Venture outside your comfort zone: the rewards are worth it! KSellers88’s Journal (Comments Welcome)

[KSellers88]

I love the pizza planet outfit!!!

Thank you!!

 

[AntimonyER]

Good luck this weekend!

 

[KSellers88]

Good luck this weekend!

thank you! Hope to see you out there and that things go smoothly for you!

 

[AntimonyER]

Hey! I think I saw you from a distance, but it was right before the start of the race, so couldn't come and say hi. Were you wearing a pink top?

 

[KSellers88]

Hey! I think I saw you from a distance, but it was right before the start of the race, so couldn't come and say hi. Were you wearing a pink top?

yes! That was me, I hate I missed you! Congrats on pushing through and getting it done!

 

[KSellers88]

Catching up...as usual...

I'm not really sure why I bother trying to keep up with this training journal anymore, but here we are. It does help some with accountability, but life gets in the way sometimes. Anywho, November was another great month of running with Wine and Dine weekend, our local Soldier half marathon and the Beat the Bird 5k (fast people dressed up as turkeys and we had to try and beat them, I failed thanks to a sinus infection, LOL.) Barkley also had a great month and is inching closer to a 100 mile month! This marks 35 months of 100+ miles for me, which I cannot even believe.

 

[KSellers88]

Kiawah Island Half Race Recap

I decided back in the summer to tackle the Kiawah Island half as a PR attempt. I ran the full last year and really enjoyed the race and found the island to be absolutely beautiful. I started a @DopeyBadger training plan back in August (I think?) and stuck to it pretty well, only missing a few runs here and there due to life and allergies. My current half PR was 1:48:37 and I am happy to say that I beat that PR by one minute and nine seconds for a new PR of 1:47:09. To show y'all what an amazing coach Billy is, he predicted my finish time to be 1:47:21, absolutely amazing #math. Now for a few more details...

Leading up to the race: we left for Kiawah Island on Wednesday, which is about a 5.5 hour drive for us. All we did upon arrival is unpack and head to the grocery store. Thursday we did a self-guided tour of Downtown Charleston. I absolutely love this town and all the historical sights it has to offer. If you've never been, I highly recommend it. Plus it is a short drive to Savannah, another one of my favorite Southern towns.



Friday it rained ALL. DAY. but I was able to get my 2.5 mile shakeout run done before it started pouring. Once I got finished running, we headed to the expo to pick up my bib and short. The logistics of this race are so easy if you are staying on the island, even if it is a bit of a drive from the activities in Charleston. We spent the rest of the day at the outlet mall and then headed back to the condo for my traditional pre-race pizza dinner.



Pre-race: I woke up around 6:45, ate a bagel with PB and honey, banana and drank about a half cup of water. I got dressed and grabbed my throwaway blanket and left to walk to the start line (.25 miles from our condo). Before I got out of our parking lot, I realized I didn’t need the blanket and that my shorts were not going to work. Headed back to ditch the blanket and change shorts then left for the start line again. I did a half mile warm up and then weaved my way to the start line. I’d planned to run with the 1:45 pace group but couldn’t find it anywhere and would realize why later.

Miles 1-10: these miles were all pretty consistent from 8:05 to 7:44 pace. I realized why I didn’t see the 1:45 pace group before the start around mile 2. Apparently I started with the “high performance corral” and not where the pace groups were, which is definitely NOT where I belonged. I did look around, but I guess I couldn’t see them since I’m so much shorter than everyone else. I stuck with the 1:45 pacer until about mile 8 when he slowly started to pull away.

Mile splits: 8:01, 7:44 (oops), 7:57, 7:53, 7:55, 7:58, 8:00, 8:04, 8:05

Miles 10-13.1: the mantra for these miles was going back and forth between “don’t fade” and “you’ve got this”. During these miles, I thought of all of you who have been SO encouraging throughout my training so thank you for pulling me through. Around mile 11, I realized a PR was pretty likely as long as I didn’t give up. I pushed through and ran the last quarter mile at a 7:43 pace, which is 20 seconds away from my average pace on my 5k PR.

Mile splits: 8:28 (slowest of the day), 8:14, 8:24, 8:08 and 7:43 to the finish.

Finish: I crossed the line at 1:47:09 with what was hopefully a smile on my face. While I don’t think my race went perfect, I felt strong and never let that negative voice take over. I looked at my data from my last half PR and my average HR was 26 BPM less this weekend, which tells an even bigger story. I’ve definitely improved my endurance and I can’t wait to see what else is to come!



Post race: We spent the rest of the day in Downtown Charleston again seeing the sights we missed on Thursday. If you ever go to Charleston and are a nature lover like me, please go visit the Angel Oak. This tree is estimated to be around 500 years old and I have never seen anything like it. We ate dinner at a local sports bar and I devoured a cheeseburger and fries.



Sunday we loaded up to head home after a quick walk on the beach for some medal pictures.



Thanks for reading if you’ve stuck around this long and for all the encouragement! I'm not 100% sure what is next on the agenda for me besides some local 5ks and a half marathon. I had planned on doing the 26.2 with Donna in Jacksonville, but since we are building a house I think it may be smarter to save that money. Snickers Marathon in Albany, GA is still on the table though and I would loveeeee to finally break 4 hours. I'll keep y'all posted!

 

[StacyStrong]

Congrats on your PR!!!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Phenomenal performance! With such a dramatic drop in HR between HMs, I'm very interested in what comes next.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Awesome job!

 

[avondale]

Kiawah Island Half Race Recap

I decided back in the summer to tackle the Kiawah Island half as a PR attempt. I ran the full last year and really enjoyed the race and found the island to be absolutely beautiful. I started a @DopeyBadger training plan back in August (I think?) and stuck to it pretty well, only missing a few runs here and there due to life and allergies. My current half PR was 1:48:37 and I am happy to say that I beat that PR by one minute and nine seconds for a new PR of 1:47:09. To show y'all what an amazing coach Billy is, he predicted my finish time to be 1:47:21, absolutely amazing #math. Now for a few more details...

Leading up to the race: we left for Kiawah Island on Wednesday, which is about a 5.5 hour drive for us. All we did upon arrival is unpack and head to the grocery store. Thursday we did a self-guided tour of Downtown Charleston. I absolutely love this town and all the historical sights it has to offer. If you've never been, I highly recommend it. Plus it is a short drive to Savannah, another one of my favorite Southern towns.

View attachment 459487

Friday it rained ALL. DAY. but I was able to get my 2.5 mile shakeout run done before it started pouring. Once I got finished running, we headed to the expo to pick up my bib and short. The logistics of this race are so easy if you are staying on the island, even if it is a bit of a drive from the activities in Charleston. We spent the rest of the day at the outlet mall and then headed back to the condo for my traditional pre-race pizza dinner.

View attachment 459485

Pre-race: I woke up around 6:45, ate a bagel with PB and honey, banana and drank about a half cup of water. I got dressed and grabbed my throwaway blanket and left to walk to the start line (.25 miles from our condo). Before I got out of our parking lot, I realized I didn’t need the blanket and that my shorts were not going to work. Headed back to ditch the blanket and change shorts then left for the start line again. I did a half mile warm up and then weaved my way to the start line. I’d planned to run with the 1:45 pace group but couldn’t find it anywhere and would realize why later.

Miles 1-10: these miles were all pretty consistent from 8:05 to 7:44 pace. I realized why I didn’t see the 1:45 pace group before the start around mile 2. Apparently I started with the “high performance corral” and not where the pace groups were, which is definitely NOT where I belonged. I did look around, but I guess I couldn’t see them since I’m so much shorter than everyone else. I stuck with the 1:45 pacer until about mile 8 when he slowly started to pull away.

Mile splits: 8:01, 7:44 (oops), 7:57, 7:53, 7:55, 7:58, 8:00, 8:04, 8:05

Miles 10-13.1: the mantra for these miles was going back and forth between “don’t fade” and “you’ve got this”. During these miles, I thought of all of you who have been SO encouraging throughout my training so thank you for pulling me through. Around mile 11, I realized a PR was pretty likely as long as I didn’t give up. I pushed through and ran the last quarter mile at a 7:43 pace, which is 20 seconds away from my average pace on my 5k PR.

Mile splits: 8:28 (slowest of the day), 8:14, 8:24, 8:08 and 7:43 to the finish.

Finish: I crossed the line at 1:47:09 with what was hopefully a smile on my face. While I don’t think my race went perfect, I felt strong and never let that negative voice take over. I looked at my data from my last half PR and my average HR was 26 BPM less this weekend, which tells an even bigger story. I’ve definitely improved my endurance and I can’t wait to see what else is to come!

View attachment 459492View attachment 459489View attachment 459486

Post race: We spent the rest of the day in Downtown Charleston again seeing the sights we missed on Thursday. If you ever go to Charleston and are a nature lover like me, please go visit the Angel Oak. This tree is estimated to be around 500 years old and I have never seen anything like it. We ate dinner at a local sports bar and I devoured a cheeseburger and fries.

View attachment 459491View attachment 459495

Sunday we loaded up to head home after a quick walk on the beach for some medal pictures.

View attachment 459493View attachment 459497

Thanks for reading if you’ve stuck around this long and for all the encouragement! I'm not 100% sure what is next on the agenda for me besides some local 5ks and a half marathon. I had planned on doing the 26.2 with Donna in Jacksonville, but since we are building a house I think it may be smarter to save that money. Snickers Marathon in Albany, GA is still on the table though and I would loveeeee to finally break 4 hours. I'll keep y'all posted!

Congratulations! That's a great PR! Sounds like a fun race, overall.

 

[disneygpa]

Great race and congrats on the PR!!!

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Congrats on the PR! Great recap!

 

[TeeterTots]

Congrats! Amazing way to finish the year! Best of luck with the house and all that comes in the new year!!! Love the pics! Beach shirts is awesome!! Must be custom

 

[Jules76126]

Congrats on a great race. I really want to visit Charleston some day so this sounds like a great destination race.

 

[michigandergirl]

Congrats on the PR!! I love that medal too!

 

[KSellers88]

Congrats on your PR!!!!

Thank you so much!

Phenomenal performance! With such a dramatic drop in HR between HMs, I'm very interested in what comes next.

Thanks! Couldn't have done it without you!

Awesome job!

Thanks!

Congratulations! That's a great PR! Sounds like a fun race, overall.

Thank you! It really is a great race, highly recommend!

Great race and congrats on the PR!!!

Thanks!

Congrats on the PR! Great recap!

Thank you so much!

Congrats! Amazing way to finish the year! Best of luck with the house and all that comes in the new year!!! Love the pics! Beach shirts is awesome!! Must be custom

The best way to finish the year! Thank you so much! It is custom, and I am obsessed with it. LOL

Congrats on a great race. I really want to visit Charleston some day so this sounds like a great destination race.

Thanks! It really is, and I think there is a race that runs through Charleston in January but I have never done that one. Kiawah Island is much more laid back versus the more downtown vibe of Charleston, so we like to escape that to sleep. LOL

Congrats on the PR!! I love that medal too!

Thank you! Me too, two of my favorite things!

 

[KSellers88]

Another quick update (promise)...

One thing @DopeyBadger mentioned that I forgot about it my HR difference between this half and my last half PR in April of 2018. There was a 26 BPM reduction between the two, which absolutely amazes me. I am not sure how I didn't die during that Nashville half marathon to be honest. The temperatures/weather were pretty comparable because I got lucky with a cooler day in Nashville...so the main difference is the elevation between the two courses (Nashville is much hillier). I guess all that hard work and summer running in Alabama is counting for something!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Another quick update (promise)...

One thing @DopeyBadger mentioned that I forgot about it my HR difference between this half and my last half PR in April of 2018. There was a 26 BPM reduction between the two, which absolutely amazes me. I am not sure how I didn't die during that Nashville half marathon to be honest. The temperatures/weather were pretty comparable because I got lucky with a cooler day in Nashville...so the main difference is the elevation between the two courses (Nashville is much hillier). I guess all that hard work and summer running in Alabama is counting for something!

View attachment 459754View attachment 459755

Looks like two different watches (Garmin 235 vs Fenix5s). Have you noticed much of a difference in your pace to HR relationship outside of this race when you switched watches? When did you make the switch?

 

[KSellers88]

Looks like two different watches (Garmin 235 vs Fenix5s). Have you noticed much of a difference in your pace to HR relationship outside of this race when you switched watches? When did you make the switch?

Correct, I made the switch in June of 2018. I don't think it is just the watch though because below are three other races from 2018 with the Garmin Fenix 5s (Roswell is the Area 13.1 Half in August 2018, Walton County is the 30A half in October 2018, and Kiawah is the Kiawah Island Marathon in December 2018.). I don't really know though because I am not as good with data as you are. LOL.