The big race day came fast! My only regret was that I got more sleep. The night before I had a hard time sleeping. I’m not sure if it was my nerves or another battle with my insomnia. No big deal. Brian and I got up at 6am Sunday morning, no breakfast in bed for me this Mother’s Day, he had scrambled eggs, me I went for the hard-boiled egg and mixed nut combo (not such a good choice I later learned). We left our house about 6:30 am and made it to the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN at 7:00am. Parking was not as bad as I expected. We walked around for a bit before heading out to the starting line. I think the powers that be heard my plead for nice weather. It was sunny and 57. Perfect for our early morning run!
At the starting line I was amazed at the number of people. Our announcer, for lack of better titles, had mentioned that 8,000 runners were expected this morning and 50,000 walkers for the next wave at 9:30am. This event is one of the Largest Race for the Cures in the U.S. No wonder I felt like a sardine at the start. Here I thought I was in the back, only to turn around and see nothing but a sea of people waiting. That got the nerves a pumping! It took awhile for that many people to get moving. We were bottle necked for about the first mile but after that it opened up a bit. All winter long I ran on the treadmill, not brave enough to battle a Minnesota winter run. It was different running outside again. It was nice to have the distractions of the scenery to look at since I chose not to run with my iPod so Brian and I could talk.
My favorite part of the run? All the cheering sections! They were placed at locations that I definitely felt I needed that extra support and encouragement. My favorite was the rock band that played at a local Fire Department along the route! I really wish I knew the name of the band and the Fire Department. It was such a great treat and really helped me pick up my pace.
Towards the end of the run I was starting to get tired. Not sure if I ran out of fuel due to the small breakfast or if it was lack of sleep that finally caught up to me. This is where Brian really helped me out. He kept pushing me forward and telling me we could do it. My lungs were on fire, long story I don’t want to bore people with, but we managed. The final stretch of the run was directly into the sun but we could hear the cheering crowd at the finish line. I started to get choked up when I realized the guy at the line was announcing people to remember. I know I picked up the pace at this point and crossed the line gusto. It was exhilarating! I couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t care. I only wish I had enough in me to have basked in it for long, but my belly was feeling sour and I needed to get out of the crowd fast and find some water and walk around to allow my lungs to catch up. So thankful for the beautiful water station slightly down the way, were I ran into someone I knew from the gym! Huh? Small world.
After some time and good cleansing breaths, I could turn to Brian and congratulate him on his longest run to date. As well as get my own celebration hug.
So our time? 36:23 (11 minute 32 second pace) not what I had hoped for but I’ll take it as a starting point. Also since I hadn’t had a good quality 5k run since mid-March, I’ll take what I can get.
So my next race will be this Thursday. Yep, Thursday. My legs should be nice and limber by then. It will be a quick (hopefully) 1 mile run in downtown Minneapolis for the 2011 Medtronic Twin Cities 1 Mile, part of the Twin Cities Marathon. This is the 2nd Largest mile road race in the U.S. I will be in the “Friends and Family Wave” not the more competitive waves. Looks like a few of my husband’s co-workers will be joining us for this race. I better bring my A game so I don’t look like a wimp. The pressure is on! At the end of the race, coordinators will be selecting 1,000 random finishers entry into the Twin Cities 10 mile in October. If selected, I will have my work cut out for me. That is, if I have the guts to actually do the 10 mile.
So our question this week from Jillian Moriarity: Do you know when to back off of your efforts? When is the last time you took a step back in the name of gentle kindness to yourself?
I have learned over the years to listen to my body as to when I have pushed too hard or too far. I had surgery on my right lung over 10 years ago (for a spontaneous pneumothorax) and I have been working at getting in shape and improving my lung function since. That is my biggest road block. I know when I have gone too far, can’t catch my breath easily, chest starts to hurt, hands go numb, etc. I keep an eye on my heart rate and how it co-relates to my breathing. I hope that running will help strengthen my lungs better than other cardio exercises thus far. I have also been working on breathing exercises with yoga and pilates on my easier days to help my body and mind work together. Yoga is my kindness to my body. It helps my breathing and it helps my body stretch and recover after hard cardio days.
“I wrote the last part of this blog post while participating in the Mamavation Blogging Carnival for a chance to win a Jillian Moriarity workout DVD from Jillian Moriarity” The Race for the Cure recap is completely of my own accord!