I had Friday off and we spent the evening with friends who we don't get to see very often. We played a game called "Cards Against Humanity," kind of like a not-so-clean-or-friendly version of "Apples to Apples." I admit, I'm not the best at playing the funniest card as it indicates in the instructions because some of the cards are pretty twisted. The counselor in me wants to play funny haha and avoid funny twisted. It's hard to explain unless you know the game. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed good food and drinks.
The next morning I ran my first race in a couple months.
My last was my half marathon on Labor Day weekend so I was excited and had a little trouble sleeping, waking up a couple times during the night only to check my phone and realize it was still the middle of the night. Thankfully I didn't have much trouble going back to sleep each time.
Pre-baby, I would have made (I mean, requested?) my husband come with me to the race for moral support before and to see me cross the finish. But ever since we've become parents, I haven't wanted to have to wake her up early, get her ready, and have him try to keep her occupied while I ran. It just doesn't seem worth it beforehand. But, like every other race post-baby, I got down to the race site and realized I wished I weren't alone. I would like to have his support but I hate to our little munchkin there. This race was at a park though so I wondered if maybe it would have worked out. I thought it would be colder since it had been pretty cold in the mornings for the last couple weeks. So, anyway, I'm standing there after getting my bib and race t-shirt (which I placed in my car because I'm not a believer in wearing the race t-shirt before I've actually run the race), wishing that hubby and sweet girl were there with me. Oh well, I thought to myself, can't change that now.
I went to the starting area and put myself in the middle of the runners. In a race, even a small one like this, you don't want to be in the front if you KNOW you are not one of the super fast runners. You don't want to get trampled nor do you want to be in their way. They are looking to win. As much as I would *love* to win or even come close, that's not my realistic goal so I go where I belong. I was actually probably in the second fourth of runners, not really the middle, because I figure should still be as close to the front as I can. Might as well get this show on the road (pun intended). I look to my wrist and realize that I had forgotten my garmin watch. Ugh! What the heck? I have never forgotten my watch before. *Sigh* I download the Nike+ app on my phone and get it set up so I can at least have an idea of my pace and distance. It helps me to know so that I can keep a steady pace, not push too hard or not enough, especially during the first mile or so when I tend to think I'm superman (er, woman) and can run way faster than I would be able to maintain for 6.2 miles.
Just as I was ready to go with my app all set up and my music playing, the announcers starts counting down. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... and we were off :). The beginning is always so interesting. You never know how it will go. But, I did know this - I know that I would finish because I can run this distance without much practice as long as I run regularly. I wasn't sure if I would PR. In fact, I figured I wouldn't. I haven't PR'd yet post-baby so I wasn't getting my hopes up for this race. As long as I ran strong, gave it my best, and finished with a smile on my face, I would be accomplishing my goals. I'm not going to lie though - a PR would have been icing on the cake.
The race itself went pretty well. I ran a little faster than intended during the first couple miles, as I often do. It's almost like it's how my legs and heart warm-up. I can't seem to do it in a slower warm-up like manner. I started to have an ache in my side during mile 3 so I slowed down a bit during miles 3 and 4. I then pushed it again during the last 2 miles and really sprinted to the finish line after that. I've done this race a couple other times, once pre-pregnancy (the 10K on 11/14/09 - my PR of 55:57, 9:00 average pace) and then again at 12 weeks postpartum, my first post-baby race (the 5K on 11/12/11, 27:51, 8:59 average pace). It goes around the park, and then through the park's trail which is very pretty and tree-filled, and it's pretty well organized, smaller, low-key race. I have enjoyed it every time. I'm glad that I have been able to continue racing, albeit less frequently and less 'whenever I want' and more 'whenever it fits our schedule,' but it's worth it to keep going, to keep pushing myself, to keep focusing on things that make me feel like myself. I am a wife and mom but I need to make sure I have a little piece of my pre-baby self. Races are part of that and I'm happy that I am able to fit them into my schedule. One day I hope Alexa will be there cheering me on at the start and finish lines, and maybe she'll even run some races with me :).
So, did I get a PR for this race?
Nope! I did, however, finish in under an hour - 58:54 was my official finishing time. That's an average pace of 9:30 per mile. 3 minutes slower than my PR. I am okay with my time, but at the same time, I'm starting to wonder if I will ever PR again. When do I stop counting my pre-pregnancy times as my person records if I can never beat than post-partum? I do feel faster, I run faster during my "easy" runs (the effort is the same as before), I really do believe I physically am capable of PR'ing... but I'm still just tired. I'm not sure my body has the energy right now to push enough to actually PR. I have more energy than I did when my daughter was not sleeping but I can only get so much sleep. It's hard to get enough sleep (I know, same problem for most moms). So I just ask myself - when do I start just considering these new PRs and stop focusing on what I did before? Or do I just wait and eventually the personal records will come again? I don't know but I do know what cool thing. My time was also 11 seconds FASTER than my second fastest 10K time (3/6/10, pre-pregnancy). I guess I will take that for now. I tried my best, pushed myself as hard as I could, and finished the race with a smile on my face. Hey, wait, weren't those my original goals?
NOTE - Official placements: 95 out of 159 overall (59.7%), 10 out of 14 in my age group (71.4%), and 39 out of 84 females (46.4%). My placement among all females was pretty good, my age group placement sucked, and my overall placement was pretty average.
My legs were a little sore the next day. It was proof to me that I did the best I could. I spent the rest of Sunday morning hanging out with my sweet girly and my husband, and then went to work from 2 until midnight. I try to appreciate every moment we all have together and it makes going to work so much easier (although it's never what I would call 'easy' in any way).
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