Sunday, May 11, 2014

Run Like a Mother (5K)

Run Like a Mother (5K) - May 11, 2014
time = 25:22
pace = 8:10 average
placed 9th in my age group (40-44) out of 64
placed 29th in women out of 420
placed 29th overall out of 424

i had a great running streak from saturday to monday and then it seems that those 3 days of just over 6 miles was overdoing it because on wednesday when i wanted to run again... i simply couldn't.  my leg hurt so badly that i couldn't even do a little jump on it without pain.  i went for a long dog walk with the husband and then thought that it would be loose enough after that for a short run.  not so much.  got home and took off for my run and didn't even make it down the driveway.  went to PT on thursday and i feel really defeated.  all the PT did was give me some exercises to do at home and quite frankly i don't think that's going to do anything for my issue.  so here i am today after not having run for the past 5 days and i try to run a 5K.  i am so slow now and it is really disappointing.

i'm trying to be optimistic and positive.  i'm trying to cut myself some slack given the current circumstances but i'm really pissed off.  i'm pissed off because no one seems to have an answer on how to fix me.  no one has been able to say to me... i can help you fix this problem in x amount of time and you'll be back to running your normal pace pain free in x amount of time.

so basically i have nothing to look forward to but more of this weird numbness and non-pain and weakness and nerve stuff.  my heal is numb right now... my heal!

so this morning when i got up for the race i was pretty indifferent about it.  i wasn't sure i was even going to bother going because i feel like i'm settling into this slower race pace and i don't want to get comfortable here.  once i got moving this morning tho' i decided that i would probably regret it if i didn't go and i've been getting more and more bummed out the less i've been able to run so i figured all the activity and the other runners would do me some good.

i got my boys up and we all left for the race.  the 1 miler kid race was first and the kid that won it did it in 5:58!  insane!  kids are so fast!

when it was time for the 5K to start suddenly i had to go to the bathroom.  3 minutes to start and i need to go to the bathroom?!?  sheesh... in and out in a jiffy and i'm at the start line.  no one wanted to be at the front so there i was... in the front.  of course, i took off too fast and was clocking under a 7 minute mile out of the gate and when i realized it i dialed it back.  good thing too because by mile 2 my leg was hurting.  not exactly hurting but feeling tight and weird.
still feeling fresh
by 2.5 miles there was a double loop which i managed to slow down down down for and then i got stuck behind a 2 deep team that was clocking a 8:30 mile (yes i checked my garmin).  while i was stuck behind them i was debating staying there because it was comfortable or trying to get around them because i can run faster.  i stayed behind them and then when the water station came up i decided to stop, walk, and drink some water.  i NEVER stop in a 5K so that was deeply disappointing.  This was an out and back which i always like because i enjoy seeing all the people in the race as well as seeing who is in front of me.  i finished strong and am a little afraid to see the pictures because (of course) i wasn't working on my "race face" as i was uncomfortable and my leg wasn't feeling good.  i really just wanted it to be over as i was thinking about my lack of endurance the whole time.  i need to figure out how to build my endurance while not aggravating my leg further.  i just don't know what to do about that.       
my beautiful children on mother's day




these beautiful faces


afterwards my boys were right there and that was wonderful!  we went to brunch at juniper 61 where my little brothers are chefs and had a lovely meal.  all in all it was a worthwhile experience and i would do it again.  hopefully faster.












the shirt, the bib, the medal
only one mile left to go
still trying to be positive

almost done

the finish!




8 comments:

pandemic_pounds said...

i like the shirt.

nikki said...

you should have done the run... i hate these kinds of shirts. lol!

Josh said...

Since this started, what's the longest stretch of time you've gone without running and/or doing some sort of leg-related exercise?

nikki said...

i didn't do any running from february 23th to march 10th (13 days) then i ran one mile and went 2 days and ran one mile again. then i waited another 16 days to run. i joined the ymca in the beginning of march so i was doing some leg stuff at that point. maybe 2 weeks is the longest i've done no exercise of any kind (leg-related).

mkerungirl said...

I know you're capable of running a lot faster but I still think this was a decent race considering you were sidelined and unable to run for so long. You'll get your speed back. It's only a matter of time. :)

nikki said...

thanks sun! i really appreciate the encouragement. it is so good to hear. i just wish there was an easy answer (and subsequent fix) for whatever is going on with my leg. it would be so much less frustrating then!

pandemic_pounds said...

the amount of slowing down being done by the chick on your right side at the finish makes me sad.

nikki said...

you mean the one who passed me at the end? hahahah!