The last two weeks have been kinda crazy around here. Last week my mom was in the hospital (she’s fine now), I signed up for a 5.2k (a week before), and I ended up at the orthopedic doctor for my right knee (it’s gonna be fine). Oh yeah, and I’m running a 10k race next weekend. I really wasn’t even sure I was going to get to do the 5.2k race this morning. But the doctor said it was fine to continue my walking and running, just not to go too crazy. Sure thing doc!
I laid out all my gear last night before I went to bed and managed to only forget one thing. The boy asked last week if he could go with me to the race. I eagerly accepted his offer because I’ve never really had anyone waiting at the finish line for me before. He picked me up at 6:30 am and we headed off for the race.
We took a few pictures, I did a lot of stretching, and then I made my way to the start. I always line up near the back because I am not the world’s speediest runner and I was fairly certain that I DEFINITELY wasn’t going to be speedy today either. In the few minutes I had to wait I queued up my Nike+ running app and made sure to check the “Music On” option. I knew I would need the distraction today. A few minutes later I was starting that bad boy up and making my way across the start line.
I had decided when I got to the race that I would run the entire first mile and we how it went. Amazingly enough I finished that whole first mile AND did it in 10:36. Pretty impressive for this slow runner. I did a little more walking during the second mile but was very happy that my time had only slowed down by about a minute. At this rate I could definitely get my fastest 5k finished yet! I immediately told myself to calm down and just focus on finishing.
The last mile included more walking than I would have liked, but I was still moving along. When my Nike+ running app told me my time at the 3 mile mark I was in shock. As long as I didn’t trip over my own two feet or pass out in the next 0.1 miles, I was going to PR the race. Holy crap!
As you may have noticed, this was actually a 5.2k race (Seasons 52 was the sponsor – thanks guys!). There was a clock at the 5k mark and then of course a clock at the finish. After I had heard my 3 mile announcement on my Nike+ app I didn’t worry about the time and just kept on moving. Knowing that the boy was waiting at the finish, camera in hand, was just the push I needed to rock that last 0.2k.
When I came across the finish line I knew that I had just completed my fastest 5k ever, I just knew! After meeting up with the boy, downing 2 bottles of water and eating a banana, I went over to check out my finish time. One of the things I love most about this race is being able to walk away knowing your finish time. The only bummer is that they only post the 5.2k finish time and not your 5k finish time. When I finally found my name and looked at my 5.2k finish time I knew my 5k was definitely a PR! I did the happy dance all the way back to the car.
We stopped for a well deserved breakfast on the way home. Bacon never tasted so good! At home I iced my knee (per the doctors instructions), uploaded the pics the boy took, and checked my times. Holy crap! I beat my best 5k finish by 23 seconds! With a bum back and knee! Woo hoo!
This race was definitely the motivation I needed to get my butt back in gear this year with running. I am SO looking forward to the BDR 10k next week. Racing, food, massages, and some of my best girls. Bring it on!
