The Bed Rest Book Club
Share it!
  • Blog
  • About
  • Dining (Vegan and Nonvegan)
  • Running Stuff
  • Recipes!

And So It Begins...

2/16/2016

2 Comments

 
Spring racing season is upon us.

And it feels soooo good.

The first race of the season, The Lepre-Con 5K, happened on Saturday. A nice little run through Town Square with a decidedly playful atmosphere, it was hard to take yourself too seriously in a sea of green-clad folks wearing bright oranges beards. Feeling relaxed before a race is much better than feeling like you are going to puke on your shoes. For me, this is a welcome change.

In addition to raising a ton of money for St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest private funder to childhood cancer research, the crowd also set a new Guiness Book of World Record for most number of leprechauns gathered in one spot. The old world record, set in Ireland in 2012, counted around 1200 little green people; on Saturday, the number topped 1400. Woohoo! It was a very cool thing to be a part of.
Picture
Lululemon Run Club!
Even if the race didn't feel serious, it still warranted serious race hair. Behold, the mighty power of the French braid. I'm telling you folks, if you have long hair and nimble fingers, the Frenchie is the only way to go. It actually gets tighter as you sweat more. No fly-aways for this runner, thank you.
Picture
5Ks are notoriously tough; yes, it's less than a multi-hour marathon suffer-fest, but it's still killer. Not to mention - this course wasn't exactly conducive to PRing. Having run it three times the weekend before, it boasted twelve 90-degree turns and one 180-degree turn. As I studied the map, I seriously wondered if they were trying to make a clover leaf or something. What shape was this? I had never seen such a loopy, complicated route. It took me a solid 20 minutes to map the whole thing out for my practice run.
Picture
And as we lined up, I inwardly groaned when I saw a ten year old kid next to me. What is this, a curse? It feels like every 5K, I get into a grudge match with some preteen. I hate getting out-kicked by these little whippersnappers. Their springy little legs and boundless energy is really annoying. They don't even have fully-formed knee caps yet.
Picture
Overall, my annoyance aside, it was a solid race. I knew the tangents, I knew where to push and where to recover. It's always amusing to watch the folks sprint out of the gate, only to gas out about 800m into the first mile. There was girl in front of me already doubled over by the first two turns. I wasn't sure if I was going too fast or not fast enough, but I knew I could hold on until the end.

With my little buddy bouncing right next to me, my first mile was 6:57. The fastest (official) mile I've ever run.

The second mile, the one where we had to go up and over the overpass, was a bit slower. I could see only a few people in front of me, mostly men, and one woman wearing very large sunglasses. Brooks, the new trainer at Boot Camp, was well ahead and looking strong. He'd been so helpful during several long runs before CIM, jumping in to run the last half of them with me, usually about the time I was about physically and emotionally hit the wall. It was his very first race ever and I was hoping he'd kill it. By the looks of it, he was.

At the 180 degree turn, I counted six people ahead of me and one ten-year old next to me. This was a gun start, not chip-timed, so it literally was a race to the finish. All unofficial, of course, but the time mattered to me, mainly because it would set my vDot for marathon training. (Want to know your vDot? Look here). My sandy-haired nemesis was still holding strong, slightly behind me but surging ahead on occasion. As we headed back for the second half, several friends called out my name as I passed them, shouting words of encouragement. My freckled friend looked at me with confusion with each shout. I smiled at him. I wanted to tell him, "You may have youth, but I have experience. And friends who run." But of course, I could barely breathe, let alone talk, so I kept to myself. Second mile: 7:32. But the worst was behind me and I could charge to the finish.

It was kinda cool to be a sort-of leader. Along with the people I knew, several others shouted things like, "First female!" and "Go get it, girl!" I didn't stop to correct them that I was actually the second female, but I appreciated the sentiment. With so few people ahead, and at this point, I'd lost sight of the leaders. It was easy to get lulled into a tempo-ish pace. Thankfully, my preteen friend reminded me this was, in fact, a race every time he rolled past me. With three turns to go and totally annoyed by his youthful spirit, I focused on turnover and dropped him. Finally!

It was a little odd coming into the final stretch without Alex by my side, screaming at me in English and Spanish. But I guess we all have to grow up at some point, and today, I was on my own. With about 200m to go, and only one turn left, I heard a zombie. Some dude was close enough to chew on my shoulder. I picked it up, he picked it up. He huffed. I huffed. We both had a weird coughing fit (it was super hot and dry out there; my throat was parched and on fire). I swear, the guy growled when he finally passed me. Instead of feeling bummed, I burst into ridiculous giggles, not because of his speed or grunts, but because when he finally came into view, I saw his tiny little man shorts. Holy pale thighs. I mean, my shorts are short too, but...wow. They were like micro-shorts. The 70s are back, friends. On the last turn, I managed to compose myself, avert my eyes, and concentrate on finishing strong.

Last mile: 7:17. Finish: 22:30, or about 7:15 per mile. A new PR by a whooping 28 seconds. I felt amazing.

And thirsty. I found Brooks, who had come in 4th and under 19 minutes. Un-freaking-believable for a first race. He's been doing this for five months; I've been at it for almost five years. It's okay, I'm not jealous...

And then, out of the crowd, I saw my 10 year old friend. I smiled at him and said, "Great race!" He, to my immense surprise, reached out his tiny little hand to shake mine. Wow. Maybe the future of civilization is not doomed by the next generation. I shook it happily. Solid kid. I looked around to find a parent or guardian but didn't see anyone. I hope they know they are doing a great job. That's some serious sportsmanship.

Better than my finish time, I felt strong. I ran hard, but I didn't dry heave or faint at the end. I didn't feel at all like I did back at the 4th of July 5K, when I thought I was going to pass out in the last 100m. Instead, we laughed, drank a few tiny cups of water, and took a quick photo. Then I was on my way to Scotty's soccer game in Henderson. Once that ended, I headed out to our first baseball practice of the season. I didn't get home until after 1:30 and despite the events of the day, I felt totally fine. In fact, aside from a bit of dehydration, I felt like I could run easily on Sunday, though we opted for a long, slow hike at Red Rock to let the leggies recover. Gainz, indeed.

My jubilation was only further confirmed during my Monday recovery run. Five to six miles before boot camp at an easy pace. By mile 2, I had this incredibly shot of adrenaline/happiness/endorphin rush which caused me to forget I was running. I actually had to tell myself to slow down. But the good feeling lasted. Hooray for spring!

What does this all mean? It means training for the next full can finally start! Speed work 2x week, long runs, progressive runs, track Tuesdays...it's all happening again. Based on my calculations, I'll be having a minor meltdown at the end of March, I'll pull myself together by mid-April, and will run the first week of May. I'm still on the fence about running the Summerlin half in April (www.desertskyadventures.com), but may jump in an occasional 5K or two.

What are your racing plans? Anyone looking at a new/longer distance, or have a fun run they'd like to share? Leave a comment below or on Facebook - I'd love to hear what you have planned for this spring!
2 Comments
Kelly
2/16/2016 01:27:23 pm

You are awesome Kim! I registered and accidentally got into the 7 mile bridge run in the Florida Keys! Whoops and yay! I have a schedule all mapped out! And a trip to Key West for 2!

Reply
Kim
2/16/2016 08:53:13 pm

That's fantastic Kelly!!! Enjoy your training and wishing you a great race (and awesome vacation!)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    About Me

    Think of this as the epilogue to Bridget Jones' story. Well, mostly. Bridget marries the handsome lawyer, starts a blog while on bedrest, and decides marathon running sounds like fun. Bridget goes through a divorce but keeps running. Hilarity ensues. 

    Archives

    September 2020
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    September 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009

    Categories

    All
    Adolescence
    Baby Activities
    Baby Care
    Bed Rest
    Book Reviews
    Bravo Tv
    Breast Feeding
    Cool Stuff
    Craftiness
    Craig\'s List
    Dogs
    Emma
    Ethical Dilemmas
    Family
    Family Relationships
    Food
    Football Season
    Friendship
    Google List
    Grief
    Guest Blogger
    Guest Bloggers
    I Hate Our Neighborhood
    Junior League
    Kernicterus
    Milestones
    Motherdhood
    Motherhood
    Movies
    My Bladder
    New House
    Numbers
    Pending Reviews
    Post Partum
    Potty Training
    Potty-training
    Pregnancy
    Relationships
    Reviews
    Running
    Scary Stuff
    School
    Scotty
    Sleep
    Sororities
    Sunshine Cupcakes
    Surgery
    The Bobby
    The Holidays
    The Miracle Blanket
    The New House
    Todderville
    Toddlerville
    Toys
    Tv
    Tv Review
    Tv Reviews
    Unpopular Opinions
    Vegas
    Weight Loss
    Weird Stuff Kim Says
    Work

    RSS Feed

Thanks for reading!