One More For The Road

We did it! And it was a blast. Of course, things happen to Eric and I that would never possibly happen to anyone else.

Like arranging a babysitter for Saturday, getting ready and out the door by 6:30, searching for parking and getting down to registration by 7:10……………only to find out that the race was Sunday.

My fault. Totally. I thought the Strawberry Festival was only one day, and the race would be that day. You can be sure I will now double check!

Luckily my sister is a saint and was willing to come back on Sunday morning. We actually got out of the house a little earlier and made it to Arroyo Grande in good time. Parking was at a minimum because of the 500 people at the race. But we were there and done registering by 7:30.

The race didn’t actually end up starting until close to 8:30. So we got there at 7:00, the race was at 8:30………………and we still almost didn’t make it in time.

Seriously, these things only happen to us. When we got there on Saturday, it was pretty damn cold and windy, so on Sunday I dressed accordingly in yoga pants, a long sleeve running shirt, with a tank top underneath. At about 8:00 I decided to go put my running shirt in the car because it was getting warm. At about 8:15 they said there was 15 minutes until race time, so we went back to the car so I could change into shorts. Yeah, I’m an idiot sometimes! The car was only about 6 minutes away (round trip), so I changed in the car and was so much more comfortable. We hurried back to the start line…………and got there about 30 seconds before the gun went off. Talk about cutting it close!

But I’m addicted! I love the feel of race day, the sense of companionship with the other participants, being cheered on by people on the street. It’s so motivating!

Eric pulled in front of me pretty much from the start, which was fine. I had my music, so I was happy. I did start out a little too fast, and got side cramps pretty early on. But regular breathing and concentration got rid of them pretty quickly. I couldn’t remember where the mile markers were (from the map), so I had really no idea where I was. At mile 4, though, they had it marked on the ground. I was kicken’ butt on time! My only real goal was to maintain my 5K speed, which was a rather lofty goal since it was double the distance. But I knew there was no way I could possibly place high or win a prize, since there were so many people there who were avid runners with several races under their belt.

I felt really good and strong. Aside from the side cramps, I really had no major problems. It’s a good thing I changed my clothes, though, because it was hot by the time we were done. But my pace was pretty steady, and I didn’t get passed by very many people (except at the very beginning when I swear half of the runners passed me in the first minute).

I came in 78 overall, out of 146 runners. Not that great. I was 6th in my age group, but there were only 10 of us. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t do better than that, but I got over that. It’s only my second race, and the point is that I finished it AND beat my own personal goal. I came in with a time of 52:03 for 6.2 miles. My pace was 8:23/mile, which is improvement of 11 seconds per mile. That’s frickin’ amazing, since it was a longer course. I finished the 5K in 26:36, and if I had maintained that pace like I wanted my time to beat would be 53:12. I beat that by over a minute.

It’s amazing to see how quickly I am progressing. I honestly still completely surprise myself. Then again, this is all brand new territory, so there’s a lot I still don’t know about my abilities.

I wish I had been able to watch Eric finish. He was ahead of me by about 2 minutes, and apparently he really got the crowd into it because he sprinted into the finish line. He said he was yelling and laughing and everyone else was cheering. He actually was pretty close to me until that point, and passed 6 runners in the home stretch. He finished 72 overall, and 5th in his age group. 51:14 was his time. I think it’s awesome. Eric doesn’t run as often as I do, and still can pull off these kinds of races. I didn’t realize how worried he was about not finishing until it was over and he was so ecstatic. It never occurred to me that he couldn’t do it. Then again, it never occurs to him that I can’t do what it is I’ve decided to try. The beauty of blind faith that comes with being in love, right?

Hey, speaking of surprising myself………….Monday’s story is even better! Here’s a little background: I run 4 days a week. Tuesday and Thursday are on the treadmill, Saturday and Sunday are outside. I much prefer outside, but can only do that when Eric is home. My original plan for the weekend was to do the 10K on Saturday, then a long run on Sunday. That was blown out of the water because I got the days wrong. BUT! Eric was off work Monday for Memorial Day. So I decided to finally get out there and give 12 miles a shot. I drew out the map and took off.

I was pretty comfortable. Of course, the first 2 miles are always my slowest and hardest. I’m still imagining my nice warm bed! But once I got into a rhythm, everything started to even out. Until I felt like I had to go to the bathroom. That was worrisome.

I kept giving myself outs. “I ran yesterday and the day before. No one would blame me if I turned off here.” “If I turn here I can cut the run in half.” At the same time, I also kept giving myself options. “If I still feel like this when I get to Charolais Rd, then I’ll turn around.” “If I am really tired at Creston Rd, I’ll go home.” And each time I chose to push on.

At about mile 6 my legs were pretty tired. I had run 5 miles Saturday, 6.2 miles Sunday, and was only half way done with 12 miles on Monday. My thigh muscles were sore, but not so bad that I felt like I needed to stop. I know I pushed it by running hard 3 days in a row, but before any of you yell at me, I’m taking the next 2 days off.

When I realized I was actually going to make it, I was so excited! I was in the home stretch and still had enough juice in me to sprint when I rounded the corner and saw my street. I knew I was making it in at just about 10 minutes/mile, which is awesome considering the distance. Eric made me a protein shake when I came in, to help with the muscle soreness, and once I was showered I decided to map it out again.

I knew I had deviated from the original course a bit, because I forgot to take one of the turns I had planned. That resulted in a 12.58 mile run. My time was 2 hours and 2 seconds, which makes a 9:32 mile. I maintained 6.3 miles per hour over 12.5 miles!!!!

Next weekend (Friday, actually) I think I will try 12.5 miles again before bumping it up to 14. I’ve been trying to add mileage every week, but there’s no reason to take it a little slower than that.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Coming up in 5.5 days. Yippeee! I signed Eric up for this one, too, and Caysi is watching the kids. Yea! for being able to run with someone (even though he will probably leave me in the dust.) The course is described as having a few small hills to start, and then “flat and fast”. It’s also USATF (USA Track and Field) certified.

Getting Registered. Eric was like a proud Papa with his brand new baby, snapping pictures everywhere…………

……..including me coming out of the bathroom.

I saw this picture and thought, “My legs/hips are really that big!?” *sigh* I’m never happy, am I?

There I am, all the way in the back. Eric said he kept track of me by watching for the blue shorts.

Run, Callie, Ruuuuunnnnnn!

Smiling at the family, as I made the loop around. And in case you’re wondering, I was lifting my arm to wave. That would be why I look like a weirdo.

Speaking of weirdos……..I saw the above picture and thought, “Check out that calf muscle!” Unfortunately, cropping it to fit it on this page didn’t do my leg full justice. So here it is. (So sue me! After the big legs/hips revelation, I found something to be proud of.)

Coming up on the finish line! I’m on the right. The girl on the left came in 4th place, only a second behind me.

All done! My first 5K is over. Now on to bigger and better things!

As most of you know, my first race was today. I was pretty nervous about it. It’s amazing how I can run 6+ miles several times a week, but the idea of running 3 miles with other people scared the living day lights out of me.

We were running behind this morning and didn’t get out of the house as early as I had wanted. I didn’t pre-register for the race because Eric wasn’t sure if he was running with me or not (ended up not) and I figured I’d just register at the event. This stressed me out though, because I had visions of long lines, or running so late that I didn’t get there in time, or any of a million other things happening that would make me miss it.

So we left at 9:50 instead of 9:30 like I wanted. Registration started at 10am with the race slated for 11am. I was a good girl, and had a bowl of fruit with cottage cheese at about 8am, then drank a few glasses of water to make sure I was nice and hydrated. I didn’t realize until after we left that I had forgotten my inhaler (which I use before every run for my asthma), and that gave me one more thing to worry about on the 30 minute drive down there.

It turned out that the timing was fine. I paid my 20 bucks and filled out my registration information and got my bib. I am so silly, and such a weirdo that I was actually freaked out for a second as I frantically looked around at the other runners to find out how/where to put my bib.

The event was held at a park, which was nice since Jacob got to play while I stretched and during the race. The morning seemed to just drag on and on. I went pee 4 times before the race (guess I drank a little too much water!), and stretched until 11 as I watched all of the other particpants arrive.

I was pretty nervous. This race was put together by Cal Poly students (local university) to raise money to feed a village in Africa. I think they did most of their advertising on campus, and there wasn’t one person over 30. In fact, at 25 years old I think I was one of the oldest ones there. And of course they all looked to be in good shape and I told Eric to start thinking of comforting phrases for when I came in last.

The organization left a lot to be desired. The race didn’t start until about 11:30, and by then the boys were getting a little fussy and I was getting tired of waiting. We had been there for over an hour. There wasn’t a huge turn out, but there were about 60-70 people, and I was actually surprised that only about 10-15 of them were men. The rest were women. Weird.

So finally they told us all to line up, after letting us know what the cause was and giving a speech. It was so geared toward the students that when I went to line I whispered to Eric that I was beginning to feel like I should go to a club and drink from a beer bong after it was over. I felt so out of place (to be fair, I often feel that way and it has everything to do with my own self esteem.) I was so uncertain that I lined up in the very back. Idiot.

So we finally lined up and took off. It was comfortable at first, and I passed several people in the first minute or so. About 4 minutes into it, the path narrowed down and I wasn’t able to pass anyone for a minute or so, which was bugging the crap out of me. But soon it widened out again and I was able to really find my stride.

My Rio was having issues, and music was a little spotty. But over all I found a comfortable pace and was able to stick to it. The course started on asphalt, then dirt, concrete, asphalt, concrete, dirt, sand, and back again. It was interesting. And I know it’s petty, but every person I passed was one more bit of vindication, and gave me a little more stamina. I felt validated. Only once did I feel like I was pushing my luck with the asthma, but I definitely won’tb forget the inhaler again.

My family was wonderful. Because of the curvy loop of the track, I actually saw them 3 different times, and Jacob was so cute. “Hi Mom! Mom! Hiiiii!!!!” It was a nice pick me up, and I think Eric got quite a few pictures.

I had no gauge for where I was in the group, and was trying hard not to compare myself to other runners or try to “win”. Instead, I tried to just beat my previous times and stay focused on myself. When I went by Eric the third and final time, he yelled to me “You’re only 2 minutes behind!” I was so confused. I knew the front guy was way more than 2 minutes ahead of me. I would bet that he finished in about 19 minutes. I blew it off and kept on goin’.

I kept an eye on my watch and knew at 22 minutes that I was going to come in under my goal (29:59). I was pretty excited. When I came up on the “beginning of the end”, I heard the girls behind me say something about going all out. I figured that was a pretty good idea. Besides, Eric had told me to sprint the last part of it. So I increased my pace a little, but didn’t try to over do it. Now I kinda wish I had gone “all out”.

I did the 5K (3.1 miles) in 26:36. I was behind the first place woman by a minute and 12 seconds. I came in third overall in the women’s division!!!!! And the woman who came in second? She was the one who was behind me the majority of the race but went “all out” at the end.

Can you believe it? Want me to say it again? I CAME IN THIRD PLACE IN THE WOMEN’S DIVISION!!!! My average speed was 6.9 miles per hour and my pace time was 8:34/mile.

I am so in awe of myself. Talk about blowing my expectations out of the water! I beat my goal time by over 3 minutes. I ran the fastest that I have ever run. Eric thinks I came in about 10th overall, which in itself blows me away. 10th out of 70? I can live with that! I only hope I do half as well next weekend during the 10K.