Enjoyed my 5k cake today!
- Honor my friends who have battled breast cancer
- Finish in under 22:30 to qualify for Bloomsday elite second seeding
Positives: in December 2010 I ran a 5k in around 24 minutes. I dropped 2:15 from that time by running 5-6 days/week for ~2-5 miles/day since then. I also lost about 4 pounds which was clinging on after having a baby. Consistent hard work pays off! Can you believe that?
I wasn't sure if I could run the Bloomsday qualifying time when I set this goal back in January. Pre-baby, yes! No problem. Post -baby, I was a little chunky and I was struggling to hold 9 minute miles, but today I held 7 minute miles for the race. I'm proud of myself for keeping after a goal I wasn't sure I could make in the short time I had to turn my running around. Today was the last day to qualify for second seeding and I did it! I ran somewhere around 21:45, I managed to not get the GPS going at the start and then forgot to stop my lap watch at the finish. Dork! Results should be out tomorrow.
Another positive, I was able to bring good cheer to my co-worker Cindy who is recovering from surgery following breast cancer treatment. I also ran in honor of my friends Gayle and Tasha.
A side note about the Race for the Cure group, they have a not so nice practice of using donated money to go after small races that use the "Race for the..." name to raise money locally. They also need to do more to support women (with practical concerns) with breast cancer. This is typical of big name fundraising and worth mentioning if I'm going to write about this race.
Knowing all that, it was still touching and emotional to do this race. I am a total sap so I had to keep it together at the start and towards the end of the run I almost crumbled when I overhead a guy say to a girl, "You can do this, your dad would be so proud of you!" Running and crying are not a good combo but I kept it together.
The real drama for me occurred a week ago when I was supposed to be running a nice little steady pace run with the dog but inspired by the sun and my early mile split I decided to push the next mile. I was running like a banshee as the mile marker approached when BAM! The freaking dog stops short to relieve himself (something he has done before) and in my run nirvana I manage to save myself from face planting but rolled my ankle hard. Limping home with my ego and dreams in shambles I vowed to retire my running partner until post race and stick to the damn program no matter how good I felt.
I rested my ankle for a few days and decided to run on the track for the rest of the week so I would have soft, even ground. I managed to have a good track workout, running sub 7 minute mile repeats and felt not too shabby. Things were back on track. But the next day I was having trouble breathing. Allergies? Anemia? Anxiety? Heart trouble? I went to the Dr. and they did a heart test which came back with a blip. I got a referral to a cardiologist.
What? Seriously? The nurse said it was most likely nothing and that I should do my race and not worry about it. OK nurse who probably hasn't had her heart rate up past 100 in a few decades. I'm not getting in for testing for a few weeks so I raced this morning with a shadow of doubt about whether or not I have a heart problem. Not likely per the nurse! Slightly alarming none the less. I watched my HR during the race and monitored myself and I felt mostly good and my HR never got over 170.
So that is my overly dramatic, post baby PR, qualifying 5k story. My favorite part of the day was seeing Liam post race, he had been running around everywhere saying "Run! Run!" while mommy was out running. He thought it was a blast.
Up next: May 1st is Bloomsday! Can I get through that without bodily harm or tears? Not bloody likely.
0 Response to "Enjoyed my 5k cake today!"
Post a Comment