hey-o Global warming!), winter has just recently appeared.  I had expected I would have to do 60% of my Dallas Half Marathon training in buckets of snow and below zero temps.  It hasn't even been below zero yet and it's December.  That gets an A+ in my books.  So with all that THANKS out of the way, it's time to start complaining.....

I had my last long run of 12 miles on the schedule for this weekend, and had looked at the weather report on Thursday to determine whether it would be nicer on Saturday or Sunday.  Saturday Hi of 28, Sunday Hi of 22 w/snow flurries.  Well, Saturday, you win resoundingly, congrats.  I waited until 1:30 as it was the "warmest" part of the day.  I think it got up to a whopping 27* with a windchill of 18*.  HEAT WAVE, look out.  To be honest, it wasn't actually that bad, except for the portions where the wind was whipping at my face.  Apparently I'm a big ol' wussy when it comes to wind.  It's painful.

I fueled up with a bowl of coffee ice cream with caramel syrup for breakfast (I wish I was kidding, but when you want something, sometimes you just have to have it. :p).  Shortly before the run, I had a banana with some PB.  Of course, THAT would upset my stomach not the ice cream.  Go figure.  :p

The run started off great, and the first 2 miles came in much faster than I had planned.  After last week's long run , I knew I had the confidence mentally to rock Dallas, so I had just planned on taking these 12 easy.  Shortly after the first 2 miles, I realized the rest of the run wasn't going to be nearly as speedy.  The trail was covered in 1-2" of snow.  Well if that won't slow you down, I don't know what will.  Luckily it wasn't slippery under the snow, that would've been unbearable, it was just hard to get good traction.  One highlight of the run, was that I set a new Jeri record for snot rockets blown in a run.  If you follow me on twitter you might have caught me complaining about a new cold setting in.  My nose has been completely plugged up since the end of work yesterday.  Well she was floooooooowing today.  Yikes.  I feel like Hansel and Gretel, except instead of bread crumbs to mark my way, I used boogers.  Sexy.

The last few miles of the run were really nice because the wind was at my back, and the sun finally sneaked out from behind the clouds to warm up my frozey face.  Plus, I knew that once I got 2 miles away from home, I could enjoy snow-free trails again.

I ended the 12 miles in 1:50:08 for a pace of 9:10.  Not as leisurely of a pace as I had planned, but apparently my legs were ready for some speed the last 2 miles.  [Sidenote:  I may or may not try for roughly the same time on my NEXT long run....to give you a glimpse of my race day goals :D]

1. 9:03 
2. 9:05 
3. 9:18 
4. 9:16 
5. 9:26 
6. 9:36 
7. 9:20 
8. 9:21 
9. 9:08 
10: 9:06 
11. 8:53 
12. 8:30


No ice baths for this girl, thankfully.  But when I got done, my ankles were sore from the sliding around on the snow.  So I stopped on my stoop, took off my shoes and socks, and grabbed some handfuls of snow to "ice" my ankles with.  Some may say that's a big "unconventional"I say it's genius and resourceful. :)

My knees were pretty sore throughout the night and on Sunday.  I'm guessing the sliding around probably caused some extra stress to them.  I was having a terrible-rotten-no good-very-bad-day, so I forced myself to head to the gym to sweat off the crabbies.  Since my legs were tired, I opted for an hour bike ride on the stationary bike.  I did some rolling hills at a decent resistance and went 13.65 miles.  My best mph yet.  WHOO!  Plus I got through some health and fitness mags, as well as some trashy celeb gossip mags that were lying around my gym.  I loooove to read them, but refuse to buy them.  And I only let myself read them while working my booty off.  :)

Sweating helped and so did a visit from one of my favorite people in the world.  Of course, his arrival meant I had to watch the end of the Vikings slaughter game, which I giggled and giggled about.  I do still love me some Brett Favre, so I wasn't too upset about it.  Watching some Christmas Vacation was the cherry on top of my SUNDAY (sundae, get it?!?!  muhaha).  Crabby mood, buh bye, see you late in 2010.  :p

Tonight my best guy friend from college is coming to stay with me before his job interview for a job much much closer to meeeeeeeeeee.  Ok, that's not the reason he's applying for the job, obvi, but it's what I'm most excited about.  We were pretty much connected at the hip for 2 years in college.  We're going to hit up the gym and leave our mark in sweat,

Funny story:  His nickname in college was Sweat King, because of his ability to sweat.  I had heard about him and his sweaty ways, and introduced myself to him at a party.
Jeri:  So uh... I hear you're the Sweat King (as he's standing in front of a boxed fan in a 98* basement at a party in early September).
SK:  Uh..yup.
Jeri:  I think I could be your Sweat Queen.  Share the fan please.  :)

And the rest is history.

Anyway, after sweating all over the gym, we're going to head out for some drinks and some foods and cheer on our Packers.  Yes, he's also a GB Packers fan.  A match made in sweaty heaven, I tell you.  Hopefully tomorrow's post will be riddled with fabulous pictures of the Royal Reunion.  Yes.  I went there. :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I have one word to describe Wednesday night's run:  holy-shit-this-is-horrible-i-want-to-die-and/or-move-away-immediately.  It was SO COLD.  I thought I was prepared for a cold run, but I was oh so wrong.  The temp wasn't so bad, in the 20s, but the wind was brutal 10-15 mph.  While the wind was at my back, I was perfectly comfy, even slightly warm, but I had tears running down my face when I was running against the wind.  Partially because of the wind, partially because of the pain.  My coat zipper stuck to my neck on a couple of occasions because it was so cold and I was still slightly sweaty.  Talk about ouch.  I almost stopped at one point to turn around and walk home backwards it was so brutal.  Ugh.  Never again.  Will utilize the gym if necessary.

Ok the run from hell:  I did 5 miles in 47:21 for a pace of 9:29.  My splits were all over the place because of the wind and horrendous pain I was in running against it.

1. 9:32
2. 9:15
3. 9:15
4. 9:36
5. 9:40

Thursday I woke up ready to head to the gym for an easy 5 miles.  After the run from hell, and the huge snow fall we had, I knew I wasn't subjecting myself to running outside again.  After puttsing around, I decided to do yoga instead, opting to head to the gym after work instead. Mistake #1.

After work, I quick got ready for the gym and headed out.  I contemplating going to tan before the gym, but realized I would be even WARMER if I did that, so I decided not to.  Mistake #2.  While waiting to make a left hand turn to head to my gym (I live about 1 mile from my gym, great location), I got rear-ended by some ding dong.

The setting:  8:25pm dark and biting cold.  CRASH/CRUNCH!
Jeri:  What happened!?!?!
Ding dong:  Well.... I hit you.
Jeri:  I know but why!?!?!?!?  Was it slippery or something?
Ding dong:  Nope, I just wasn't paying attention.  We should probably call someone.
End scene.

His car didn't have a scratch on it, but my bumper shattered.  Because of the extreme cold (it was probably in the single digits at this point) the plastic was just decimated.  The guy kept apologizing, and I kept saying it was fine, as long as I could get to my gym before it closed.  :p

After talking to the cop and exchanging insurance info., I was finally free to go.  Mr. Wreckless Driver had to stay in the cop car, presumably to get his ticket.  I got to the gym and knew I'd have to shorten my tempo run.  A run that I had been dreading all day had taken on new meaning.  I was SO happy to be ok and that the accident wasn't anything serious.  (Disclosure:  I'm deathly afraid of car accidents.  I didn't have my license until very late in life because of it, and still refuse to drive 99% of the time.)

The adrenaline from the accident definitely gave me an extra boost on my run.  I had 7 miles, with 5 at a tempo pace of 8:28, 1 warm up and 1 mile cool down.  I ended up having to omit the cool down, and opted to walk for a minute as the gym was closing.  The tempo pace felt like a BREEZE!  It's making me think an 8:30 pace for the Dallas HM might be doable!!!

I did the 6 miles in 51:10 for a pace of 8:32.  Tempo pace:  8:20.
1. 9:26 2. 8:21 3. 8:26 4. 8:26 5. 8:22 6. 8:06

The run felt gooooooood.  I kicked up the pace the last 2 miles because I was feeling great, plus I knew I wanted to walk at least a little post run before going out into the cold.

I got an estimate on my car repairs Friday after work, and a new bumper plus labor is 1/2 as much as my far cost.  Pretty happy I wasn't at fault for the accident. :p

Ok, onto some happy things.  My Christmas tree.

Also, after cleaning my living living room to put up my decorations, I realized I needed a place to display my race medals, other than just lying on the floor.  I was pretty happy with my solution.  I may or may not have tried to string lights on my bike, but the string of lights was dead. :(

November in Review

Monday I woke up crazy early, feeling well rested, so I hopped out of bed and set out to do some yoga.  Mental note:  do not check facebook & twitter early in the morning because your time will be sucked away.  Before I knew it, it was time to get ready for work.  Grrr...  one small perk of sitting on my couch with my laptop was that I started to see the sunrise peak through the window.  It was gorg.  I stepped outside to snap a couple of photos in my pjs, because I'm just classy like that.  :p

So in a way it was a good thing I wasn't being all namaste'd because I would've missed this beautifulness.  :)


After work I set out for my final run of November:  an easy 5 miler.  It was in the high 40s, low 50s with almost no wind, so I took advantage of wearing my awesome capris and a long sleeve shirt.  The entire run I had Red Jumpsuit Apparatus--You're My Angel running through my head.  I may or may not have had the song on repeat for the last couple of hours of work.  Sue me!  The run was pretty uneventful.... 5 miles in 46:47 for a pace of 9:22.


1.  9:15
2.  9:28
3.  9:22
4.  9:19
5.  9:20


I always get excited on the last day of the month to look at my running totals.  Unfortunately, because I took 1/3 of the month off, my numbers were a bit low.  The big bummer is, prior to being injured, this should've been my highest mileage month eva.  :(  Oh well.  There's always another month!

Total Miles: 80.1, which is down from 115.1 from last month.  

Miles Biked:  87.72

Time spent: 12:21:07.

Total Runs: 12 for an average of 6.75/run.

Highest weekly mileage: 11/23/2009-11/28/2009:  30.1 Mi/4:43:43

Favorite run: My first run back after taking 10 days off.  It was just an easy run, but I was just sooo happy that I had no foot pain during it.  :)

Most hardcore run: 8 x 800 m. @ 7:18 pace.   I missed speed work the most when I was hurt, so this run was hard but oh so rewarding.

Favorite Race:  Technically it wasn't a race, but I didn't race in November.  So we'll go with my mock half marathon.  I hadn't planned on even trying for a PR in Dallas, but after this, I'm definitely going for it.