August 23, 2009

A great 5K

My 5K race this past Saturday went very well. The weather cooperated and it was perfect day for a run. It was a very early start to the day: 5AM to be exact, and when I was getting up out of bed to get ready for the 7AM start, I wondered why in the world I was up before the sun to go run? This was originally the day I had planned on doing my first half marathon, but because of the pregnancy, I just did the 5K. My friend, who I should mention does body building, regularly gets up at 4AM to do cardio, teaches classes at the local gym, etc., decided to go ahead and do the half marathon. The temperature was only in the high 50's/low 60's that morning, so it was a nice cool run. I finished 5th out of 28 in my age category, and 132 overall(out of 350). My time was a personal best of 28:22.7., and my pace was a 9:09min mile. Not too shabby for a pregnant chick! And the run was easier, even though there were a few hills on this circuit. Around mile 2, I always wonder "why am I doing this, this sucks" but this time, it wasn't near as bad. I think that's true of a lot of runners. My friend, who did the half marathon, finished her 13 miles in just 2 hours with a pace of 8:40min mile! I was amazed! She ran 13 miles at a faster pace than I ran 3! But, like I said she is buff and has actually run the Chicago Marathon before. There's something very satisfying, especially being pregnant and still being able to run. Anyway, I had planned on this being the last race, but I think I might do just one more. There is a 5K here on Sept 19 at 8AM that benefits autism. Since this race went so well, and I have the green light to run until 36 weeks, I may go ahead and make that one my last race. I'll only be 14 weeks, so I may even have more energy at that point. But, even though seeing my times getting better is awesome, it's really just something fun to do. This week though, I have to go buy myself a new pair of shoes. The pair I've been wearing, I hate to admit, are pretty old, the tread is worn down, but they have been pretty comfortable. I need to just go and make the time to get fitted, especially since good shoes are key for running, especially if I plan on running as long as I can while pregnant.

1 comment:

Becky said...

That's AWESOME time! Good for you! I'll bet the running helps keep your energy up, too!