Race Results

The results from the Mito What 5k I ran last Saturday are finally in. Here's how I did:

• out of 258 runners I placed 116th
• out of 25 runners in my age/sex group I placed 13th
• my time was 37:03

While I'm happy with these results, I know I could of done much better if I trained just a little bit harder. I think I ran a total of 6-7 miles the past two weeks and only a mile or two the week before. I was only spending one or two days a week in the gym and too many days on my behind.

I don't know when my next race will be. There is one in August that I want to run, but I would like to do at least one more before then.  There's a free on April 13th on campus that I may try to do. I'm not sure I can get there in time though. It starts at 7:00 am, but I can't usually leave the house before 6:35 because of the kiddies.

I may try though...maybe the race will start a bit late and I  can get in at the end of the pack.

My First 5k of 2012

It appears that I finished in just over 37 minutes and I'm very happy with that number.  My last race was in more then 45 minutes due to me injuring my ankle be twisting it during a fall before the first mile. The race before that I ran in 39:45. So 37 minutes is great.  I was aiming for 36 minutes, but I'll accept this.  I share when I find out the official time later. Right now I'm enjoying my post race glow and getting ready for youngest son's baseball practice.

39:40

That is my unofficial time, the little card they handed to me said 173. So, I was 173rd place, kind of in the middle of the pack. The backside of the middle but still the middle. Did I run the entire 3.1 miles? Nope, I ended up having to walk up a couple of the hills. I made a plan, I would walk up the tallest hills, run down every hill and try to run up the smaller ones. I also tried to run the straight/flattish stretches. It worked most of the time, I did end up walking part way on a smaller hill. I ran the last stretch. I wanted to stop and walk, at the same time I didn't want to end that way.

So I ran, I smiled at the cameras at the finish. I smiled when they told me it was over and I could slow down now. My hand shook as I was filling out the little card with my name, age, gender. I still smiled. I'm still smiling, I did it. I ran my first 5k in under 40 minutes. It may of been just under, but it's still under.

I keep going between being tired and just feeling like I need to do more. I've found the energy that's been missing the past couple of weeks. So glad to have it back.

The Hubby snapped this pic at the starting area.

Tomorrow is the Big Day

I'm getting myself totally nervous. I'm not sure I'm ready for the 3.1 miles. I tell myself if I can run two miles I can run three. However, lately I've been pushing to get those two miles finished. Two weeks ago I felt ready. Since then I've just felt tired. I would run a mile, mile and a half and be like "That's it, I'm done". I've not done anything but run, no weights, or aerobic exercises. I've only been running 2-3 times a week. I've not had any energy really.

I'm scared that I'll make a fool of myself tomorrow. Then I think, no one running is going to say I'm a fool. No one watching is going to say or think that. They're going to think good job, no matter how badly I do. I most likely won't be last. I probably won't finish in 30 minutes like I'm hoping. 40 minutes is okay too, 45 is fine as well. I'll probably be just ahead of the walkers. I'll most likely have to walk a little myself.

I've read mixed advise on whether or not to run a day before a 5k. Most said that if you do run make it an easy one. So I'm going to go out here in about half an hour and jog aiming for 2-3 miles. Then I'll eat breakfast and do some cleaning. I think my plan today is going to be to just try and stay busy. I don't want to sit on my butt reading all day, I want to stay up and moving keeping my muscles going. I don't want to do any heavy exercising because running with sore muscles isn't fun (I've done that several times the past couple months).

I'm also going to eat light today. No heavy meals for me. Probably either stir fry or soup for dinner. I'm also going to drink nothing but water (after this last sip of coffee). Tomorrow is suppose to be the hottest day of the week (97 for a high, at race time it's going to be around 80 with humidity near 80%). I've already been training in those conditions, my body should recognize it and not be too affected by it (I hope).

I've got pre-race jitters 24 hours before the race, but I'm also ready to sign up for my next one. I'll do this, I'll finish as strong as I can, then I'll start training for the next one. I'm just keeping in mind that there are no losers, if you cross that finish line you've won.

I Want to do This

What is this? It's the Tough Mudder .   The Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile obstacle course, running through mud, over walls, through tubes, fire, smoke and electric wires.  It sounds like fun, huh.  They're having one sometime in 2012 in Nashville and I went ahead and pre-registered.  I think if I continue to train throughout this year then maybe(hopefully) I'll be in good enough shape to finish.  The website says about 78% of participants complete the course...sounds like pretty good odds really.