Footsteps For Recovery

Today Shane, his mom, Ash, and I ran the F4R 5k in North Park. I woke up with a stuffy nose and Shane said he didn't feel that great either. I went got ready and convinced myself to have no real expectations for the race. We picked up Shane's mother and drove to the park to register. I was excited to learn the race offered a 4 runners for $65 deal! Saved us a boatload of cash!

Getting registered

We lined up on the four lane loop around the pool building and baseball fields. Having four lanes to run in meant I wasn't concerned about finding the right spot to line up. Shane, my mother-in-law (with Ash in the stroller), and I lined up right up front to the far left. The announcer explained the course was two loops, one counter clockwise and one clockwise, and then we were off.

The race begins!

I went out as hard as I felt I was capable of today. I kept Shane in my sights and tried not to let him get too far ahead of me. For most of the first loop I could either see him or catch glances of him as I rounded each bend. I was shocked to realize the course was nothing but hills, big ones, steep ones, rolling ones.... just hills! I forced myself to maintain pace as best I could on the ups and really hammer the downs.

As I approached the turnaround I saw Shane just coming back. He was in roughly 4th or 5th place. We high-fived as we passed eachother. I wanted nothing more than to just quit right then but something told me I was doing well regardless. I didn't wear my Garmin so I had no clue what pace I was running but it felt fast.

Shane approaching the turn around.

I took off from the turn around and tried to catch some of the guys in front of me. It was all I could do to keep pace with them for the most part but it gave me something to focus on besides the pain. Then it started to rain and I sank into that dark place reserved for runners' minds. Within a few strides of basically deciding it would be okay to give up and jog it in, a woman passed me. I instantly thought, "Aw, hell no!" and sped up to catch her. It took me a tenth of a mile or so but I caught her again, passed her, and then just focused on keeping her behind me.

As the finish chute came into sight I dug deep and found my after burners. I put a good 10-20 second lead on the woman and just tried to hang on without puking or passing out. As I approached the clock I could see 24:3x. I almost stopped to rub my eyes and check again but I realized I wasn't hallucinating and a PR was in my grasp. I turned it up just a notch more and got some pretty rousing cheers from the spectators. I crossed the line in 24:52 for my first official sub-25 minute 5k and a new PR!

Shane finishing

Shane finished in 22:11 and Ash and my mother-in-law both finished around 40 minutes flat. Shane and Ash each won second in their age group and Shane's mom won first in hers. I got the short end of the stick with 4th place in my age group. Of 69 finishers, 18 were in my age group. 26% of the field were women between 20 and 29! Holy crow!

I tried to get a picture of Shane, Ash, and his mom with their medals but Ash wanted no part of sitting still so this race report will just have to be boring. ;)

Have you ever been in a race where it seemed like the whole field was in your division? When you set your last PR did you expect it or not?

Stress Less, or How I Avoid Throat Punching Jerks

It's been a horrible week at work. I found out from a client that my coworker has been badmouthing me and the company at every opportunity. I'm not sure what I did to this person, my boss suggested it was a sarcastic comment I made some months ago. All I know is that in my life I have never taken a crude comment or gesture from another employee as a ticket to try to ruin their career.

I've spoken with my manager, the Human Resources Manager, the Lead Project Manager and everyone short of the President about this situation hoping to find some relief. All I've found is that they are reluctant to let this bonehead go. It's painfully clear to me that my position and contributions aren't of any value if they are willing to continue to employ someone who would undermine my actions and the company's at every opportunity. I made it clear to my boss that next week I would be waiting for a decision, jerk or me. There's not enough room in the cube farm for both of us.

Now I sit and wait... and worry. I worry because I don't want to put my family in financial stress. I worry because I don't want to have a bad mark on my employment record. I worry because I don't know that I'll have a job Monday morning. I worry because the stress is taking a toll on me mentally and physically. And when something is stressful enough that it takes a toll on my running I know that I have to do something to handle it. I haven't been eating or sleeping properly and my left knee is still giving me grief. I'm starting to think it's psychological.

Thankfully, my husband made plans to get me out of the house and onto the trails this weekend. There's a group of runners in our area that I've begun to think of as the 'regulars'. I'm not sure that my husband and I fall into this group but I'd like to think so. These are the faces I see at every race and the names I hear in every running conversation. They're the runners that always have plans, races and food for everyone. The plan today was for everyone to meet in a park not too far from our home and run 10 miles.

The best part about this plan is that my husband has never done more than 5 miles. The 'race' was a 2 mile out and back on a trail going one direction and then a 3 mile out and back going the opposite direction. My husband said he was planning to stop after the first 4 miles. When I reached the 4 mile mark and didn't see him waiting I figured I missed him. Turns out he decided he could do the whole thing and amazingly he did, still faster than me, in 1:25.

I finished in 1:40 and felt pretty good with that. According to my Garmin it was 10.1 miles which works out to a 9:56 average pace. Maybe I can pull off this 4:19 marathon afterall?! My stomach was not happy and my knee was aching but overall I felt more relaxed than I've felt in the last 5 days. I really needed that run and the company too.

So hopefully I'll be back next week with a lower stress level one way or another. And I'll also be back to announce the winners of my IAFF Charity Raffle! So don't forget to make your donation and get those last entries! Then in February I'll be coming up with some more fun ways to benefit this fantastic cause! So help me out if you can and run a mile for me while you're at it please?!

XOXO