A Different Kind of Anniversary :)

Note: It's a long one!

Last Monday was an important anniversary, far more important than the one I’m able to type about, but nonetheless, today is an anniversary of sorts as well! Today is my 1^st 5k anniversary! After being motivated by my friend Leslie [I’m not sure I ever told her she was the reason I wanted to do a 5k in the first place], I decided a year ago January that I was going to do a 5k.

Now mind you running has never been my thing! I may have had the thunder thighs legs to be able to run, but I am also well-endowed elsewhere that has made running an unpleasant experience. But like I said, Les was a motivator, so I decided I was going to do it! I found the Hands 4 Haiti 5k in Shawnee, told my mom about it [she had already ran a couple 5ks] and we both signed up. I knew if I put my name on the dotted line and the donation was taken from my bank account, I’d be more likely to stick to my commitment. I also found the Couch to 5k training program which seemed applicably titled and doable.

So in January 2010 I started the program. It went quite well for about 5-6 weeks. And then I had a ton of dental work done… as in more cavities filled than I have fingers! And to be honest, while I was not in pain, I felt pretty crappy so I began to slack on my 3-day a week plan. I backtracked a bit, repeated a couple weeks, and was back at it. Then two weeks after my previous dental work, I had to have the other side of my mouth worked on. Ugh. Felt like crap for a week or so, and then re-motivated.

Welcome April.

Going into the second week of April, I was beginning to feel not-so-hot, but I knew it wasn’t still from the dental work.

Welcome Strep Throat.

Of course I put off going to the doctor for over a week and then had about as long of antibiotics, probiotics, and good-bacteria-filled yogurt being pumped into my system. Now we are to the end of April and I haven’t really gotten my 5k time down much at all as most of the training that I did in January was composed of walk/jog alternating on the treadmill. So when May 22^nd, 2010 came around here’s the math that I saw:

Dental Work + Strep Throat + Moving Residents out of Neufeld + Moving in a New House + Being in a Wedding = Less than 3 “Runs” over the course of 2.5 Months!

But I put my name on the dotted line and paid the money, so I was still going to do it.

Thankfully my mom and her co-worker weren’t out to win the race, so they did a walk/jog combo with me for most of the race until I finally felt bad and told them to go on without me! I definitely walked more than I ran jogged, but in the end I finished, and that was the goal in the beginning after all.

My time was 42.14 nothing that will go in any sort of record books, except my own. But hey, I did get a sweet medal and shirt!! J

Since my first 5k a year ago, I have done 4 others, and each time I have only done better. The one thing that hasn’t changed is that I don’t really run in between or to prepare myself for them. I enjoy the 5k races, not the training.

Race #2: Chris, my mom and I did the Freedom 5k last July. My time was a little under 40 minutes [I can’t find the results online any more so I’m not sure of the exact time]. It was hot, and I would’ve rather been by myself than with Chris because I was definitely holding him back! It was at that 5k that I decided that unless you train with someone else and you are at the same running level, it can be miserable to try to keep together. He knew he could go faster and was trying to be an encouraging husband, and I knew I wanted to go slower and was being an emotional wife. Ugh.

Race # 3: Then last November, Mom, Chris, my friendly Leanna and I all did a Turkey Trot in Lima. It was cold and rainy/snowy. We were all way overdressed. I began running with Leanna until I told her I was about to walk and I’d meet her at the finish line and then I finished the race with my momma who we both encouraged each other the run for a bit, then walk, run then walk. It worked out well, and it felt good to have a workout in before piling food in our mouths for the holiday.

Pre-race pic.

My time was 37.09. [Notice nowhere in that blurb did I mention running with Chris? I told him from the beginning that he was to run his own race without me! Running 5ks together isn’t good for our marriage, ha.]

Race #4: Perhaps my favorite race so far was the Donations for the Nations 5k this past April. Not only did Mom, Chris and I run it, but my bro Zac ran it as well! It was Zac’s first 5k, and let’s just say he did quite well the little turd! He won his age division!! I think what made this my fav run so far was the fact that I ran all of the first mile without walking [a mental goal I have each race], I ran completely on my own [I like the company of others, but that’s added pressure which I don’t like], and my goal was to be under 35 minutes [which I made by a whomping 11-seconds! Woot! Woo!] In addition, the weather was nice for running and there were so many people along the race from Cornerstone Harvest Church with signs cheering the runners on. Now I’m a realist and know that many times there were cheering for the people around me that are from their church, but hey, I’ll take the encouragement too! What made it great overall was that out of the four of us racers in the family, all four of us made our goals! Chris, Zac and I all made our time goals and Momma-cita won a medal for her age group!! She thought it’d take her until she was 85!! Let’s just say that there was lots of cheering and a lil’ crazy dancing as she went up to receive her medal!! Wahoo!! J

What made Donations for the Nations for the Nations not so great was the fact that I had to pee about a half-mile in and the urge didn’t go away. the. entire. race! Thanks, 5 month fetus for attacking my bladder! [I debated about stopping at McDonald’s and at some guy’s house who was outside mowing his lawn, but I knew I wouldn’t make my time goal if I did.] The second not so hot part was the battle wound I ended up with thanks to being well-endowed. [I’m still working on a solution to that problem!]

Race #5: And that brings us to today! Race #5, my "anniversary race".  Chris and I rose early for a Saturday to meet my momma at Shawnee Methodist Church for their annual 5k & half-marathon. The weather is beautiful outside, which is great, and after the kids fun run and the half marathon start, it was our turn to embark on our 3.1 mile journey. I found the pacer for the 11-min mile which was my goal time, and was ready to go. Life was nice as we got started for about 3/4 of a mile, and then I was getting hot a bit warm! I could feel my face turning redder and my hands swelling a bit. I told my pacer that I'd see her later and my goal was to just keep her in sight. After checking to make sure that this momma-to-be was alright, she was off to continue at her appropriate pace. So I continued the rest of the race with my usually walk/jog or "wog" as I refer to it with my students, with more walking that usual. Finally at Mile 2 we had a water station which would've been much more enjoyable had the water not gone down the wrong pipe! Drats! I finished out the race, talking with other woggers along the way, and even an elderly spectator [I actually stopped for 15-20 seconds to finish up that conversation, I didn't need the break, but I felt bad not answering her questions!] The course ends by going up a decent hill, and I saw my mom in sight as I finished up. She had a water ready and was making sure I was okay, I said I was, and she jogged with me a few seconds before I looked at the clock. 37:53. I had 7 seconds to complete the 5k in under 38 minutes! So I pushed it and made it to the chip mat in exactly 7 seconds! Woot woo! :) Definitely not impressive, but not too bad for all the walking I did. I still had improved by over 4 minutes from last year!

Post 5k Pic

So overall the recap for today's 5k: Chris finished in 27:43, Momma-cita finished in 33:20, and I finished in 37:33. [Chip time versus gun time accounts for my 27 seconds under what I thought I was.] Mom was 4th in her age group, Chris was 5th in his, and I was 6th in mine.

One day shy of 6 months preggo!

A couple random thoughts to conclude with:

The pacer that I start with was at 10:40 for the first mile, 10:40 for the second mile, and then for the last leg [1.1 miles] her time was 15:something, and she didn’t change her pace!! Last year “real runners” had commented that the course was actually longer than 3.1 miles and since this lady is practically a professional, I’m going to trust her judgment and say that it likely is. An extra 4 minutes in the last 1.1 is quite a difference!

I'll be doing just a teensy bit of wogging at the 5k in two weeks and after that, I'm purely a walker until post-baby, expecially the July 4th one because MY DAD is walking with me!!

Oh and seriously the best part about being a year in to 5ks, I think I have found a solution to my well-endowed issue! No battle wounds this time!! Wahoo!