Stronger, Stronger

Happy Monday!  Today is recap day of the 5k I did yesterday.  If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I had a big personal best this weekend!  But more on that in a minute.

We woke up at 4:45 Sunday morning in preparation.  I knew I needed to get both electrolytes and sugar in me, because I had to board the bus for the race an hour prior to the race starting.  I am usually a "roll out of bed and get it done" kind of girl.  I don't like to super-hydrate or eat before I run, because I don't like all of the awkward tummy troubles runners and distance athletes are prone to.  But since this was out of the norm, I decided to drink a can of coconut water (potassium), and make a strawberry smoothie.

To be honest, it was still too much.  Even after using the port-o-potty at the start line, I was pretty queasy.  Next time, I might do just a banana or so.

We picked up two of my co-workers, Emily and Amber, on the way to the bus I took to the start line.  From there, A, Emily, and Amber got some much needed coffee, and staked a claim at the finish line.

They just had to cross the finish line before me.  Jerks.

The race I participated in was part of the Colorado Marathon.  They were offering 5k, 10k, half and full marathon courses.  I really liked this, because as I become a better runner, I can move up the totem pole.  the 5k is on the last 3.1 miles of the half and full marathon course, and was run almost entirely on the Fort Collins bike path.  This meant that there weren't a lot of spectators, nor was there a lot of space for tons of runners.  Thankfully, only 193 people participated in the 5k, so there weren't any major log-jams.

Right away, I found 2 girls who I thought were running a great pace.  I stuck with them for the first 2.3 miles.  Around 2.1, I asked what the time was, as my phone (with endomondo timing), was in my Camelback.  They told me we had JUST hit 20 minutes.  And seriously, my body decided not 3 minutes later that I was nuts to be running with these girls.  I tried to stay with them.  I really did.  But they sped up toward the finish line, and I slowed down a bit.  In the last 0.8 miles, I had to walk a couple of times.  I worked really hard to make sure that if I did have to walk, I walked as fast as possible.  Towards the end, there were so many kind, supportive people who encouraged me to jog the rest of the way in.  I thought for sure that my time was not going to be that great.  I had walked, after all.

So imagine my surprise as I came across the finish line at 32:32!

The girls and A had made signs to cheer me on, and were screaming like maniacs.  Naturally, I had to ham it up and get a little Rocky in order to best celebrate.

All said and told, I best my time from 7 weeks ago by 8 minutes.  Not the under 30 minute goal I had in mind, but I worked really hard and came close.  Thank you to all of you who have offered love and support on my way to this accomplishment.

As I have mentioned in passing, one of my bosses participated in the 10k yesterday morning.  So after I almost threw up caught my breath, we waited eagerly for Kate to come across the line.  My phone was not out and ready for pictures, but she beat her goal!  She was targeting about and hour and ten minutes, and finished right around an hour and five minutes.  Talk about so inspiring!

She lost her safety pins, and I texted her to just use duct tape.  When she came across the line, I died laughing

All in all, I am really satisfied with my performance.  Kate and I are now thinking about doing another race at the end of the summer, and pacing each other through it.  Looking forward to working towards a bigger, better goal!