5k PR's x2!

Up until a few weeks ago I hadn't done any 5k races since last summer some time. At that time I was averaging about a 34-35 minute race time. Though I wasn't training consistently for them, I have since completed 5 half marathons from September to April and was looking forward to enjoying the shorter distance. I'm not sure if I was overzealous by not having to run for 13.1 miles, or just felt good on the Saturday of the BAA 5k, but was able to knock off a solid 5 minutes, completing the race in 29:34! I spent the first mile or so weaving around people, but once I got into a groove, didn't struggle until the final straightaway where I was beginning to lose steam. I wasn't paying attention to my watch, just letting my body move as it felt comfortable doing, and was super excited when I found to be under 30 minutes! :-)

Just when I thought I couldn't break that time, I went down to Disney last week and did just that. This race was far more painful to run than the BAA, not because the course was difficult, but because I need to start planning my vacation races with the race at the beginning, as opposed to the end...or be more diligent about not drinking before a race.

Going to Disney with Mike, a big part of the trip consisted of a lot of theme park adventures and drinking. Day drinking, night drinking, breakfast drinking (Mike, not I). Luckily Disney is so big that we were literally walking 8-10 miles a day, so "sort of" walked of some of the excess calories. With that came my Expedition Everest race struggle (which turned into a PR). Mike and I spent a portion of the day in Animal Kingdom, which in the past has been our "drink through the park" day. That day was sort of consistent with that and by race time I was four margaritas and a beer in. By the start I had thought I rehydrated well and was ready to race. The gun went off and I headed out full speed ahead. Caitlin lagged behind for a bit and yelled at me for starting too quick. We needed to back off if we were going to do well. By mile 2 she was flying and at that point I had lost all steam in the tank. I wasn't sure if I was going to vomit or pass out, but knew I needed it to be done. I was beginning to fall behind, but she kept pushing me and we crossed the 5k mark in 27:46! We had passed a good amount of people, so I knew we were in a good spot going into the scavenger hunt. We decided to take this part a little slower with the running at first, but it took us so long to figure out the first clue, that I was completely recovered and ready to continue running.

The scavenger hunt was pretty hard. I knew if we were going to do well in the total race, we needed to get ahead in the 5k, because I am terrible at puzzles. Our overall time ended up being 1:03:50, which is pretty crazy considering it took more than double to cover less than 2 miles when we completed 3.1 in 27:46. We still finished in 49th place out of 634 female teams, so was pretty psyched. It was a ton of fun though and so glad I got to participate with Cait. It was the last year of Expedition Everest and we got a pretty sweet medal that is actually a working compass. I can't find my way out of a paper bag, so that will not help me much, but it looks good on my wall. :-) They said they are making a "bigger and better" race to replace it, so I'm thinking Spartan! Who's coming with me?!?!? :-)

Side note- this was the first question/clue. I will buy you a coffee if you can tell me the answer to this question without googling it (I am a trust worthy person ;))... "You are climbing a mountain for 24 hours and wearing an analog watch. How many times will your watch display three of the same numbers in a row during that period not using military time?"

I have realized that I am not a fast runner, but a slow and steady consistent runner. My goal is to train all summer in an attempt to PR the Philly Half on Halloween (an extra bonus if I can also PR Virginia Beach Labor Day weekend), so I am hoping to do a few more 5k's to use as speed workouts. I have also learned that when running alone, I tend to go at a much slower pace, so hoping "competition" will do me good.

My next stop is Tough Mudder on June 6th at Mount Snow. To think I had 2.5 months to train, I really can't believe it is so close. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, because I very much am terrified, but am looking forward to seeing how much of it I can actually do. I am really going to focus over the next month to get in whatever training I can. I have trail shoes and a camelback now, so really have no excuses to get out there and work. Shooting to get in about 3 classes and 1-2 trainings a week for the next several and see where that takes me. I feel like I am beginning to be able to do more lately than I could in the past (i.e. a whole set of assisted pull ups this week!) but still know I have a long way to go. With that, I'll be doing my work and updating soon!