Wild Turkey Trot 5k

Another race down.  And, I'm glad I can say this.  The last couple of days I have been fighting a cold/allergy/sinus "stuff" and last night culminated in hardly sleeping a wink.  I was up ALL night trying to breathe and coughing my head off.  My head hurt so much.  With this happening, I had about decided to withdraw from the race this morning.  I made myself get race-dressed and go with Kent to Pensacola and cheer everyone in at the Finish Line.  Thought I could at least do that. 

After another dose of allergy medication, I began to feel a little better.  Still not planning to race, I caught up with my friend, Mo, beforehand and she wasn't herself either.  She told me that racing may help open my head up.  With that being said, I decided to try and race.  My calves have been much better this week but I was not very confident in them acting right and with my head wearing me out...well...I didn't have a lot of hope for running the entire course without doing some walking. 

The air was nice and cool and I began to see a lot of my friends as they came up.  As usual, I love the excitement in the air before a race and that didn't disappoint me; I just wasn't very confident in myself.  We got started on an overcast day and all was going well.  No calf pain and no coughing.  Within the first mile, we hit a small grade and it made me start walking as I was having so much trouble breathing!  I thought "oh, no!!"; but it didn't last long.  As soon as we leveled out I began running again and ran it the rest of the way through.  Mo and I ran together some, she ran ahead and I got ahead of her about 2 miles out.  Now that my breathing was getting better, I held "my" pace and kept steady.  Another friend, Buck, had zipped passed both of us after the first mile or so and stayed ahead, running good and strong.  He finished well, then I came in, then Mo, then my other friends.  We all did better than we expected.  Hence, the race was a success.  I was one off from placing in my age group with Mo getting 3rd and Buck 1st. 

Kent enjoys racewalking the races in Pensacola as they stress that you shouldn't run any and they start after the 5k runners leave out.  He placed 1st in his age group.  I am so proud of him.  He is such an inspiration to me!!  Okay...I know I've said that before...but he is! 

Hope you've had a good run or race today.  Looking forward to Thanksgiving with my family.  Here's wishing you a Happy Turkey Day.  But until then...after all, there's 5 days before that great day, go

Run 4 It

Oyster 5k

I have been working hard to improve my 5k time.  I continue to struggle with calf pain but have gotten a little stronger.  This past week I finally ran solid for 4 miles...okay...I know...that's nothing like what I am use to; but it is an improvement since I was hardly able to run 1.5 miles without stopping from severe pain not so long ago.  Not being sure of the cause, I do know that this started when I began a new medication.  I checked with the pharmacist to see if this was a side effect and it wasn't but I am not convinced that it wasn't in the "fine print" somewhere.  When it comes to muscle or tendon soreness, cramping, pain...I am right up there in the 1% of being affected.  This is my weakness.  I made the decision to cut the medication in half and see if this will make a difference.  Also, for a week now, I began taking magnesium after reading many times how it helps with muscles.  Having no idea if this will work or not, I have noticed improvement in the pain.  Slowly this past week, my running has gotten stronger...rather continual...without pain. 

We signed up for the Oyster 5k about a week ago and as of yesterday, we neither one was excited about doing it.  Poor Kent is suffering with heel pain and we're thinking it is gout.  Most days he can hardly walk until he's walked a little and stretched it out, then it will be okay.  He struggled a lot today in the race!  :(  As for me, I was actually scared to death that I couldn't make it.  Needless to say, we neither one was good for the other this morning.  Fortunately, we girded ourselves and headed out the door. 

Last night a cool front came through and this morning it was windy and cold!  It was 48, without consideration of the chill factor, when we left the house.  The cold part was fine as we race better when it is cooler than warmer but the wind was sharp.  I came up on several friends and it was actually exciting to visit with them.  Friends from different areas in my life...yet we all tend to come together at races. 

It is so hard to focus your running on being slower just in order to make a short 5k race.  Every time I would want to jump out and run harder, my mind came back to my goal in this race was running it entirely instead of racing it.  This is SOOO hard for me.  I had talked with my friend, Mo, earlier and she is struggling with a couple of issues in both legs!  I felt for her.  During the race we talked back and forth as she and I would pass each other several times.  She mentioned during the race that she was having pain in both legs and I told her that I was breaking down so much lately.  We encouraged each other and continued on.  Soon and very soon, we will be competitors again...I will enter her age group in a month.  I'm glad that we can be friends at the same time, too. 

I was doing well and about 2.49 miles into the race, my right calf started giving me signals of tightness.  This means that the pain will be coming up shortly and usually hard.  So, I backed off some, rested in a slower pace and continued on without any more tightness.  When I crossed the line, I was so excited to see on my watch [though I didn't turn it off when I first crossed but thought I had] that I had a great time on top of running it all!!  My time beat my last 5k at the Shrimp Festival by 2.12 minutes faster and I had no pain.  My goal had been achieved...no pain!! 

The next goal will be to try to run a little farther and a little harder.  I feel my trekking class is really helping my speed and today has helped my confidence.  With both in my back pocket, I am hoping I can run better at the next 5k coming up shortly.  I am so short of my usual 5k time but I will continue to try my best...and not quit!  Even if I don't get a better time, I want to be stronger and I can feel that it's inside again. 

Here's to leaving you with the encouragement to get out and go

Run 4 It