This past weekend I ran in the elite field at the Ottawa 10k. What a phenomenal experience! Although the result was far from anything to talk about (13th place, 1st American, 36:01) the whole event was fabulous. I would highly recommend any of the events including the Marathon (which Aaron, my fiance ran in 2:30:01, 19th place, 1st American). As an elite runner we had our own warm-up area and bathrooms (definitely a huge bonus). Everyone was beyond helpful and supportive, yay for Canada being so welcoming!
Now to the race. Awesome is the feeling you get standing on the starting line next to Dire Tune! The woman's elite field had a 3:55 head start in front of the men. I still haven't quite figured out how to run a 10k yet. I seem to always go out to hard (my first 5k was 17:26). It was a bit hot, in the upper 70's and humid. I just felt kind of flat, which is probably to be expected since I have only run easy since the Long Island Marathon earlier this month. It was a good rust buster and learning experience. I think it is so important to take bad races, such as the Ottawa 10k for me, and see them for what they really are, an opportunity. This is my opportunity to realize I definitely need to work on my 5k/10k speed in order to help my marathon time. That is the order of business for the next month. I will focus on doing some shorter, faster workouts and racing some 5k's and 10k's. I will still keep my mileage high (between 95 and 130, maybe one week up to 140), but ultimately I will focus my attention on some quality workouts. I will also be trying to negative split my races and really finish strong.
Tip for the day, stay hydrated. It is getting warm (90 here today) so make sure to drink plenty of water and electrolytes throughout the day!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
About Me
So here is a little background information about me to get things started. I went to Island Trees in Levittown, New York for elementary, middle and high school where I was very involved in music and sports. I started out playing lots of basketball and soccer, and like many people joined track as a way to stay 'in shape.' I didn't take running very seriously until my junior year in high school. We didn't have a cross-country or winter track team so I went to another local high school (Plainedge) to train and represented my school as an individual. Then, in the spring I ran on the spring track team at Island Trees. I was an ok high school runner with many local accomplishments such as All-County and qualifying to go to the state meet in cross-country my junior and senior year and in the 3000 meters in Spring Track during my junior year. My high school PR's are nothing to talk about, 5k-20:02, 3000-11:02, 1500-5:04.
For all you high school runners out there who wonder "Am I really fast enough to pursue this whole running thing?" the answer is YES you are as long as you have a few other things, a DREAM, an ability to BELIEVE, a desire to WORK HARD, DEDICATION and SUPPORT.
Now back to the whole about me stuff, after high school I went on to pursue my dream of becoming a music teacher at The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. I ran DIII cross-country throughout my college experience, and a few track races here and there as we only had an official cross-country team. By the end of college I had become an All-American and brought my 5k PR down to 16:38.
I was considering continuing to run after college but plagued by injury my senior year I moved on with my teaching degree in hand, got my first job teaching band, orchestra, chorus and general music at Shubert Elementary School in Baldwin, NY. One year later, wanting to focus my teaching more on band, I got a job teaching elementary school band at Searingtown School in the Herricks School District and that is where I still am today, making music with a wonderful group of students, in a great community.
After not running for 3 years I landed myself back in the sport and quickly started that fire within me again. Recently I have won the 2011 US 50k championships and won the Long Island Marathon with an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:42:54. I am fortunate to be in a supportive district that has given me a one-year leave to train for the Olympic Trials and I hope to share that journey with you right here!
Thanks for reading!
Jodie
For all you high school runners out there who wonder "Am I really fast enough to pursue this whole running thing?" the answer is YES you are as long as you have a few other things, a DREAM, an ability to BELIEVE, a desire to WORK HARD, DEDICATION and SUPPORT.
Now back to the whole about me stuff, after high school I went on to pursue my dream of becoming a music teacher at The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. I ran DIII cross-country throughout my college experience, and a few track races here and there as we only had an official cross-country team. By the end of college I had become an All-American and brought my 5k PR down to 16:38.
I was considering continuing to run after college but plagued by injury my senior year I moved on with my teaching degree in hand, got my first job teaching band, orchestra, chorus and general music at Shubert Elementary School in Baldwin, NY. One year later, wanting to focus my teaching more on band, I got a job teaching elementary school band at Searingtown School in the Herricks School District and that is where I still am today, making music with a wonderful group of students, in a great community.
After not running for 3 years I landed myself back in the sport and quickly started that fire within me again. Recently I have won the 2011 US 50k championships and won the Long Island Marathon with an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:42:54. I am fortunate to be in a supportive district that has given me a one-year leave to train for the Olympic Trials and I hope to share that journey with you right here!
Thanks for reading!
Jodie
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