Stay Active 5k

 

I ran this little 5k last year (when I was 18 weeks pregnant) and WON! Bahahaha!!! I've never laughed so hard in my life. I decided to run it again this year in hopes that I could defend my title and smash my time from last year (23:39). I figured if I ran that pregnant, surely I could run at least a minute faster this year.

 

LIES!! I WAS TELLING MYSELF A BUNCH OF LIES!

 

Sure, I recognize that I ran a marathon almost two weeks ago, but that didn't feel like a good enough excuse for my performance today. When I ran that 5k two weeks ago, I ran 24:03 and it felt EASY...like, really easy. So what was my problem today?! I wish I knew.

 

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I started with my typical 2 mile warm up (9:33/mile) and decided to run the first section of the race course so that I could be reminded of how bad the incline was going to be. It isn't that horrible so I can't really use it as an excuse! It isn't ideal if you are already feeling like crap, but it isn't an excuse for a poor performance. They seemed to do a good job of clearing the path of the snow which was nice...especially on the bridge.

 

Since I suspected I might be one of the faster ladies, I lined up towards the front. I decided to wear music and amused myself until the start by noticing that a guy was doing dynamic stretching to beat of my current song (Ms. New Booty in case you are dying to know). Ha!

 

We set off into the depths of the Marysville trail system. Immediately you have to claim your position for a turn and short hill. That was followed by another sharp turn and longer incline. My goal was to keep the first mile a little slower so that I didn't wear myself out. I was hoping for 7:20-ish. After conquering the inlcine, we crossed the bridge and had a slight decline. I immediately made friends with Mr. New Booty and we tried to keep each other going. Mile 1 was [7:32]. WTF. I was so annoyed, but I certainly felt like it was only 7:32. I had a lot of catching up to do!

 

I knew I would be seeing my family during the second mile. I also knew I would see how far the leading lady was in front of me to gauge if I had a shot. I was hoping these two things might give me a burst of energy. At this point, I still felt like I hadn't hit my stride. My legs felt fine, but my breathing was off. My throat and chest were hurting a bit. I'm not sure if it was the chill in the air or just the fact that I was still in marathon recovery phase. Whatever it was, I didn't feel great. I did pass James, Ruthie, and my mother-in-law, Joan, on the course. James kept yelling "Go, mommy, go!!!" It was so heart warming! He was so excited to see me run. Just after that, I saw Beth, the leading lady. I told her "Good job!" and knew I couldn't catch her. I just needed to get around the turning point and see how far behind the next girl was from me.

 

I had a significant lead for second place and knew I just needed to at least keep this pace. After passing my family the second time, we hit 2 miles [7:39]. OMG, I was so pissed. I did not think I was going that slow. I knew I wouldn't be able to make up for the crappy time. I didn't have a whole lot in me to finish strong. I just wanted to finish. Mr. New Booty left me at this point (one of the many ball busters from today), and I was all alone.

 

I just needed to get through ONE MORE MILE. The only highlight (if you want to call it that) of the last mile was the fact that I passed one person...but it was a kid so it doesn't really count. I tried to cheer him on to keep with me, but the poor kid crashed. About a quarter mile from the finish, we ran into freaking ice and slush on the course! UGH. So annoying. The trail was fine up to that point so it was annoying to deal with this at the end of the race. Mile 3 was [7:37] with the last 0.15 at [6:39].

 

My official time was:

 

23:45.

 

Ugh. SLOWER than last year. SLOWER!!! So stupid. If I'm looking at it in a positive way, I'll take my placement stats:

-12th overall

-2nd female overall

-1st in the 30-39 age group

 

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I needed some afternoon coffee after this race!

 

This was a super crappy race for me, and I'm ok with that. I love racing, and I learn something from every race...good or bad. Today, I learned that I might still be recovering from this marathon and that I shouldn't have high expectations 2 weeks after running one. Maybe I just need to do a lot more marathons before my body can recover more quickly. I typically take 2 1/2 to 3 weeks to recover completely, but have felt so good this week that I thought I'd be fine.

 

Thanks to everyone for the kinds words. Hopefully you all understand when I corrected you guys after telling me that I did a good job and was fast. I do appreciate it, but I DID NOT DO WELL! LOL. I just didn't...and I'm ok with that. I still loved being there and I'm so thankful that I can run. Now I just need to focus on allowing my body to get back to normal so I can smash my Little Rock marathon time in a few weeks!