Cannonball Run

Excited after my good 5K in Columbia a few weeks ago, I eagerly signed up to run my next one- the Cannonball 5K in Lexington to raise money for the Habitat for Humanity.  I took about two weeks off of running- the week before my vacation and the week of vacation.  Before vacation, on all my runs, the weather was relatively nice and the humidity wasnt too bad.  But of course, coming home, the weather remember this was Missouri and we need the highest humidity possible.  So, on top of not running for two weeks, I was now running in incredible heat and humidity.  It was a rough week of running.

I ran what should have been an easy 3 miles on Monday around Fairground park.  Nice flat ground and a wide trail.  It was actually probably my easiest run of the week, but it wasnt anything to write home about.  I ran it right at a 9'24" pace.

Tuesday was the worst run of the week!!!  I made a lot of excuses what it was so bad, but I just didnt have it in me.  They had new rock on my road, which was very rough and I was worried about a twisted ankle.  I finally got off the new rock, but then the road was pretty much a muddy mess and I slipped and slid around.  I didnt even make it 3 miles and had to stop and walk a bit.  Total run was 3.17 mile at a 10'34" pace.  Boo.

Wednesday I walked with my friend Somer.  She has had lots of back pain and had an MRI earlier in the day, so we took it easy.  We walked 2.87 miles and it was nice catching up with her again.  Somer got the results back on Thursday and they were very good results and she will be back running again in less than a week!

Thursday we had a quick storm roll through, so I got to run a bit after the storm in the rain.  It was kind of nice watching the far off lightening and hearing the rolling thunder.  It wasnt a fast run (again that darn loose rock on my road), but it was the most enjoyable run of the week.  I ran 3.1 miles at a 9'54" pace.

I took Friday off b/c, well Friday.

So, I realize this is boring, but I want to document what I do each race day to see what makes a difference.  I got up around 6:00, got myself dressed, had a small cup of coffee and 1.5 PB poptarts (YUM!).   About 45 minutes before the race I took Advocare's O2 Gold to help with my breathing issues (my lungs give out WAY before my legs).   I had seen people with the Gu stuff at races, so I wanted to try Gu before my run to see if it made a difference.  About 15 minutes before the race, I drank (ate?) a Strawberry Kiwi Gu Gel.  Gross.  Then I had to find some water to wash it down.  I typically take a pain pill before races for my back pain, but my back hasnt bothered me in a while and it was a short race so I skipped it.

There was a girl I went to high school with at the race.  She was an excellent athlete and one of the school's top sprinters.  However, I was the distant runner and I thought to myself, "maybe I can finally beat her in a sport!'  I knew she ran a lot, so when the race started and she took off strong, I decided to stay behind her to pace myself and hopefully beat her.  The 5K was pretty hilly and I started off stronger than my last 5K.  However, after the first mile, I was loosing speed ( and my high school friend was gaining distance).  I was dripping sweat and although it wasnt that hot, the humidity was super high.  Around mile 2, I let two ladies pass me (dang!) and my back was really starting to hurt (shouldnt have skipped that pain pill).  My fit bit was telling me my mile splits, but I couldnt hear it so I had no clue what my pace was.  When I crossed the finish line, I heard them yell out something like 28'30.  Yea, seriously.  2.5 minutes SLOWER than my last 5K.  I wanted to use the heat as an excuse, but it was that hot for everyone else too.  And my old classmate beat me by like 3 minutes.  Dang, I will get her next time.

I still ended up placing 3rd in my age group and got a nice medal.  I am very disappointed in my run and actually felt quite a bit of knee pain and hip pain (which my hip seems to be a cronic pain the past 3 months).  Luckily 3 days later, my knee seems to be fine.

I told Somer I would run another half with her on Sept 6, so I need to start increasing my distance.  My MIL told me I could have her treadmill, so now I just need to convince Jeff to help me move it to our basement. 

Cannonball 5K:
Official time:  somewhere around 28'30"
Fit bit splits:
1 mile:  8'35"
2 mile: 9'10"
3 mile: 9'33"
I forgot to shut my fitbit off, so I dont know what my official fitbit time was.  This race was opposite my Columbia race- my mile time got longer each mile, versus in COlumbia, where each mile was faster.