I wanted to wimp out of this morning’s race because it was so hot, but Monica pushed me to go anyway and I’m glad I did. It was already 77 degrees by the time we started at 8am, with 92% humidity. Very soupy run. But I ran it without walking for the second time since coming back to running a year and a half ago and finished in 39:52. Not my best time, but when you factor in the weather, it’s pretty close. Did a lot of other stuff today too. Went to REI to pick up a new tent for our trip to Yellowstone, hemmed Christina’s pants for dance, went food shopping, did the dishes. I’m ready for bed!
Tag: 5k
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December 31
I made the unwise decision to run the New Year’s Eve 5k even though I was sick because I really wanted the medal. I did ok… didn’t run without walking, didn’t run very fast when I was running, and generally felt exhausted the entire way. When I finished, it took every ounce of energy just to get home and lie on the couch. My finishing time wasn’t bad, all things considered, but it wasn’t really worth it. I got fooled into believing I wasn’t really that sick because I’m not congested, but you know, tonsillitis is still tonsillitis and even without a fever, it takes a lot out of a person. But what’s done is done and, well, I guess this means I just have to sign up for another race!
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December 20
Robin came with me to today’s Santa Run and I had so much fun running with her. She hasn’t been running or training, so the fact that she ran at all was awesome, and then she went and ran half a mile without stopping! We had other short intervals of running the rest of the way, which was also awesome because I assumed she’d be done after that long run. The second best thing about this race is that the medal is both sparkly AND includes Rudolph on it, complete with a light-up blinking nose!! Hands down best medal ever. Probably my favorite race ever, too.
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November 27
We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. It started off on the right foot… I finally completed a 5k without walking for the first time since 2018! I am so proud of myself and literally cried when I crossed the finish line, I was so happy. It wasn’t my best finishing time, but still so proud. Dinner was great and then we headed to Orlando for our day at Universal. The hotel is really nice… kind of amazing how cheap it was! Looking forward to our big day tomorrow.
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October 26
I rocked this morning’s 5k. I finished in under 40 minutes, by far my best finishing time since coming back to running last year. I didn’t quite make it running the whole way, but it was pretty darn close. I am so proud of myself and the effort and work and patience that went into it. I feel amazing. The rest of the day was pretty productive. Made three octopuses and four napkins, went food shopping, cleaned the kitchen, did laundry… And now I am exhausted!
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October 19
I got a lot done today. Talked to Siggi for a bit, went food shopping, made a bunch of octopuses, wrote up my race in my log (including this beautiful sketch), did laundry, played games with the family, made dinner and cleaned it up… Not too bad. I am not looking forward to facing work tomorrow.
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October 18
I ran my first 5k race since the spring today. After a whole bunch of great runs, I had built this one up in my head, big-time. Before the race even started, I was crying tears of joy imagining myself crossing the finish line after running the whole race without waking. But then I couldn’t even make it to the one-mile mark without walking. I finished with a dismal 43-minute finishing time. BUT: Until I looked at my finishing time, I was really happy with the race. Even though I stopped to walk a lot, I felt strong the whole way. The weather was incredible and the scenery was great, and I truly enjoyed myself. And I RAN the last quarter mile. My pace was GOOD and I felt pumped when I finished. In all those ways, the race was a success. And then I got home and realized why my performance had been so terrible. As I pulled into the driveway, I started having double vision. It was so disorienting that I could barely walk straight. I started thinking about what could have caused it and then I remembered, dear god, I didn’t eat anything today. And then I ran three miles after not eating anything. And then I had a beer at the finish line. I don’t know how I went the whole day without eating. I almost didn’t believe it as I tried to remember what I ate, because I never felt hungry. I did have a little tunafish sandwich, but that was it. That’ll do it, folks. So lesson learned: Do not run a race without eating for almost 24 hours and then drink a beer at the end.
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April 27
Today was a busy day. I woke up before dawn to run the Strides for Pride run for JASMYN. It was probably my best race yet, not for finishing time, but for how I felt while I was running. It went over a bridge, twice, which is brutal. I didn’t even attempt to run the uphills. But I ran all the rest of it (minus about 1-2 minutes when I stopped to walk just because that is my expectation now). I think the downhills on the bridges made the rest feel easier, but I felt so good when I was done. I’m proud of myself. And then Christina had day two of her dance competition. There weren’t any other teams in their level or division, so they won regional champions by default. It’s hard to say how they really did without a clear benchmark, but I do know that they looked a lot better today than they did at the last competition. Christina left happy and excited, and that made me feel happy and excited. I’m so glad she has this thing that she loves this much. Everyone needs that. Robin, on the other hand, had two two-hour cheer practices today, which was just a little much for her. As much as she loves cheer, she is doing a little too much of it right now. I can see the exhaustion in her body. We’re just limping to the finish line, which is next weekend with not one, but two postseason cheer competitions. Luckily they are within 25 minutes of each other, and there’s a chance she won’t have to compete in both competitions on the same day if her level 3 team doesn’t progress to the finals on Sunday. It’s not looking like a sure thing either way right now. I guess we’ll see. No matter what, on Sunday she’ll finally be DONE. And THEN what? Mama is restless already.
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April 12
It was a long, busy day. Christina had a dance competition this morning, and her team swept their level, taking home at least three top prizes. They looked absolutely amazing. And then, although I really, really didn’t want to, I ran the Wine and Chocolate 5k. I was 9 seconds off my time for the last race, and about a minute and a half off the Santa race in December. Considering how little I wanted to run, and how often I stopped to walk, it’s a pretty good finishing time. With walking, I averaged about a 12:45 pace, which is about what I do on the treadmill. The weather was perfect, although my sunglasses kept falling off my face, and that was annoying. And there was wine at the end!
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April 11
Slowed down the pace a little today and it felt nice. Picked up materials for tomorrow’s wine and chocolate 5k. I’m a little bummed that I got this wine glass instead of a medal. I don’t drink much wine because no one else in the house drinks it and a bottle is no good on the second day. But, Robin was excited to drink her Coke out of it, so at least someone’s using it.
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March 16
I woke up before dawn – again – to run another 5k. My time is not improving, but I am still having fun and I’ll take it. Eventually I’ll get back to finishing times I can be happy with. Today I finished in 41:33. If I can run a whole race at my fastest split time today, I can shave almost ten whole minutes off my finishing time. Right now I’ll settle for running without stopping or dying.
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December 21
Today was a lazy day of doing nothing, followed by the Run Santa Run 5k. The girls did the one-mile run (which we walked) and then I did the 5k. I beat my Thanksgiving time by almost five minutes. It was a chilly night (under 50 degrees!). My Santa jacket wouldn’t stay on and my pants kept falling down and I couldn’t fix either because I had my phone and car key in my hand. I ran with Monica, who goes much faster than I do. We hung in together for two miles, but I finally had to set her (and me) free. I think she’s a big part of the reason I finished with such an improved time. We did 60/30 splits, but her running pace during the 60s was over a minute per mile faster than my usual pace. I am so glad I did it, I’m so happy the girls did it, even though Christina was mad at me for not letting her bring her iPad and Robin was too cold to enjoy anything. I feel so good right now, like I can accomplish anything. I kind of already have.
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November 28
I ran my first 5k since sometime in 2018-2019. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t hit my 20-minute consecutive run target, but I got to 17 and my pace was faster than it has been while training, so not a total loss. Plus I ran a few more stints of about 3-5 minutes each in the last mile and a half or so, so I probably ran more distance than I expected to overall. I finished in 44:20, which is my worst finishing time ever, but probably the time I am most proud of because of the effort I put into getting out there in the first place. The rest of the day was fun. Great food, great family, and I know it sounds weird, but I also love the satisfaction of cleaning up afterwards. It is the messiest the kitchen and dining room ever get, and I love its gradual transformation back to clean. I generally don’t enjoy Thanksgiving much, but this year was pretty good.
Year in Photos 