Christmas on the Coosa 5K

I was in Alabama for work this week, so I had every intension of running the Christmas on the Coosa 12K on Saturday. I have been planning it since October and I know that I can run that distance....but when I woke up on Saturday morning, not yet registered, and it was raining in addition to being around 35 degrees.... I decided to downgrade to the 5K. (I wouldn't have went AT ALL except I had talked other people into registering already!)

As you can see, I dressed pretty warmly - but not as warm as I would have liked to have been! Thank goodness they were giving the beanie hats for the race instead of a tshirt :) I started off dry enough, but it started raining right before the race started and rained the entire run. I managed to keep out of the puddles until the middle of the 2nd mile and then I got really wet - my pants were sloshing around... GRRR.

I finished the race in 26:46 according to my Garmin. Its been a LONG time since I was in a race that wasn't chip timed! But my buddy Dwayne mentioned that I might have placed but it'll take forever for the Trail of Legends to post the results. I'll update when I know more :)

Space Coast Half Marathon

This week was madness. We worked on Monday. Drove to Bama on Tuesday (it took us a long time, but it was a nice trip) visited before a late bedtime. Worked on Wednesday for a while, ran some errands, and did some 'pre-cooking' Wednesday night, Kiki and Kara came late - full house at this point... Thursday was hectic for me since mom couldn't cook or clean up the kitchen and I was stuffed and tired, EVERYONE stayed Thursday night and some crazy people even went out shopping at midnight - I opted to try to get some sleep in preparation for the weekend since I was WAY behind in that department. Friday we visited, ate more really bad stuff, watched the iron bowl, packed, and drove half-way back stopping for sleep in Tallahassee...Saturday we got home, went to the expo, went to the grocery store, cooked dinner, and was in bed at a reasonable 9pm.

I slept so horribly last night, that I woke to the sound of Jack (my little rat terrier) peeing on my luggage at 2:30am! UGH. I just went ahead and got up at that point. I was wide awake, and I would have to leave in 90 minutes to start the pickups anyway. I ate a Clif bar early, thinking it might help me go...moved around.... got dressed, watched dvr'd Days...still nothing...but still feeling really good and alert....I triple checked my bag and set off to pick up Brian and then Jeanine.

It was a nice trip and didn't take as long as we thought, we arrived at 4:56. I have never been to Cocoa Village before. Its very cute!! There was plenty of portalets (short lines), the weather was chilly but really it was perfect. We met up with SueAnn and Holly outside the bathrooms and found Magda later (via phone messages) by the park. We had left our cold weather clothes on so after scoping things out, we went back to the car to put our stuff up - and about got lost trying to find the right parking lot! :)

One more last minute potty break and we lined up with the 10:00 pace. The 'start' was pretty awesome, they had a big screen at the front with the shuttle lift off :) Very cool!! At mile 3 / 10 there were martians handing out drinks - that was pretty funny! The half course was very well done, a pretty good amount of spectator support, BEAUTIFUL scenary - we were literally right beside of the lagoon, water stations and gatoraide drinks at about every mile (I believe?!) and gels at mile 8. I only had a drink at mile 5, thanks to my handy fuel belt. :)

With the news that Magda was coming down to run, and that the first half of the marathon would be ran with the half, I felt confident that I would PR today. I knew that as long as I stuck with her, that I would not back off, I would not slow down, I would not walk. I felt strong - and after the nearly 19 mile race I just did 2 weeks ago, I was confident that I could do this!

Magda was a most excellent pace keeper and I got a summary of each mile. She was so fantastic to run with - I was huffing and sweating by mile 2 and she didn't even look like she was moving. I'm like - how does she do that?!?! We were moving faster than my 9:50 pace and I was feeling good...until we got to mile four and then - THEN - I had to go... UGHHHH. I hate this! So at mile 5 potties, I had to tell her goodbye and WAIT IN LINE for what seemed like forever.

The turn around was around mile 6.5. As I approached I saw Magda pass first, then Jeanine!! She was rockin! I tried for the next 6.5 to catch up with her, but I couldn't even see her ahead of me after the fold. I felt really great until mile 9 - I mean really great! I thought for sure that I would PR this time. But alas, I ran out of steam around mile 11 and had to eat a Gel and walk it out. I did pick it back up to finish strong, but the walking and the waiting at the bathroom stop really put me behind.

Its ok though, I knew it was better than my last two, and not as good as my first one. How could it? I was in MUCH better shape then - and 10 lbs lighter. Plus, until Magda showed up, I had no inclinations of PRing today anyway, it was just a fun training run. And I did have fun! It was amazing to watch Magda finish the 4/6 combo to get her 3 gold stars from Marathon Maniacs! It was amazing to watch Holly, SueAnn, Suzette, and Brian finish their first half!!!! YAY!!!!!! It was completely awesome to see Jeanine's face when she realized that she totally beat me by several minutes! :D

I am sooo lucky to have been surrounded by these awesome friends today! I had so much fun hanging out after the race ended and waiting to see Magda come in - this was the first time I have hung around for the post-race activities. I am so proud of all of my friends and so happy that we all finished the race strong and uninjured.

In the above photo: Holly, SueAnn, me, Jeanine, Brian, Magda

61   747  1121 Chandra Claycomb         35 Palm Bay             FL 2:14:03 10:14

36th Annual Paul DeBruyn Memorial 30K and 15K November 15, 2009

New Smyrna Beach, FL

Today's race report should actually start yesterday....  We spent the day knowing that we would go to bed early. So we had plenty of carbs and fat at the Chinese buffet and everything was going as planned.  We were finished with our pizza dinner early and in bed by 7:30 as planned so that I could get as close to 7 hrs as possible.    Well, apparently I was acting 'weird' yesterday and my husband asked whats wrong, thus opening the faucet of tears that was just waiting for their monthly release.   I finally got to sleep around 10:30-11, I think, I refused to look at the clock.  Down to 4 hrs now....then i woke up at 2:30, rather than 3am.... so 3.5-4 hrs of sleep.  This did NOT keep me from bounding out of bed feeling like I got a whole night's rest. 

I warmed up yesterday's coffee like I always do and started getting ready when my husband go up too. (Did I mention after he turned on the faucet, he fell asleep!?! LOL...so he was well rested).  Jeanine showed up right on time and we chatted as we always do for the 90+ minute drive to New Smyrna.  She was coughing and said she had been taking alka-selzer but she was chipper enough. The restaurant was already hoppin' at 5am, but since Holly had picked up our bib's, we waited for Holly and SueAnn to get there to get our chips & shirts.  THAT made the hour go by really quick. 

We lined up in the dark street seconds before the sirens went off! This was the smallest race group that I have ever been part of. I could have sworn that we started off in the back, and ended in the back, but somewhere along the way (had to have been the first mile or two) we apparently passed a few people.  We held our place within sight distance of the person in front of us as we winded our way through neighborhoods.  The first port-o-let was sighted at mi 4.5. Jeanine never requests a turn, so I passed it up and carried on alone through mi 7.5 where I found the next potty, Jeanine caught up with me,  and we ran in together.  

Now when I say, 'run in'  - we actually had to pass the finish line for the second half out and back.  I would like to say this was the worst part of the run, but since I had already started slapping my seizing up thighs,  the last 9 miles were MISERABLE. I was running at a slightly faster pace than Jeanine, but she was right behind me.  

Luckily the last half was much more scenic than the first half.  Somewhere around mile 11 or 12 was a beautiful natural park to run through. Miles 14-16 were actually on the boardwalk that went out to the ocean, fabulous views of the beach and the lighthouse on the inlet...I mean it was really gorgeous! I stopped to take a couple of photos! :)  I looked behind me to find Jeanine, but apparently she was having as much trouble as I was because I did not see her.  Onward, right?!  UGH, by the time I got off the boardwalk I was sure I was not going to be able to run anymore. I was back on the street and shale rock ground (sand, basically) and I was seriously ready to throw in the towel.  I thought about calling my sweet husband. He always knows the perfect thing to say to me to pull me through everything. But I didn't want to look like a whiny baby, so I didn't call. And I trudged/limped on, slapping my thighs, walking through water stations, wondering if the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel was the finish line or heaven, because I felt as though my legs would fall off and I would die. 

I was honestly counting down the last mile by the HUNDREDTH.  I passed SueAnn and Holly who were cheering me on and taking pictures that I absolutely could not pose for...but seeing their smiling faces and having them on my side gave me just enough to make it the other .25 mi.  I didn't die, but for the first time ever, when I saw the finish line, I couldn't give it anymore then I already was.  The Garmin read 3:14:45 in 18.86 mi.   

Jeanine was there at the finish line waiting for me.  She was in bad shape and didn't get to finish.  We met up with S&H and limped to the truck where she let me borrow the stick, and then we just came home.  

I would love to be positive right now, but honestly, that was the most torture I have ever endured.  I'm glad its over... I'm glad I had an organized pre-marathon distance event to 'practice' as it was necessary to get a glimpse of what I am facing in a real race...but at the same time I'm glad that the rest of my distance training runs will have my regular stop intervals :D

    6    51   211 Chandra Claycomb         35 Palm Bay               FL 3:16:59 10:35  

Gecko 5K: 5/9/09

Saturday, May 09, 2009
Gecko 5K [Done! 27:58 pace-8:42!]


What a GORGEOUS day! :) It all started at 4:50 am... beautiful moon, good coffee, regular breakfast of peanut butter and 1/2 banana on 1/2 whole wheat bagel. Off to get Jeanine at 5:55, 5 or so minutes late of course! But managed to remember to stop at the stop sign (finally!) and noted how pretty the moon was!

We get to BCC in plenty of time to get our bags and meet up with fellow sparkers SueAnn, Holly and Courtney (and a few others I didn't even know about!!)...apparently there is a whole group of sparkers here! GO SPARKPEOPLE!

The race was HOT. Its 94 degrees here today. No idea what it was at 7:30-8am, but it was definitely WARM. No shade at this race either - through a parking lot and around an interestion. Traffic was handled though, the pavillion was a great place to have all of the goodies, etc. There was one water stop at 1.5 mi and another right around 2.9 (same water stop - the race was 2 loops). Note to self: stay away from races that loop ... the second trip around was NOT FUN. I walked 3 times. GRR. But I still met my goal (under 28!) so I'm happy with that! We also got cute lil leis and even got a picture taken with a um... ???

Afterwards we headed to Mimis cafe for some brunch and it was so wonderful! So glad to have shared this 'pre'Mothers Day with these great women!!

Race Results:
8 318 584 Chandra Claycomb 34 Palm Bay FL 27:58.2 9:01
9 346 206 Jeanine Nolan 34 Palm Bay FL 28:25.1 9:09

Flamingo 5K: 4/25/09

Saturday, April 25, 2009
Flamingo 5K at the Melbourne Art Festival 2009 [Done! 28:48 pace-9:18!]

So here's the story. This was my first 'short race' in a long time! I know that I dont even come close to my PR from last year anymore, and I did NOT want to go to this thing. I actually haven't been looking forward to it. But J and I were going to go, she was excited, so last night I drove across town to make sure I could sign up (they capped at 1800).

My running buddy Jeanine (J) wanted to be there at 6-6:15 because of parking, so I needed to leave my house by 5:30; I was up at 4:45. Geek in me, checks email before coffee, to find that J's daughter is sick and she can't go!!!! My thoughts 1) poor baby feels bad again! 2) poor J, I know she was looking forward, 3) poor ME! I didn't even want to do this and JUST paid the $31 last night! ugh! I sat and contemplated whether I would go back to bed and 'donate' the $$. I didn't want Matt to kill me so I managed to get myself there.

I parked in the parking lot by the bridge. The weather was around 65-70 degrees at that time and a pretty good breeze was blowing in from the east...and There was a 'PARTY' going on!! -- Oh my gosh, there was a spread like I dont think I have ever seen before for a 5K! I start to get excited now (food always does that :) There was live music going and it was already crowded at 6:45 (race started at 8:00). I walked up to get my chip timer and they only have chips numbered to 1500!!! ... my number is 1515... I am beginning to wonder if it just wasn't meant to be when they finally found the last box of chips.

While they were off hunting the chips, I see my neighbor guy that sometimes I see running in the neighborhood! He told me its his first race ever and, since we have a similar pace, we hung out, warmed up, lined up and ran the first half of it together. This was the first time I have ever pre-ran at a 5K. I know lots of people do it to shake the cobwebs off, get that pace going before they start, but I just never have. Today though, I had to go put my stuff in the car, which was probably only a third of a mile away, so little over half-mile we warmed up. The lineup was LONG, and its the first 5K I've been to where you lined up by pace, which I thought was really cool.

The beginning of the race was a bit slow - soooo many people and a single lane of road, it was difficult to maneuver around. I had begun to wonder if I should just run with the flow. We found some breaks on the causeway though, as people started to fall behind and we stayed together until the halfway mark. We grabbed water and headed back, but when we hit the second hill and I gained a little distance on my neighbor and I was on my own.... (ROCK ON J! All that causeway training IS worth it!!)

During the second half of the race, it seemed like I gained a good bit of speed, but my garmin says its only 10 seconds, so I guess that 2nd causeway cross must have slowed down everyone else...whoohoo! I passed so many people! LOL. Finished in 28:48. (28/103 in my age group). Not a PR, but I'll take it - did I mention there were 1800 people in ONE lane?! I dont think I will ever forget the view of the massive crowd plowing up that bridge in front of me, it was something to behold!

We were suppose to go to a meditation workshop this afternoon - have been looking forward to it for 2 months. (Matt wanting to find his Zen). BUT Matt needs to be picked up from school right smack in the middle of it so we aren't going. I did find an alternate to go next weekend though.

Long story short - nothing turned out like I planned today, but it's all good - it turned out to be A OK! :)

28 597 1515 Chandra Claycomb 34 Palm Bay Fl 28:48 9:18

Melbourne & Beaches Music Half Marathon 2/8/09

Sunday, Feb 8, 2009
Melbourne & Beaches Music Half Marathon *3rd Half* [Done! 2:14:28 pace-10:16]

I ran the Melbourne half today with my dear friend Jeanine and we ROCKED. My inlaws were there before the race to wish us well. That was so TOTALLY sweet of them to come out!!! We didn't make any PRs, but we had a great time and we finished in the top half of our age group! I cannot say enough about how well coordinated this race was...It was fabulous! AND this was the inaugural year, we expected some learning curves....if there were any, you wouldn't know it by running it. Everything was perfect and beautiful. the waterstops were everywhere, Gatorade and water, there were a couple GU stops but I brought my own, the potties were everywhere, one at a time - every mile or two, there was never more than 1 person waiting and most of the time it was FREE (imagine that?) The police presence was awesome! there was an old rude man that pulled onto the race course and drove behind J & I for about a quarter mile. We still arent sure if he got taken to jail because he was yelling at the police officer and refused to get off the race course.

There were music groups set up about every 2 miles and at the start and finish lines. and the day was BEAUTIFUL - almost no wind, 52 degrees at start time (6:45am) and sunny. Not to mention the scenary was gorgeous! I stopped to potty and told jeanine to go on, it took me 2 MILES to catch her! But - I know you guys are all sitting around waiting to hear - NO EMERGENCIES FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!! YAY!!! ;)

We walked for 0.10 mi at the base of the 2nd causeway, but that's it, we ran up it and all the way to the end. I think our gun time was 2:14:?? so our chip time is about 2 minutes less than that, I forgot to stop my watch, J might know. two other people I know from the race said they thought it was difficult and neither of them made their goal either. I think maybe next time, we might try to conquer an "official" training plan because we will both probaby be out of commission for a little while, but it was SOOO worth it. If this becomes an annual event, you shouldn't miss next year's race, it was the best race I've seen so far!!!!

21 433 801 Chandra Claycomb 34 Palm Bay FL 2:14:28 10:16

Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon *my 2nd half!* 12/12/08

Sunday, December 18, 2008
Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon *my 2nd half!*

Matt and I spent Friday and Saturday night in Jacksonville for this. He very sweetly surprised me and we took off for two nights instead of just one. Super-stoked about this, since my Sparkie friend Magda (Smurfette0725) and her husband Rob (Geepas) were already there and we were planning to meet up! She is the most darling person! Even sweeter and more beautiful in person! So glad I had this time with her, it made the race very special.


Matt actually mapped out a couple good areas to on the race course to cheer me on! I was so happy about this  there he was – I saw him 4 times!!! Panic struck around mile 5 when I realized my expected monthly visitor had arrived…but the port-a-jon DIDN’T until mile 7! Glad to report that I was able to finish the race. Wasn’t the best time, but far from as bad as it could have been under the circumstances.

The weather was NICE, a little chilly start – since Magda had us getting on the first bus while it was still dark-thirty! LOL! (actually I think it was 5:15am). We chatted for the bus ride up, we chatted and took a couple of pictures and a couple of potty breaks while we waited. We got separated at the last potty break.


I finished the race and Matt and I immediately went out to cheer her on, but she never came. She called later and explained that she was ambulanced to the hospital for dehydration. I didn’t even get to tell her goodbye  We actually caught up with each other on the highway and waved our goodbyes from there….its all good 


1690 336 57 Chandra Claycomb, 34, Palm Bay, FL 1:01:02 2:14:48 2:16:16 10:24

Jubilee CityFest 8K: 5/24/08

Saturday, May 24, 2008
Jubilee CityFest 8K [Done! 47:00 / ave pace 9:12]

Stephanie Horne and I ran together at the Jubilee CityFest! The morning started with me picking her up at the crack of dawn and off we went!
This is the last race I will run in Montgomery. Bittersweet. We took several pictures of the people who I am used to seeing at the races. It was HOT! Summer again in Alabama! We did the best that we could under the circumstances. I wish I would have recorded the temp and humidity! Whoa! My heartrate was the highest in this race as its ever been (185).

After the race there was a huge party, loud music, big crowd! We stayed for just a minute, but we both had other things to do for the day so I took her home and we tentatively planned to get together for another race in the future…someday! 

161 Claycomb, Chandra Montgomery, AL F 33 177 47:11.00
** They lost Steph’s time when she came thru the shoot. 

Adios friends! Thanks for all the support!

YMCA 10k Race: 4/12/08

Saturday, April 12, 2008
YMCA 5k/10k Race [Done! 53:30 / ave pace 8:31]

Current mood: triumphant - decided to leave this from (original) myspace blog :)

I've never ran a 10K before but I was shooting for 55 minutes and I finished in 53:30! So I was very excited!!!

The race went through a very prestigious part of downtown - the historic district of Cloverdale, where the houses are colonial style for the most part, the roads are cobblestone, the huge methodist church that sits in the middle of the park is built with rock, and plenty of trees everywhere - big and green - even at this time of the year. It was beautiful...I've never been there before.

It was raining, heavily, 20 minutes before the race was to start -- thunder and some lightening, the works. I was afraid they were going to call it, but they didn't!!! I think we might have started a couple of minutes late though just to let it all pass.

The course was partial loop / partial out and back for 5K, the 10K sent you on the same route over again..which I thought would SUCK...and it did for some because I know several people who were suppose to go for 10K quit half-way because it was an option.

But...I had a strong day - Very pleased with my time & Very pleased with my run. I thought on the 5K that I should slow down, that I would burn out. But this guy was pacing right with me and I didn't want to give it up!!! On the second trip around, I lost him! I kept turning around to see if he was keeping up, and he was falling further behind. I seems like a long ways when you are running, but he was just a minute behind me. I checked the Garmin and saw that I had actually picked up speed as the race went on! I guess it takes me a while to get warmed up...

I stuck around for the awards because there weren't many people there and I thought for sure I would get an award...then I realized since there weren't that many, the age groups were divided like this:

less than 18
19-39
40-55
over 55

I fall in the 20 year range there.... THAT SUCKS. 90% of the racing females fell in that category!

But I am happy with my progress! I have something to set the bar for next time. I'll post the time sheet and some pics as soon as they go up on the website ;)

SeaSide Half Marathon *My First* 03/02/08

Seaside Half Marathon *my 1st half!*
Sunday, March 02, 2008 [Done! 127 mins / ave pace 9:37]

WOW! I did it! I ran a half marathon!! Me! The girl that couldn’t run through a commercial at lunch! I thought back to when I told the first people I was going to do it and I could see this tremedous mountain ahead of me. The climb to the top was sooo gradual that I barely remember actually making it!

The run itself was fun. First of all, let me say that if any of you want to do a half, this is the place to be apparently. I heard soooo many people talking after the race talk about how much better this one was than ___ (fill in the blank). I specifically heard JACKSONVILLE, Disney and Memphis. (Though Disney got rave reviews, just that it was PACKED).

Matt needed coffee pre-race so he hung out at starbucks while I pottied, lined up, etc. Then he came out where I was waiting to start just to give me good luck kisses! He is such an angel. He departed to get down the road ahead of me to take pics. He was also a little ways out waiting to take pics on the way in. Such a great supporter :) I am such a lucky girl! Here's me blowing kisses at him when I pass on the way out!


I started talking to a girl in the bathroom before the race and we lined up at the same pace. we ran and talked for the first half of the race and I lost her at a water stop around mile 8 - the first time I thought about my ipod. She caught up with me a little ways down the road, around mile 10 I think, and we chatted again until around mile 12 where she stopped to walk. There were people (mostly kids) holding signs of encouragement by the road. I didn't pay a lot of attention to waterstops, as I had my fuel belt, but I think they were good. They had gel on the way back, maybe around mile 8? The run back was much longer than the run out it seemed. I was so excited to see my husband on the side of the road! I knew I was almost homefree!!!

My garmin said 13.28 when I crossed the finish line and 2:07:53..but my official race time was 2:10:??, so...I’m not sure what’s up with that! LOL. Either way, its around a 10 minute mile and that is A-OK with me on my first race! I ran the whole thing and that is all I was hoping for!

There were about 2000 people at Seaside, and it was organized so well. There wasn’t music everywhere on the course, but there were people intermittently all the way down and back with their music blaring for you. Lots of cheering going on and the course was AWESOME. The course was flat, mostly, with little hills which made it fun and broke up the monotony without being incredibly hard. I didn’t get all weepy or anything, no lifelong dream - just something I decided to do a couple months ago ;o). The after party was lots of fun with a DJ playing awesome music, FREE massages, free beer and BBQ...and I got a free Vera Bradley tote for finishing along with my metal.

I took a second to reflect on all of the support I've gotten from my friends at sparkpeople.com! I dont know that I would have made it through 13 miles of training without them holding my hand (so to speak!)

We only stayed at the after party a few minutes before heading back to our place for some breakfast...
The bed and breakfast that we stayed in was just so quaint! We had our own little room w/ bathroom, they had a little library and common area (which we didn’t have time to check out), and an excellent cafe that served the best oatmeal and frittata ever! And excellent coffee of course...It was such a wonderful weekend.

** Thanks for all of your support Jessica and John! I thought about you bunches during my run :)

Place Name Bib No Age Age Group Rnk Time Rnk Time Time
888 Chandra Claycomb 1345 33 F 30-34 935 1:04:22.05 888 1:05:38.54 2:10:00.59

Polar Bear 5K - 1st Place in my age group! 2/9/08

Saturday, February 09, 2008
Polar Bear 5K [Done! 25:25 ave pace 8:10]

Today was cold and drizzly. The whole family went. This was the same course as last time, and I finished with the exact same time (25:25)! There is always that one person to get me though, this time it was one of the group of “funny people” who were only running to raise money for the church…That being said, he told me during the run that he was still half drunk from the night before and the next day he would be running a relay at the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham. Anyway, he did the whole come on lets take it home! Lets blow it out! Lets give all for the last .25... Whew! We did it! YAY! Thanks dude, I dont know your name...

Bean ran the 1 mile fun run that followed! She did so good and I was so proud of here...because you know she she doesn't really like to do anything strenuous! LOL!

Matt got hungry and wouldn’t eat any of the food there – goodness me – this was a church affair, there was brownies, cookies, cakes, sandwishes, pizza, muffins, chikfila biscuits… you name it! However, being picky and ill as he was, he totally missed it when I BROUGHT HOME FIRST PLACE IN MY AGE DIVISION TODAY!!! I got a medal and a little Polar Bear! YES! There is no official race stats to follow as they never posted them.

Cruising the Creek 5K - 2nd place in age group! - 1/12/08

Saturday, January 12, 2008
Cruising the Creek 5K [Done! 25:25 ave pace 8:10]

I'm finally seeing a difference in my running! I ran 5K this morning and beat my last 5K time by over 4 minutes!!! My time was 25:25 (chip time), pace was around 8:32, speed around 7mph - all this AND it was hilly - there was a freaking gigantic hill 200ft in about .2 miles or less! (ok, you mountain people might not think that's so bad, but I'm in Alabama here, that is HUGE to me!). The whole family went to support me again.

The race was in downtown Prattville by the community center. I didn’t see the regulars there, but I did meet a girl from Alfa who has Lupus.
Interesting story about my motivation here… there was a lady that was running BAREFOOT! I laughed to myself, thinking there was NO WAY she could run like that for 3 miles… I was struggling to keep up with her, but I did! I kept thinking her feet would have to start killing her any minute now…then I was thinking there is no way I am going to let a barefoot woman beat me! But she did! LOL. Thank goodness she was in a higher age bracket! They had some excellent door prizes and food at this one! WhooHoo! I have to go back to get my long sleeved Tshirt because they ran out.
Here are the results, there were 254 entrants: *I won 2nd place in my age group!


Claycomb, Chandra Montgomery, AL F 33 25:30.63

12Ks of Christmas Run *First over 5K Race, and scared to death!* 12/8/07

Saturday, December 8, 2007
12Ks of Christmas Run [Done! about 7.5 miles, pace around 9:23, I think]

I was so nervous for this race because I was NOT prepared. I have only ran 5 miles, ONCE at this point. 12K is nearly 7 ½ miles!!! Since I would be running for well over an hour, the fam decided to sit this one out. However, since its Christmas on the Coosa, my wonderful Sister and her whole family was there! Before the race Carson said – Aunt Chandra – You HAVE to RUN the whole way. You can’t walk but you can run slower if you have to. Jessica and John were there, I hung out with them for the most part. I also saw Dwayne and Drew … Jenny Hamilton was here too!

Once the race started, we headed up Company street, up a little hill and doubled back. I started feeling tired around mile 1.5, by the time I got to mile 3 I was seriously starting to wonder if I was insaine! The 5Kers were turning off to head to the finish line and I was... way less than halfway finished! How in the world was I going to make it 12K, I wished so bad that I had signed up for the 5! I ran on… over the bridge, around the park, down through the streets of downtown, past the schools, past Josh’s house – I wished soooo bad that he and boy would be out in the yard! (they weren’t of course, it was 8am!) Right after I passed Josh's house I reached mile 6…and I didn’t think I was going to make it – I knew how much further it was to get back to the starting line! It was here especially, when I couldn’t run any longer, I thought of what Carson said, I slowed down until I caught my breath and could pick back up – and I MADE IT!!! THANK YOU CARSON! I will use this little trick on all of my races in the future. **Check it out – less than 70 minutes for a 12K!!!

33
1:09:56
F
Chandra Claycomb

Senator Stampede 5K *My 3rd, Boy's 1st* 9/29/07

Saturday, September 29, 2007
AUM Senator Stampede 5K

Ah, probably my MOST favorite race! Boy has been practicing so hard and he got out there with me and gave it his all! What a trouper! I couldn’t have been prouder of him! The whole family was there and Matt and Hannah cheered us on as Boy and I ventured out through the AUM campus. The course was dirt road, to pavement; out and back. Once we hit the dirt on the way back I told Boy he could unleash it and he did!!! But then he fizzled out and I had to talk him the last 10th of a mile in. I didn’t think he was going to make it – but he did!

Boyce Estes 11 M 32:59:00
Chandra Claycomb 33 F 33:00:00

He should have won 2nd in his age group, but they only did 1st place “under 18” which I thought was completely bogus. And I told the coach as much. Boy ended up getting the second place award in the over 18 category (they didn’t have a second place for that age class) ;)

As a side note, this is the race where I met Drew and Dwayne - Such great runners!

Riverfest 5K *My 2nd* 8/07/07

Saturday, August 04, 2007
2007 Riverfest 5K (on the Coosa in Wetumpka, AL)

I only thought the last 5K was hot. Good Lord, people were dropping like flies out there! I even took a walk break down by the park (about halfway), but there were such great supportive runners coming past me, encouraging me that I dug deep and found a way to complete my run. Good thing too, this proves that it doesn't matter how fast you are - sometimes its just about finishing - I was 3rd in my age group!!!! Who would've thought?

There was one lady running with frozen water bottles in her hands. Such a great idea on days like today. Jessica and John was at this race too. My mom was here to support me today, cheering me on like crazy when she saw me coming! AWE!!! Thanks Mom – Love you!

**3rd in my age group!
Bib#44
30.13
Claycomb, Chandra
33

Red Cross Red Hot Run My Very First 5K 7/28/07

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Red Cross Red Hot Run My Very First 5K --- with my sister! She's the best! [Done! (pace around 9:42)]

This race was held at the Arrowhead Golf Club in Montgomery, AL. I was so excited to be running this race with the girl who got me running outside to begin with J Yay for Lacey’s sporatic endeavors!!! This race also had a 1 mile fun run which both of my children participated in. It was HOT as … well, it was very hot. John and Jessica Drosyk was there. It was fun!!!

The 5K results (out of 159) were as follows:
Claycomb, Chandra
33
Montgomery
30:08:00

** More to come, I have to get all my blogs in here :)