Finished

I ran the Polar Bear 5K on Saturday and I finished!  I felt like a real runner again and it felt really good.

I started the course hoping to pace myself and run the entire thing.  Those hopes were dashed when I hit the first hill.  The course description said it was a flat course but I think they need to quantify that as “Atlanta flat” because no course in Atlanta is totally flat unless you are on the Silver Comet trail.    They are all more like rolling.  Flat = no heart attack type hills but there are always hills!

The first incline took me by surprise and I started walking to conserve my energy.  Then came another incline and another.  To be fair, these weren’t steep hills but they were just enough to tax my reserves.  I haven’t run outdoors since I stopped running during pregnancy and the treadmill just isn’t the same.  The man called 12:30 as I finished my first mile.  Sweet!  That is my treadmill pace and I was so happy to hit it given my lack of outdoor training and walking on the hill.

At mile 2, I heard 24:25.  A 12:00 min/mile despite another hill and walking break.  It must have been that “Pump It” song by Black Eyed Peas…I always start hustling to that one.  I still had to pour out a little liquor for my old (relative) speed.  My best 5K time was about 24:18.  A few years ago, I would have been eating my post-race banana at this point instead of having another 1.1 miles to go.

I went into the last mile feeling strong but desperately wishing my running watch stride sensor was working.  I think it needs a new battery or something.  I didn’t care too much about using it for pacing, but I was missing the distance display.  I like knowing that I have .4 or whatever miles to go.  It helps me push through when I’m tired.

A few more rolling hills (and walk breaks) and it was all over!  My official time was 37:18.91 which was a 12:02 min/mile.  Not bad!

I’m not sure where I want to go from here.  I want to keep running but I want to do other cardio type things (Insanity chief among them).  I have such limited time that I can’t do everything anymore.   Right now, I think I’m going to create a schedule to do Insanity and do a slow long run at least once a week so I don’t lose the ability.  I hope the super intense cardio and increased fitness to follow will help make running less demanding and lead to me being a bit faster without requiring a complete focus on running.

I have a race schedule for the year in mind but I haven’t solidified it yet.  I’m thinking half-marathon in fall and (gulp!) another full marathon next March.