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June 1, 2007
Breaking Barriers
I promised an update this Friday . . . so here it is :) I ran a 5K last night and I PR'd by almost 40 seconds. I finished in 18:40!!!! I didn't exacly run a smart race, but I will take the PR with no complaints.
A little race recap: The gun snapped at 6:30 PM after a day filled with marshmellowy-grey clouds, rain-tears, and overall dreariness. But just as the race started, the clouds parted enough to allow the sun to peak through, the drizzles to stop, and the humidity to lift enough to make breathing bearable.
The butterflies rumbled and tumbled in my stomach, but I tried hard to prevent my nervous energy from making my body go weak - I have had this happen several times and it usually takes 3 miles to find my race rhythm. Well, I didn't have 3 miles to ease into a rhythm last night so I tried to stay calm and keep things fun. That's when I turned around and saw my husband, B., with a race number on! He told me earlier in the day that he couldn't make the race. So I didn't even entertain the possibility that I would swing around and he would be standing there in his technical T, mizuno shorts, and Karhu racing shoes ready to rock! He' s my good luck charm.
Having B. there made everything fun and it drained some of the nervousness from me . . . which was good! Then H., my friend who is "coaching" me (he doesn't like being called "coach"), showed up to cheer our little team on! What more could one ask for?
But, like I said, I ran semi-chaotically. Ever since I turned those fast loops in Central Loop last weekend, my legs have been pissed off. I took Monday off, ran 12 on Tuesday and 8 on Wednesday and I basically felt like an overcooked potato. I walked Mr. Ajax - my 3.5 year-old dog, race morning and spent the rest of the day working like crazy on my new site, Her Active Life. By the time 5:30 rolled around, I had performed my pre-race rituals (hot shower, read some zen stuff, meditate) and I was ready to roll. Did I mention that I had cookie dough ice cream as my pre-race snack? I was worried that that might come back to haunt me, but - luckily - it was the perfect fuel!
I am totally detouring on actually talking about the race. So here goes: I took off like a bat out of hell and ran 5:44 for my first mile (PR). I freaked out and slowed down. Hit mile 2 in 11:50 and freaked out (another PR). Kept going. Kept going. I was all alone. By about 2.5, I was convinced that I wasn't going to break 19:00. I refused to look at my watch. Then I saw the 1/2 mile to go sign and my legs woke up a bit . . . they had totally gone to sleep!
H. jumped out with 300 meters to go and, without really saying anything, helped me pick up my pace. I suddenly found another gear that I didn't know I had and pushed it. I discovered that - buried somewhere in the deep crevices of my muscles - I have 2 fast twitch muscle fibers. When I crossed the line and stopped my watch, I was elated to see 18:40 staring back at me!
I took today off and my legs feel surprisingly fresh. I am meeting my crew at 6:30AM tomorrow to get in 12 miles, then I have 15 on Sunday. Then I am off again on Monday and back at it again for an easy 8 on Tuesday. My half marathon is less than 3 weeks away!
Once again, I am feeling incredibly humbled by this (knock on wood) streak of PRs and healthy, happy running. I am not taking this for granted - I came pretty close to losing it all this Fall. I think taking a 4 month break to reassess life and running was good for me. I am deeply in love with this sport, and just as the words scroll across the top of this blog, I have miles to go before I sleep . . .
Posted by bridget at June 1, 2007 9:41 PM
Comments
Bridget! Congrats! A huge, huge, huge 40 second-on-a-5k-PR congrats! Wowowowowow!
Awesome job!
Meghan
Posted by: Meghan at June 1, 2007 11:15 PM
NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK BRIDGET YET I DO READ YOUR NEW WEB DAILY SO I KNOW YOU ARE UP & AT IT..
SO VERY PROUD OF YOU
HUGS
MOM
Posted by: MOM at June 2, 2007 9:24 AM
... and the woods are ever so lovely... possibly not so dark: shadowy in areas? Yes deep, but maybe not so dense as to become intimidating... ah, yes, and the foliage... what a show... :-)
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at June 2, 2007 10:19 AM
Congratulations on all of your PRs! I can't wait to see what you can do in your upcoming half-marathon!
Posted by: Caitlin at June 3, 2007 10:32 PM