I Fought for 5k!

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning to a clean house, a huge amount of food in the fridge, and the wind blowing against the siding. That wind was telling me it was too cold outside to get out from under my covers, it was too cold to pull on my work out gear and get ready for the 5k I had committed to over a month earlier. I just wanted to stay under the sheets, cuddle with my husband, and dream about the upcoming Thanksgiving meal that was going to emerge from my oven. I even asked my husband if he wanted to skip out on the event. I can't believe I did that! As I stared at the ceiling, trying to talk myself out of the bed, I began to think about everyone else that was going out into the cold air and running or walking a 5k that morning. There were my parents, my sister, and the majority of the Pack. If they were braving the weather, then I could too.

After the stuffing was in the crockpots for my first attempt at hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I climbed the stairs to put on my warm clothing. I made sure to check the weather before I decided what to wear. It was windy and the air was was damp and cold. Hubby and I climbed into the car and started on our way to the Berbee Derby. I couldn't understand why he was trying to push me out the door nearly an hour before our race start. Once we got there, I was glad he did. The place was already swarming with cars! We decided to park about a half mile from the event start line so we would have an easy get away at the end of the race. I would have to say there were atleast 3000 participants between the 10k and the 5k race. I like these bigger races because I can blend in with the crowd and there are sure to be people in that crowd that I am faster than. It gives me a confidence boost.

Berbee Derby 2011

At the beginning of the race I thought that I was going to stick by my hubby the whole time because he was being a dear to participate in the event with him. But then again, I also wanted to see how hard I could push myself and see how far I could go. We placed ourselves in the last wave just ahead of the 5k walkers. In the end, it was the right place to put myself. Hubby ran with me for the whole first mile and then he started to walk. I asked if it was ok if I kept going and he said it was. So, I just kept going. Coming around one of the turns I noticed a big hill ahead. I briefly thought that the hill was going to suck and I was going to let myself walk it. But then I thought back to when I was running earlier in the summer and when I proclaimed that I loved running hills because conquering them made me feel strong! I took that hill, and the next two without stopping to walk. I also took each subsequent down hill quickly. I heard a dad telling his daughter to just let the down hill push her, to let gravity work with her legs and to not push against it. I took his advice and just sailed down the hills.

I fought through the mental battle of wanting to stop to walk. Thing I have read kept working through my mind. "You can do anything for five minutes" kept really sticking with me. My foot went numb, I just kept going. I sprinted at the end. I did! It felt good to put all my energy into going all out the last few meters. I finished and I didnt stop to walk. I fought for it! Hubby finished 5 minutes after I did. It wasn't my best time but I'm ok with that.

A Look Back

A Look Back

As I continue to look forward to my race on Sunday, I have also taken some time to look back on the
last year since committing to this event. In some ways, I never thought I would be where I am but in
other ways, I thought I would have been further in my journey.

A year ago, the thought of running made me sick. I knew I had never been a strong runner and was not looking forward to recommitting to shin splints, side aches, and numb feet. I remember when I had to run the mile in Jr. High in under 11minutes, I walked about half of that mile. I probably could run the mile when I was in high school, right at the end of ski season when I was taking my gym course in the spring. I was passing people and it felt great! I wanted to embrace that feeling again. It was one of those nonessential high school moments that I will never forget. I started out slow. My goal was to run a mile without having to stop to walk.

So I just started running. I was walking mostly and running a little bit here and there. I had no set
schedule and no watch. I would just run as long as I could without stopping to walk or rest. I would
watch the time on my iPod. I wouldn’t go all that long, maybe 20 seconds and then I would walk until I felt like I had my breath back, then I would jog again for a few seconds. I thought I was going to be able to run a 5k by Thanksgiving. I didn’t quite make it.

I started keeping track of my progress on Dailymile. It was great to have a place to see how much I was improving. It also helped with my motivation. I was working out after work, before I had the chance to go home and sit down on the couch. I did this in the late afternoon light and in the dark after daylight savings time. I did it until it got really cold, when I stopped for 2 months.

I wish I could say that it was the cold air that made me stop working towards running. In reality, it
was actually a compliment about how much more toned I was looking since I had started working out. Instead of keeping the hard work up, I just stopped. I wish I could explain what was going through my mind when I decided to just stop working out because I had one compliment. I would think it would work in reverse and actually push me to go harder to get even better results. But it didn’t. I thought that because I was looking thinner, I could just take a break from exercising so I did.

Into March, I decided enough was enough and I needed to get my butt out the door. I didn’t belong to
a gym so I made sure I bundled up before I headed out into the cold. I wasn’t exercising many times
a week but I was still doing it right after work before I went home for the day. I started out again not
doing any running plan. I was jogging a block or so and stopping to walk and then jogging another
block.

In early April, I joined a group of bloggers online. We committed to doing a 5k on Memorial Day in the Twin Cities. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I was never one to put myself into a situation where I didn’t know anyone. I’ve written about that before. When I started really getting a goal in front of me is when I started training using Couch to 5k. It is an excellent program and I would recommend it to anyone. I ran that 5k in 40 minutes. I was so happy! I had ran 7 minutes without stopping. That was the longest I had gone without walking and I was so happy! 

I had my second 5k race two weeks later. I ran that one a full minute faster at 39 minutes. I was happy about that one too. I still hadn't been able to run more than five minutes at a time. I knew I had a lot of training ahead of me for the rest of the summer. I was hopeful that it wouldn't get too hot. I didn't have another opportunity to run a 5k until Labor Day. I ran that one in 38 minutes. I'm getting faster but I feel like I should be progressing faster than what I am. But overall, i'm pretty happy about my progress.

I just read the athlete guide for my race. I was aware of a time limit on the bike portion of the race (2.5 hours) but I was not aware of a time limit on the run (26 mins for 2 miles). I guess I'm not really worried about the first 2 miles but I am really worried about the second set of 2 miles after I finish my ride. The last time I did a brick workout, my shins tightened up and I could barely walk. So, now im worried because I typically run just under a 13 minute mile when my legs are feeling good. I hope hope hope I dont get pushed off the race!

Tomorrow I will talk about the goals I thought I would have achieved by now.

Safe Harbor Labor Day 5k

Yesterday I ran the Safe Harbor Labor Day 5k in Madison. The money went to benefit Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center. It's an organization that I had heard little about. Really I was just looking for a Labor Day 5k to compare to my Memorial Day Challenge Hearts and Minds 5k. That race I finished right at 40 minutes. My goal for this race was to finish faster than that. I finished at 38:36! It wasn't as fast as I had hoped but it was still reaching my goal AND I ran most of it. I would say I didn't walk anymore than 5 minutes during the whole race.

My husband joined me on this race as well as my good friend Kinsey and her husband Keith, he did the 10k race. They have all been a great support and Kinsey crossed the finish line by my side. I definitely ran faster than her but she would keep running when I would stop to walk. Each time she caught up to me, I would make sure to get up and run again so I could mostly stay ahead of her. I had never run further than 2 miles without stopping. I was unable to go that far without stopping yesterday. The course was hilly and I wasn't prepared for that. Overall I felt pretty good. I really wish I would have been able to run the whole thing! Looking back on it, I could have worked through those moments when my shin splints hurt or the side ache under my ribs. I should have been able to work through those! I just kept telling myself it was mental and I could get through this.

There was a father/daughter duo in front of me, well they passed me at one point where I was walking. I kept up with them for a while and could hear bits and pieces of their conversation. Dad was definitely a better runner than the daughter but it was so beautiful to hear him encouraging her to keep working through the urge to stop to walk. She was talking to him about things that were unrelated to that moment and he told her that it wasn't important to worry about, that she should just concentrate on what she was doing, to keep the pace, and just keep moving. I wondered what my dad would say to me in that same situation?

The last mile of the run was hellish long! But atleast it was flat, unlike most of the route. Kinsey and I finished it out together, for the most part. This was when the mental fatigue was kicking in. I knew I was pretty good up to the two mile mark because I had done that before. I was unsure about that last mile. I found myself telling my self that I had gotten through the first two miles and that I could do that one last mile! I couldn't feel my left food and my shins hurt...a lot! But I just kept putting one foot infront of the other foot, over and over and over again. That was all I had to do to get to the end. Once I saw the finish line, I did put a little bit more effort into it, just to shave off a second or two from my time. I'm proud of my 38:36 as I should be! 

This coming weekend I get to cheer my little sister on while she competes in her second Ironman Wisconsin! I'm extremely excited and nervous for her. I'm excited about watching her come out of the lake water and getting on her bike, I'm excited about her insanely fast biking through Verona... Twice! I get to ring my cow bell through the streets of downtown Madison while she runs a full marathon. I am nervous about the weather! The last time she did this race in 2006, it was cold and it rained all....day....long! It did not make for great racing and it definitely did not make for great race watching. I've been watching the weather since September 11th first started showing up on the 10 day forecast. As of right now, the low is 54 and the high is 77 and the sky is supposed to be sunny! Please pray that she has some great weather for her second Ironman!

I Love Your Shirt

Today I ran the Verona Hometown Days 25th Annual 5k. All the proceeds from this small race benefited the high school's girls and boys cross country running teams. It really was a small race. I don't think there were more than 100-150 participants between the 5k and the 10k races. Most of the runners were students from the cross country teams. My friend Michelle was going to do the race with me but with a four month old, life is a bit unpredictable. I ended up at the race by myself, although I did have my Prior Fat Pack members there in spirit.

The weather was gorgeous this morning and even a little bit cold. After the EF 1 tornado that came through town on Wednesday, we welcomed the calm and cool weather. I made sure to wear my PriorFatGirl tee shirt. I was a bit overdressed with that and a long sleeve cotton shirt under it. It was really chilly this morning, really! My hubby was there to start me off at the starting line. We had friends in town for a wedding and he had to go back to the house to see them off for their 10 hour drive home.

While I was in the process of getting to the starting line, I had a woman tap me on the back and say she really liked my shirt. I thanked her. Later, she was the first woman to finish the 10k race. I had two more women pass me on the route that liked the shirt. Both of them, I stepped up my pace to keep up with them and tell them about the PFP. Both women were older than me. One of them, this was her first 5k in a number of years. She was running so fast! The other, she was an avid runner before she got married. After her wedding, she got sedentary and gained 50 lbs. Now she's trying to work the weight off through running. Both of these women, strangers to me, were cheering me on as I passed the finish line. One of them came over to me to ask me what my time was, and she cheered me when I told her I had set a new personal best.

New personal best! I am taking off 15 secs for fumbling with my watch at the end of the race.

I just love the comments and compliments I get from people just for wearing that t-shirt! I am waiting for the day when someone says, "I read that blog". I like being a little bit of inspiration for someone.

Ps: I got on the scale after many weeks of not getting on it. I lost 2 lbs. I feel good about that.

A Great Vacation!

I was wracking my brain tonight trying to find something to write about. Why not write about my vacation away from work over the past 10 days?

This was one great vacation and I didn't have to shell out a lot of money to buy a plane ticket to sit on a beach somewhere! Although the vacation included the unplanned funeral of my uncle Jim, it also included time spent with my family, the Glee concert, meeting new friends, and reaching personal goals. I really did get a lot done in just those few 10 days.

I headed up to the Twin Cities, where I grew up for those who don't know, on Sunday morning. I had to make sure I was going to make it to the Prior Fat Pack Potluck. After forcing myself into an uncomfortable situation because I was alone in a group of people I had never met, I am so glad I did it. The next morning, I got up bright and early to attend the Challenge Hearts and Minds 5k. It had been storming just an hour before we left the house. (Storms are another thing that scare me, and always have but that is for another blog post, another "dead end" I've slowly overcome) We really lucked out on the weather. Although the sky was very, very dark at the start of the race, we only had a little bit of water come down on us during the second lap around Como Lake and at that point it was welcomed! I finished with a personal best and right at my goal of 40 minutes or less and I was able to run the first 7 minutes of the race without walking. I had not been able to run that long prior.  I am looking forward to my next 5k on Sunday.

Tuesday consisted of some time planted on the couch. It was much needed because I was on vacation and I deserved some time being lazy and my legs hurt really bad from the day before. I did get my hair cut in the morning. I was going to go for a bike ride but the 40 mph wind gusts deterred me. Instead my dad and I went for a four mile walk in the afternoon. We got in some much needed father/daughter time.

Wednesday included some much needed shopping time. I learned of my uncle's passing the night before and had not brought any funeral appropriate clothing with me. I really hate trying on clothes, especially since I have gained weight. I was pleasantly surprised when I found a great dress at Macy's in a size 0x. I realized that I am right on the edge of clothing that is classified for the Plus-sized department and clothing that is regular sizes. Thursday morning I found some black dress pants and a shirt in the regular clothing section. I was beyond elated about that and they were on clearance. One pair of pants was marked down to $4 at Macys! I'm hoping that I will never have to step back into a Lane Bryant, except maybe to buy Spanx.

Wednesday was also my 29th birthday. In celebration, my mom had purchased tickets to Glee Live! It was a pretty good concert but I really didn't enjoy the screaming teenyboppers around us. I really don't think the performers heard them from the top level of the Target Center. Dinner before the concert was quite yummy at Red Stone. If you are looking for great rotisserie chicken in the Twin Cities, go there!

The rest of the week was spent doing some more shopping for the funeral and driving to Winona to see my extensive extended family. I saw some cousins I hadn't seen for three years. I wish it were under better circumstances. Friday afternoon, I headed back to Madison. I did have to make one last stop in La Crosse, WI at Caribou Coffee. Since then, I have been relaxing with my two kitties and my hubby. We did some gardening and week puling. We watered our veggie garden a couple of times. Yesterday morning I got up bright and early to volunteer for the Komen Race for the Cure. I need to buy a cowbell. And then Saturday night was spent with friends Keith and Kinsey relaxing in the warm summer evening at a bar patio. It was a great night with great friends!

Tomorrow it is back to work...Goodnight!

ABTA Path to Progress Results

Well, I despite all the wind and cloudy day in Chicago yesterday morning, Christina and I finished the American Brain Tumor Association  Path to Progress 5k. In the sixth year of this 5k, I am excited to report that the organization reached its goal to raise at least $900,000. We also received our race times.  Ours are right down at the bottom of that list.

Race Results

 There were at least 150 people that finished after us. Christina has not trained as much as I have but I was determined to cross the finish line with her next to me.The day was very windy along the lake, sometimes to the point of pushing us to run.

Finishing the Race

Race Start

 I wanted to thank again everyone that donated to this race. I didn't reach my goal of $500 but I was able to raise $320. I made it a goal to run it, and even though I didn't get to run the whole thing, I had a great friend by my side. Thank you to everyone that helped Christina raise more than double her goal. It was amazing to see over 4000 people registered for the run and the walk. We both hope to do this event again next year, hopefully with more people.

We spent the rest of the day walking around Chicago, hitting up Millennium Park and some shopping on Michigan Ave.We did some typical tourist stuff and ate some great Chicago Pizza.

It was so dreary and cloudy. We splurged and got some food at a fancy restaurant in Millennium Park for lunch. We spent some time at the Cultural Center while it poured outside. Around 3, we gathered out things and headed out of Chicago towards home. We decided next time we come to Chicago, it will be by bus or train. There is just too much traffic for us in this city.