Race Day

Last year, I ran my first 5K with my two oldest daughters.  At that point, my life was in a totally different place than it is now.  I had been jogging regularly for a while, my feet weren't hurting as much and I had already dropped around 20 pounds.  I had committed to losing weight and was finally succeeding for the first time.  I really felt the best I had ever felt in years.  When I ran last year my goal was to make it in less than 45 minutes and I made it in 42.  I was so excited.  Then in May, Taylor and I ran the Race for the Cure.  I beat my time by one minute.

It was right after this race that my mom fell really ill.  I kept up with my diet and exercise all the way through June, when she passed away, and then I just lost all motivation.  I went back to old eating habits.  My feet were a wreck so I quit doing any exercise.  I very slowly, over the course of a year, put those 20 pounds right back on and despite trying to lose it again from time to time, I just wasn't committed.  By now I was a yo-yo dieter which is one of the worst things to do for weight loss.  My metabolism was all screwed up.

This spring, Taylor told me she wants to do the races again and I got really scared.  I have been going back to the gym, and tweaking my diet to find out what my triggers are. However, when she told me she wanted to run again, I was really scared.  Thankfully I had remedied my foot problem.  For the last several years, I had been wearing Asics and my feet just kept getting worse.  I talked to a person that has the same problem that I do with her feet and she recommended some (very spendy) Nikes to me.  Boy, that has made all the difference in the world.  I have very little foot pain anymore.  I can jog, jump, walk in stores (that used to really trigger foot pain), with no problems at all.  I have not been able to shed a single pound despide my toughest efforts.  I am trying to push through this and keep doing the things I need to do without getting discouraged.  Some days are better than others.

Middleton Fun Run 2013

I am elated that my kids want to be a part of these races and go hiking and just be outside.  So I decided to go ahead and do this local race with my girls.  At this point, my goal was to just finish without dying.  I managed to make it through to the end in 46.5 minutes.  Twelve minutes longer than it took Taylor and 10 longer than Bridget.  BUT, I finished.  And it felt really good!  I remembered how much I loved doing it and have decided to go ahead with the Race for the Cure again this year.  It is the day before Mothers Day.  Almost exactly a year from the last time I had a "normal" conversation with my mom.  This Mother's day will be tough, but I think the best way to celebrate it, is by doing this with my daughters.  I am ever grateful that Taylor dragged me out there this last Saturday morning.

Run, Forest, run!

Last year I had signed up for a 5K and was unable to participate in it when I injured my foot. I stayed off my feet for a few months and it began to heal.  When I resumed exercising at the beginning of the year I learned to read my body's cues and when I felt my foot was beginning to hurt I would lay off it and let it rest.  It seems to be working because since getting a real pair of running shoes and resting when needed, I have very little foot pain.

A week ago our little town held a Fun Run, which consisted of a 1K or 5K through town.  The best thing was that it was FREE.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do it and my oldest two girls were excited to go too.  Anytime there is a social event where they might see someone they know from school is too good for them to pass up.  Oh the joys of having tweens.  Registration was at 8am, and the race began at 9.  We got up bright and early in order to get there and register.  Because of this, we were registered numbers 1,2 and 3.  We all decided to do the 5K.  I have ran/jogged/waddled 3 miles  before so I knew I could do it.  I had a personal goal of making it under 40 minutes.

The weather was great and when the gun went off at 9, we were off.  I had told the girls not to worry about staying with me.  That they needed to go at their own pace.  I know from past experiences that the first part is hardest for me.  I have a hard time regulating my breathing for the first mile or so and slow down frequently.  I had my Runkeeper app going so I knew my pace the whole time.  Surprisingly my pace was quicker than any I had done before.  Taylor was out of sight by the first mile and Bridget started to lag behind me.

As I neared the end of the race, Taylor was waiting for me and already eating her finish line snack.  Bridget was somewhere behind me.  I ended the race at 42 minutes.  Just barely over my goal.  Taylor said she was finished in 35 minutes.  I think Bridget came in about 5 minutes behind me.  I was very proud of all of us.  It was a good race and it was fun to do it with my girls.  Now I have a new personal record to try and beat.  And this will happen sooner than later.

Post-race with the girls

Next week is the Komen Race for the Cure in Boise and through work, registration is paid for by the company.    I will be doing this one alone though and all I hope for is to beat my last time.  I have three more races lined up for the summer and now that I finished one, I know I can do it again and just improve with time.  I don't care about finishing the fastest, I just like knowing I can finish and not be last.