Run a 5k Race: I DID IT!!!

The days before the race:

• Other than a light 30 minute run on Friday, I did absolutely NO running and made sure any aerobic activity I did was low impact. I also upped my carbs slightly for maximum glycogen on race day. I know this was only a 5k, but over preparation is how I deal with my unknowns. 🙂

Sat 11/23 PM:

• High protein and good carbs for dinner
• Surprisingly even with pre-race jitters, I fall asleep easily.

RACE DAY – Sun Nov. 23, 2008

5:45 am:

• Thanks to my lovely CAT who does not come with a snooze alarm, I am awake 15 minutes before the alarm.

6 am:

• Alarm sounds and I literally BOUNCE out of bed! HB snoozed the alarm for himself and I go about getting his coffee and making him breakfast. It was the perfect activity for me to calm my nerves before I imploded from anxiety. For once, I allow myself to comfort my emotions with food, even if it’s a bowl of cereal.

7 am:

• We leave for the race, which is only about 5 minutes away.
• My tummy is in knots and I feel like throwing up!!!

7:10 am:

• We park and when you talk about Fight or Flight, I am in full Flight mode. I start BAWLING my eyes out. Thank goodness HB has skills when it comes to calming me down. I stop crying right when I realize that my eyes will be puffy in the pics. Vanity ALWAYS wins.

7:20 am:

• Beach at this time of morning = FREEZING and I literally climb and cling onto HB like a koala bear for warmth.
• I have never been around this many fit looking people in my life. I feel like a martian who’s just touched down at her home planet.
  
  Starting line
  
  Finish Line

7:30 am:

• I brave the cold and take off my jacket for a pic. :):):) (Excuse the no-make up look)
  
  With HB!
  
  Me, braving the cold without my jacket (:O

7:35 am:

• OMG do I have to pee or am I just cold??? (I found out that I was cold and nervous. TMI?)

7:40 am:

• They call them Olympic stretches, but what they’re really having us do are stupid Mickey Mouse type exercises. I feel even dopier when I start stepping all over myself. I am so uncoordinated!

7:50 am:

• Line up at the starting line!
• A couple of people were doing these sprint things at the starting line and the race director told them to stop. I feel intimidated by their fitness. And I am SO SHORT!!
• HB tries to get me in the front of the line for pics, but I am super shy and put myself in the 3rd-4th row.
  

8:00 am:

• There’s the horn… MADNESS!
• It’s a small race, but I still feel like a buffalo crossing a river with a herd.

Mile 0-1:

• “PAAAAAAAACE YOURSELF!!!” I say to myself but it’s really hard.
• My right foot feels constricted from my tight laces but I decide to wait it out (thankfully it loosened itself later).
• I felt claustrophic behind these girls so I put my mind to my form and started pumping my arms really hard. I slid past them easy and settled down again.

Mile 1-2:

• Mile 1 split is 7:57 – WHAT!!!!!! I have never broken into the 7 MM area in my entire LIFE!
• I’m getting really nervous as I feel myself slowing down. I am SO cold.
• The sight of HB with the camera calms me down immensely
• To calm my nerves, I look to my right at the ocean. I echo HB’s words to me: “You have nothing to worry about, you’ve done this before.”
• I am using a girl in white as my pacer and my heart sank when she got further away from me. People are passing me now. Lesson: slow the H down next time
• I pass a guy laying on the ground on his back, clutching his left leg. I’m grateful that I am not the one on the ground.
  
  I was right to pick out a pink outfit, right??? LOL

Mile 2-3:

• I am very relieved to see the mile 2 marker, though it seemed to take forever. My watched showed that I clocked in at 8 minute-ish. A quick calculation means I can finish this thing before 28 minutes!
• I can’t find my gusto… WHERE IS MY GUSTO!!!
• Right before mile 3 my pacer went off track and stopped running. I use another pacer – a guy in black and push myself to keep up with him.
  
  I’m a bit embarrassed by the expression on my face…
  
  You can kinda see my glutes jump out of my leg. I’ve never had that kind of definition before!
  

Mile 3-3.1:

• There is a guy right in front of me…
• It wasn’t until I saw HB at the finish line that I found my strength and sprinted towards the finish line, BLAZING past the guy in front of me! (I realize now how rude that was – oops) I come in hooting and hollering and went straight in for my hug from the #1 in my life who supported me every step of the way: HB
  
  Sprinting… Blazing… Watch out dude! He ended up placing 1 second after me – oops on my part. (I kinda like the way my abs look in this pic heehee)
  
  I’m done!!!
  
  Is it over already???

Race Notes:

• They calculated my time at 25:08 and 8:07 pace. Not too far is my net time, which was at 25:05 with a pace of 8:05. This is the fastest I’ve ever run, but I have to account for the fact that I have a rancid amount of hills on my regular route and this was all flat terrain.
• I placed 3rd in my division and #51 out of 215!
• All the men in their 70s were faster than me… LMAO!
• The 2 top male finishers were in their 30s and the two top women were in their 40s – INSPIRING!
• I couldn’t stop smiling. I felt very special when their photographer took lots of pics of me running. :):):)

Other notes:

• This race was a true MILESTONE. I now know that running is my sport and fitness takes a real part of my life.
• I’m debating whether or not to do another 5k in December…
• It was just FOUR months ago that I could barely walk for 30 minutes, let alone run anywhere!

xoxo

OHR: Week 4, Day 3

*How Goes It*

Yesterday I asked the people in a SparkPeople running forum I belong to what they think of when they run.  A great majority of the answers covered anything and everything from men to Olympic fantasies to food (me!), however, I did notice that several serious runners (the kind who do a marathon in 3:30 or less – yikes!) mentioned that they meditate and focus on their form.  Initially asked out of curiosity, I sucked the information like a sponge that my running role models spouted and put their info to the test.

It wasn’t easy, but I managed to push aside all the pumpkin cheesecake/vanilla milkshake/oatmeal raisin cookie thoughts out of my head during the majority of the run and instead paid great attention to my breaths while ensuring that my arms stayed loose and at 90 degree angles.

Result?  I paced at 9:10 MM!  Sure it wasn’t my fastest, but the pace felt so leisurely that I seriously thought it was more like 9:42 or something like that.  I was surprised when the 35 min came to a close because I could have run for much longer.  Hmm the intervals I tag on at the end must be responsible for this.

Speaking of intervals, after the run, I shrunk my typical 5 recovery walk to 3 minutes.  I was still tired when it came time to run again, but I somehow managed to run the interval at a _faster_ speed then running the 35 minutes.  _What?!_  (I was so shocked, I had to check RunningAhead multiple times to make sure)

As for the final interval, I finally slowed down, but am happy that it’s still slightly faster that the pace I need to run the upcoming 5k race in under 30 minutes.

In other great news, I was not congested as usual and actually used my towel to wipe off sweat instead of blowing into it.  Umm TMI?

P.S. This was a milestone run for me, as it marks me super duper 100% officially done with the C25k.  * Happy dance

*Thoughts While Running*

Breathe in, teensy pause, breathe out, teensy pause, repeat.

I love dogs, but I find my neighborhood dog owners the most inconsiderate people in the world.  Because of them, I’m now afraid of dogs.  CONTROL YOUR DOGS, PEOPLE!

At one point, I smelled poo for at least a mile.  I was a little obsessed over whether or not I stepped in some for awhile.  (Again – inconsiderate dog owners – argh!)

*Stats*

Run Intervals:
Set 1: 35:00 – 3.82 miles @ 9:10 MM
Set 2: 10:00 – 1.11 miles @ 9:01 MM
Set 3: 10:00 – 1.05 miles @ 9:32 MM

Total: 55:00 min and 5.98 miles

19:06 Marker: : 2.11 miles @ 9:03 MM

*Conditions*

58°F, Sunny

100 Push Ups: Week 4, Day 1 #7 (the last time booyah)

21-25-21-21 max: 21

Set 1: Didn’t even break a sweat 🙂
Set 2: Got slightly warm, but no problems and no twinges in my arms afterwards. The left side of my chest did get warm though.
Set 3: Getting warmer. Fought the mental fight and won. At this point, not sure about getting to the max.
Set 4: Broke a slight sweat and arms got tired. Pushed to the end no problem.
Max: 32!!!!!!!! Well, with a teensy break at #27, but this is still best I’ve done in for this particular day!

I am so relieved to get this day done and OUT of my life. On to Day 2 for the last time… And for the record, repeating by the week instead of days helped tremendously.

GOODBYE WEEK 4 DAY 1!!!

See more progress on: do one hundred consecutive push-ups

OHR: Week 3, Day 3

How Goes It

31:05 + 13:00 + 12:00

I was so bored of running the same 30 minutes over and over that I decided to “spice” things up by tacking on an extra minute to the first 30 minute block and upping the length of one of my intervals. It turned out, however, that I was really tired to begin with (my legs felt like lead at mile 2.75 – maybe I should have taken in an extra slice of pizza last night?) and for a brief moment I didn’t think that I could finish the 3 miles/31 min. The mind, of course, is a tricky thing, and the marker came and went.

I admit that I’m nervous about the 35 minute run coming up, but what I need to remember is that it’s all relative to speed. I need to remember to SLOW THE HELL DOWN on that day.

Is it so strange to start feeling side stitches and out of breath after during the walk after the run? Weird.

Stats

Run Intervals:
Set 1: 31:05 – 3.37 miles @ 9:14 min/mi
Set 2: 13:00 – 1.33 miles @ 9:47 min/mi
Set 3: 12:00 – 1.24 miles @ 9:41 min/mi
Total: 56:05 min and 5.94 miles

Conditions

60° F, Sunny

See more progress on: Do the One Hour Runner (OHR) program

100 Push Ups: Week 4 Day 3

29-33-29-29 max: 40

Set 1: I can NOT believe how easy this was! Not even a twinge/twitch afterwards.
Set 2: Wasn’t so easy, but it was still easy. Still no twinge afterwards.
Set 3: Broke the tiniest bit of sweat. Wasn’t super hard, but at this point 40 seemed impossible. Twinge as I wrote down the results.
Set 4: Done. Maybe 40 is possible. Slight sweat; this set was more mental.
Max: 40. Okay so I kinda sorta cheated… I had one teensy bit rest, but I still got it done and 40 certainly wasn’t my exhaustion point.

Umm I think Day 3 might be a little lopsided, as it was SO much easier than Day 1. I’d love to move on to Week 5, but I think I’ll attempt at this week once more, doing one day each. Should get me pumped and ready to move on!

See more progress on: do one hundred consecutive push-ups

OHR: Week 3, Day 1 & 2

Day 1

Lesson: When taking any amount of time off from running (especially when you have a nasty stomach virus), EASE back into it by shortening the distance AND/OR going at a slower pace.

Lucky me got to learn this lesson firsthand Saturday. Instead of slowing my pace, I decided to be an ass and fly my way through it, hence sending me almost to the point of asphyxiation from my lovely exercised-induced asthma, even though I prepped the run with two different inhalers beforehand. Because I can be an ignorant dope, I chose not to carry my emergency fast-acting inhaler with me and had to crawl home after the 30 instead of finishing out with the regular two intervals I like to tack on at the end.

Lesson learned.

Run Intervals:
Set 1: 30:07 – 3.43 miles @ 8:47 min/mi
Total: 30:07 min and 3:43 miles

Day 2

I typically fear running after a traumatizing one, but this time I was amped and ready to tackle and overcome it.

I didn’t do too bad, especially when you consider that I did Day 1 only yesterday. My throat got very dry at a few points (from my inhalers?), but luckily I had a lot of spit in my mouth to swallow (ewww). Towards the end, sharp cramps settled in on the right and I was thankful when the 30 minutes finally ended. Breathing exercises helped to dull it, but after Saturday’s fiasco, I decided to the smart thing and listen to my body, and decided to do two ten minute intervals afterwards instead of the ten minutes and then the twelve.

I’m excited to conclude Week 3 with a sunrise run on Tuesday, because Week 4 is where the action begins! I’m planning on running 4 days a week versus 3, so I may add in an extra 30 minute block run to accommodate.

Run Intervals:
Set 1: 30:07 – 3.36 miles @ 8:58 min/mi
Set 2: 10:00 – 1.07 miles @ 9:21 min/mi
Set 3: 10:00 – 1.07 miles @ 9:21 min/mi
Total: 50:07 min and 5.50 miles

See more progress on: Do the One Hour Runner (OHR) program

Workout 120 Days Straight: Day 103

My worst nightmare happened on Monday night: a lovely stomach virus!

What does this mean? NO food with flavor, NO exercise (it was hard to exist to begin with, so this was the last thing on my mind), NO nothing except trashy morning tv.

But-but-but my streak!!!!!

Yes, it was broken. Being bedridden for 3 days, however, allowed me to do some thinking about this goal again and at the end I decided that I am going to make one teensy weensy exception to this goal: illness.

So from now on, I will allow overlook only illness in my streak and adjust accordingly.

In other news: My workout while vacationing in Fort Worth was an absolute blast! The treadmill was a snore, but I got to bounce around on the elliptical for a little while and work with some free weights – two things that I do not have in my fitness regimen whatsoever. In addition, working out in a hotel gym all by myself (by the looks of the people in Texas, no one worked out) allowed me to admire my new body all I want, which only motivated me to work harder. Sweat looks so sexy!!!

And lastly, I realized that I’m unhappy over the 100 Push up Plan because all this time I’ve been looking at it wrong. My road to fitness was never about doing 100 push ups or running a marathon or anything like that. I started to LOOK GOOD and FEEL HEALTHY. So here I was boohooing about repeating Week 4 Day 1 for the 987’s time, yet I ignore the definition forming in my arms. Talk about an oversight! (Think: fitness model vs power lifter) So from now, I’ll use the program to further my definition and not get too hung up over performance. What a relief!

See more progress on: workout 120 days straight

100 Push Ups: Week 4 Day 2 (Wooohoooo!!!!!)

25-29-25-25 max: 25

Set 1: Pretty easy! I did however develop a head trip when I thought about actually having to do 29 pushups early on. I need to focus on the moment.
Set 2: I actually waited 2 min instead of 90 seconds – oops! Could be why the 29 pushups were easy here too, although I felt a slight twinge as I recorded the results afterwards.
Set 3: Arms trembled as I got into the 20s and I encountered a mental barrier, but I managed to bust through both.
Set 4: I was able to pump them out easily, but I did experience a little vertigo when I got up.
Max: Collapsed right after #25

I’m pretty impressed at how much an extra little 30 seconds’ rest can give you. Before today’s set, I went back and for a few minutes trying to decide if I should repeat Day 1 again, but noticed in my handwritten notes from last session that I’d written in huge block letters: “MOVE ON TO DAY 2!!!” Being that it was a few days and a stomach virus ago, I don’t exactly remember exactly what was going through in my head at that time, but I suspect that I probably predicted so and hence wrote that particular note to my future self.

See more progress on: do one hundred consecutive push-ups

100 Push Ups: Week 4, Day 1 #5 and #6

21-25-21-21 max: 21

Week 4, Day 1 #5
Set 1: Great!
Set 2: A sweaty set, it got hard right at 25 and felt twinges in the arm afterwards
Set 3: I didn’t think I could finish it without a break or two, but somehow I managed to push through consecutively until the end.
Set 4: Had to take one itsy bitsy break at #18
Max: 15

I wonder if doing it at a different time of day (6:30 am versus 2 pm) kept me from making progress?

Week 4, Day 1 #6
Set 1: So easy! I didn’t feel a thing.
Set 2: Felt it in the tiniest bit at #24, but no biggie. Slightest twinge afterwards.
Set 3: Got hard at #20 and felt slight twinge afterwards
Set 4: #21 was at or near exhaustion point.
Max: I didn’t collapse, but I knew that #21 was my dead last

Finally, a little progress! I wonder if it had to do with the extra triceps workouts on Saturday?

I didn’t make the max but I’m moving to Day 2 anyway. Today was near identical to when I did it last Monday, and from that day, I went back in progress, thus deflating my little heart. No mas! So Day 2 here we come. :):):)

See more progress on: do one hundred consecutive push-ups

OHR: Week 2, Day 3

How Goes It

I originally planned on completing this on Saturday while on a treadmill at the hotel I was staying – and did pump out 30 min (plus 10 min of extra running), but truth be told, I HATED it and didn’t feel challenged in the specific way I love/used to when running outside. If anything, I felt like a hamster in a wheel but with a TV in front of me. I am now officially anti-treadmill.

Thanks to an early flight on Sunday, I had plenty of time to run in the afternoon, even though I was too exhausted to do it and was finding every distraction in the world to put it off. Eventually I gave myself a stern talking to and pushed my butt outside.  (Main motivator: burn off all the cookies I splurged on all weekend)

Because I was so tired, I didn’t think I was running that fast, but to my (GREAT) surprise, I actually ran the first 30 min under 9 min/mile! I have no idea how that happened, really. In fact, I thought it was just my mind hazing about when I’d pass certain markers before certain times. Could it be that I’ve grown comfortable with my new pace?

The faster pace, however, did end catch up with me. In my first 10 minute interval following the 30, my legs felt like lead. I was so incredibly tired and was 100% sure that I would NOT be able to complete the next 12 minute interval. With 3 minutes left in the interval, my knees started hurting. I was relieved when the interval was over.

Usually, the 3 minute break too short for me to adequately recover, but on this day, my knees felt 100% and my legs were somewhat renewed. I pushed for the 12 minutes and – what do you know! – I beat last Thursday’s 12 min interval.

Overall, this run was more mentally challenging than physically. I definitely felt the trash I ate all weekend (went nuts with my cookie addiction!), but it could be the mental power that enabled me to push through and finish.

Thoughts While Running

Cookies, cake, pie! Cookies, cake, pie! Does anybody else think of food when they run?

It’s hard to believe I once did horribly running 90 seconds at a time!

Stats

Run Intervals:
Set 1: 30:07 – 3.41 miles @ 8:50 min/mi
Set 2: 10:00 – 1.07 miles @ 9:21 min/mi
Set 3: 12:00 – 1.30 miles @ 9:14 min/mi
Total: 52:07 min and 5.78 miles

Conditions

62° F, Sunny

See more progress on: Do the One Hour Runner (OHR) program