I Bested My Run Time in the DODEA 5K

Finally! I ran the DODEA 5K yesterday in 28 minutes and 57 seconds so I came under 29 minutes in my year-long quest to run a sub-25:00 5K. It's so humbling to remember that at one time I used to run 6:15 splits....I just don't enjoy the pain (nor the dry heaving) at the finish line. Despite the conditioning runs I did in the week leading up to this race, I was fatigued for the rest of the day.

I was only passed by one jog stroller this time and, quite frankly, he would have crushed me easily without the jog stroller.

I have to tip my hat to Deb Bute, though. She caught up with me at the turn-around point at Alupang Beach Towers and I vowed I would not be passed by another jog stroller for the rest of the race. So I sprinted a little, then settled into a higher race groove. She caught up to me and I had to sprint once more. For sure, I thought I had her now because she was shoving the stroller ahead and trying to get some ease---ah, ha! weakness! Alas, a little later I heard her daughter cheering her on and looked back to see she was gaining on me again. No. More. Jog. Strollers. I sprinted for a while this time and finished ahead of her.

Richard A Lovett advised in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Running Times, "[W]hen you pass people, pass in a manner that indicates you expect them to remain passed." But he also recommended against starting out too fast. I actually started out faster than I normally run this race and that is because I knew I would have enough energy to finish---I needed to push myself and even if I slowed down, I would still be running faster than I would if I started out at my usual rate. This article from Runner's World explains my rationale and the research that supports it.

Drew was tired and didn't come near his personal best of 25:41. He was still satisfied. He's always a "glass-half-full" type kid and we are so blessed to have him. I am still trying to talk Anna into running with us and I might have her with this argument: "You don't play tennis to get in shape; you get in shape to play tennis."

JFK High School is sponsoring a 5K next weekend and it will probably be hilly. The Guam Running Club is sponsoring its Guam Hafa Marathon the same day. Decisions, decisions...do I run the tried-and-true 5K or push myself for the 13.1 miles? No problems deciding on races for the following weekend, though, because that is a flat course to support the American Red Cross.

We finished up the day with more activities: I supervised taking blood pressures at our health display at the NEX in support of American Heart Month. Anna and Drew went to tennis lessons, this time at the Tiyan Tennis Courts because of the ongoing competition at the Tennis Center, and we saw "We are the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything," at the base theatre. What a great movie! It started off slowly, though, and I was very concerned that this movie was not up to standards, but it completely redeemed itself after the slow start. We had a nice family discussion on the short car ride home.

SHRM President's Day 5K

Drew ran his best time ever----25:41! He's even pictured in the Guam Pacific Daily News.

I wish I could say I improved my time as well, but I discovered it really does matter what I eat. I also didn't pay attention to hydration the day before the race. As a result, I felt major GI distress that left me walking part of the course and feeling malaise the rest of the day. It's just another lesson learned on my own goal towards running a sub-25 minute 5K. If you're curious, my time was 33:02, which is still a respectable time. However, of all the women's age groups, the runners in the 40-49 range tend to run the fastest---Mylene Garcia ran the 5K in 24:04.

I've been trying to talk Anna into running---it's excellent cross-training for tennis---because she could medal every single time if she ran even as slow as me.

No Park and Run Today

Last night we discussed running the International Reading Association's Read-a-Thon 5K but I decided this morning to bail. You see, the race had no pre-registration and I didn't want to have to leave 15-20 minutes earlier than we normally did in order to register for the race. Another reason was last night's sparring session at judo left my aging bones and muscles in a slight degree of discomfort.

After judo, I felt exhilarated because I was sweating and my muscles were warm. However, a night of sleeping surrounded by furry black cats left me sore and stiff. I got up at 0100 to take some ibuprofen and still woke with a headache. So, rather than being a running morning, it became a yoga morning. I didn't get any complaints from the kids about my decision. We'll still run the SHRM 5K tomorrow so I should be able to benchmark my time.

Drew lost another tooth, this time at school when Cole accidentally hit him in the mouth. The tooth fairy was very diligent and delivered on-time and on-budget...

Today is a relaxing day as I put the kids to work cleaning the house (Drew loves the vacuum cleaner duties). The kids wanted to make cookies so we'll get the cookie dough for shaping and rolling out in the refrigerator chilling for baking tomorrow. I'll pick up Cole for the tennis lessons this afternoon then we'll do our neighborhood progressive dinner. Finally, I'll prepare for tomorrow's children's sermon and make something for the potluck after church. I'm still undecided about doing a cardboard boat for the regatta on Monday. A little voice inside my head keeps telling me, "But it'll be fun!"

Moylan 5K Run for Your Heart

Well, Drew and I got up and ran another 5K today. Unfortunately, there were two 5K's scheduled for today and the other run (Our Lady of Lourdes 5K) must have gotten the automatic timers because there were no times for this run. I know that I ran faster than 30:46 because the third place male finisher in the Senior Division (60+) ran that time and I passed him. I was only passed by TWO jog strollers today and they passed me very early on. I even passed other people (including the old guy) toward the end. I know that running more than once a week is paying off because I felt very good throughout the entire race.

I am rather demoralized at realizing the first place finisher in my division (Master) finished in 23:10. The third place finisher was under 25 minutes. The top runner, Lisa Mason, finished in 18:06.

Drew is going to Jack's birthday party and they are touring a helicopter at Andersen. I will take Anna to tennis lessons and Gregg will be going to play poker at the neighbor's house. Tomorrow is a little busy. We will go to church and Anna will sell cookies for Girl Scouts at the NEX while Drew goes to Boy Scouts. I, of course, will be getting the house in order for the next week and doing laundry. Fun, fun.