Race Report - Jingle Bell 5K

This will be my last race report for a while - nothing on the calendar now until the end of January!

A few months ago, my friend Sarah asked me to help her get into running. I set her up with a little training plan and convinced her to sign up for the Jingle Bell 5K at Anoka High School. Of course, this meant I had to run it too. I graduated from Anoka, so it's always fun to go back.

So, after a week with the stomach flu (bonus: always good to lose 6 pounds before the holidays), I wasn't expecting much. My main goal was to finish without puking. The race started and I took off at an easy pace. A lot of walkers and people with strollers started right in front, so the first half mile was a lot of dodging, which always seems so exhausting. As we came around a corner and up a short hill, a couple of kids were calling out the mile split. 7:35. What? I actually asked whether we were at the mile yet, because I didn't think I had run that fast. Go figure.

This was an out and back course, and I felt really good when I got to the turn around. As I ran back, I saw my sister and then saw Sarah. I screamed like a maniac for her (and I'm sure embarrassed the crap out of her, but oh well). The last mile was tough. I don't know why I get so tired at the end of races. I really need to work on that. I knew my mom was going to be at the finish with Sophie, so I just kept reminding myself of that. I also kept telling myself, "Only 3 more minutes. You can do anything for 3 minutes."

I came down the last stretch and could see the clock, and knew that I was going to beat my time from last week. I crossed at 24:45 - a new PR by 7 seconds! By far the best part of this race was watching Sarah finish - I'm so proud of her for sticking with it. When she first started, she said she couldn't imagine running one block, let alone one mile. And now she has finished her first 5K, and she e-mailed me today asking when the next race is! I think she's hooked.

Now I'm off to get my running clothes on and brave the wind gusts. When I asked our daycare lady to keep Sophie a little longer tonight so I could run she looked at me like I had sprouted horns and told her I was planning on cooking Sophie for dinner.

Race Report - Turkey Trot 5K

This morning, Sophie and I hit the road early to pick up Jim, and then trade Mac for Sophie in North Branch. Mac's wife agreed (in a moment of weakness, I'm sure), to watch Sophie along with her little MacKenna, so we were set. We headed to Como Park with plenty of time to spare. Of course, even though this is the fifth year I've ran this race, I still couldn't remember which roads to turn on to get to the elementary school, so we wasted a good 10 minutes with me swearing about the twisty turny roads. But still hade plenty of time to register and picked up my t-shirt (gotta get my Thanksgiving wardrobe set).

My goal was to break 25:00 minutes today, but as we got ready to start, I just wasn't feeling it. I've had a little stomach bug all weekend and just felt off. So I decided I would just do the best I could and save my sub-25:00 goal for Saturday's Jingle Bell 5K. When the race started, I took off at what felt like an easy pace. The first mile felt pretty slow, and I was shocked to look at my watch (yes, I actually remembered to wear it) at the mile marker and see 7:52. It occurred to me that sub-25:00 might not be out of reach. I decided to just try to maintain that pace and see how things worked out.

Mile 2: 15:52. I still felt strong, and the pace felt good. About a 1/2 mile from the finish, I could feel my shoelace loosening up. This has been a recurrent problem with my current shoes. It wasn't long and the damn thing was completely untied. I knew I was on track to meet my goal, so I refused to stop to tie it. Of course, knowing that it was untied held me back a little, especially at the end. By that time, my shoe was kind of flopping around on my foot and I was convinced that it was going to fall off. I really did not want to fall on my face today. When I finally came down the final stretch and could see the clock, I saw that it was 24:30. I knew I could make it . . . and finished in 24:52. Third PR in a row!

And after the race? Chipotle. Yum.

Why traffic court Wednesdays and running a marathon are a lot alike . . .

I love Wednesdays. All day traffic court and, sometimes, other fun civil stuff like evictions and child support contempt thrown in so the ladies in court administration can watch me run between two courtrooms with my high heels on. Today was especially crazy, and I decided that my Wednesdays in traffic court are pretty similar to running a marathon:

• Both require regular hydration and fueling. For traffic court, I need my hourly shots of Diet Dew (I just pretend it's something stronger) and fun sized Butterfingers (thank you, leftover Halloween candy). For the marathon, gatorade and gu. Okay, fun sized Butterfingers. I hate gu.
• Lots of smelly people show up for both.
• In both, I spend 90% of the time telling myself that I can't possibly make it one more second and that I might (1) die, (2) throw up, (3) quit and walk to the nearest exit/medical tent/bar.
• Both put me in the danger zone for exposure to other people's bodily fluids. Seriously.

Of course, in traffic court, I don't get a nice medal for making it through the day and I've never gotten a free t-shirt (although I did pay one of our frequent flyers $15 for one that he had made that says "No Justice in Pine County."). But I did get referred to as "the hot prosecutor" today. I guess it's better than "that blond bitch." Happy Wednesday!

What running?

So the running last week? Pretty much sucked. I have the motivation, the energy, the 17 layers of clothing . . . and yet I only managed to get in a measly 19 miles. Lowest mileage week in a couple of months. I'm blaming my husband. If he would realize that my running is infintely more important than both his work and his hunting, our relationship would be much happier. I don't see this relevation dawning on him anytime soon, so until then, I guess I'm in the market for a heated baby jogger. Then I could take Sophie on runs still without child protection chasing me down.

This week HAS to be better. A week from today is the Turkey 5K, and I'm still clinging (unrealistically) to my goal of breaking 25:00. Also, I need to do some advance calorie burn to clear the way for Thanksgiving. Can't believe it is just over a week away!

Track-tastic

Last night, Jim and I met at the track after work. With it getting dark so early and needing to pick Sophie up before daycare closes (wouldn't want her just sitting out on the street waiting for me), I've had to give up my 1.3 warm-up mile from the office and just drive to the track. Anyhow . . . we did four 800's at 3:35, 3:34, 3:35, and 3:40. I was extremely happy with these times, as I've been averaging 3:45 for my 800's recently.

I don't know whether it was the workout or the colder weather, but I was STARVING last night. I basically ate two dinners, and a brownie. At least I ran twice yesterday to mitigate some of the damage. Also, totally addicted to Wheat Thins Parmesan Basil. Can't stop eating them. Writing this post is making me hungry . . . wonder what I can eat now?

New Leaf

My one goal for this weekend was to break my streak of skipping long runs. Done. Yesterday morning, Jim and I braved the cold, gale-force winds and ran 8.5 miles. Yes, I know that 8.5 miles really isn't a "long" run, but it pushed me past this 5 mile limit I've been stuck at for the last month. And, because I felt strong through the whole run, it was a great confidence booster.

Today, I've been sitting in the house debating about bundling Sophie up and taking her out for a quick run in the stroller. Probably won't happen for two reasons: (1) it is pretty cold and windy, and (2) I don't want any of the hunters around here to mistake her stroller for a deer and take a shot. It is going to be hard to get in my runs for the next couple of weeks - my husband hunts AND is a DNR officer, so he really is MIA. I'll just have to be ready to race out the door the second he comes in. Better get busy writing "Not a Deer" on my blaze-orange construction worker vest. You just can't be too cautious . . .

TIART - Transitions

This post is my contribution to Runner's Lounge - Take It and Run Thursday . . .

Fall is always a reminder that life is constantly changing. As I have gone through transitions - to lawyer, to wife, to mother - running has been a constant. So no matter what I may becoming, I am always still a runner.

This really hit home to me in my first few weeks as a new mom. Those bleary-eyed days of wondering "what have I done" left me feeling like a stranger in my own body (and by my own body, I mean the post-partum, flabby stomached version of my own body). I mourned the loss of my old self while telling myself that I was a terrible mother.

Then, three weeks after Sophie was born when I had the okay from my doctor, I went for a run. It was hard and it was difficult to coordinate. My husband was terrified to be alone with the baby for 45 minutes. I had to nurse her quick before I left, and hurry home before she was due for another feeding. But it was wonderful. As I plodded along, gasping for breath, I felt like I had come home.

Running through those post-partum days and reclaiming my lost fitness was a reminder that there is a part of me that, no matter who else I may be, will always be a runner. And no matter what change may be happening around me, I can always throw on my stinky running clothes, lace up my shoes and hit the road.