Well, it's a Start!

Today was my first "real" 5k. I've run three "OCR"s now - obstacle course races, but I've not done a road race before. My husband has, and he's got the times, T-shirts, and medals to prove it. In the spring when I first got the bug to start running, I reached out to a friend, Aubrey, who is an avid and prolific runner. She has inspired me with her stories in her blog about her own journey to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I'm still SO new to this "running" thing that I don't really know what's considered typical or acceptable etiquette sometimes, haha. She offered, back in the spring, to come back after she finished and "run me in" at the end of the race if we ever were in the same race. However, she has recently suffered a tremendous loss in her family so I was just happy to see her there "upright and smiling". I expected nothing on this day other than to run the course and feel accomplished that I finished. I planned to do run/walk intervals, as this has been how I feel most at ease and can actually enjoy the run. Before today, my fastest 5k was somewhere around 35 minutes, so I set it to be my goal to run it faster. How much faster, I didn't care, just faster.

Right off the bat, the course was uphill, but thankfully not for long. I had my music set at a tempo of 160, which is aggressive for me. I lost sight of my husband fairly soon after the start. He was chasing his own goals today. After the first handful of intervals, I had to back it off to 155. A handful of intervals later - probably about half way through the course - I looked at my phone for the first time - I was moving at a cumulative pace of 10:44 - that's with 90 second runs and 30 second walk breaks. I was shocked to be moving so quickly, especially given the walk breaks. *Maybe* I thought... Just *maybe* I can push that 30 minute 5k. I just have to move it a bit more, is all. I pushed a little harder (in hindsight perhaps I should have bumped my music back to 160) and began to run a bit into my walk breaks. I was still feeling pretty good toward the end. A bit tired but by no means in distress. The weather was beautiful, by the way :)

As I came off the road onto the path under the bridge and back into Bridgewater, proper, I saw Aubrey standing there on the sidewalk with her dog Runner (appropriate name, huh?). As I passed, she joined me. She said nothing at first, and I kept pace. Cool, I thought, I have someone to talk to (HAHA!). The we rounded a corner and she said "See that girl? Your job is to pass her" so I stepped on the gas and found it easy to get by her. Then the challenge just became keeping up with Aubrey. She spoke softly with instructions - truly I've never sprinted before, so I'm sure I looked like a fool. Just before the final turn onto the timing mats, she gave me a final instruction: "Go across the blue mats" in fact I think she might have said it three times, because at that point I was starting to allow the complaints of my body come out my mouth in the form of some un-ladylike vocalizations. As I stumbled along as fast as my body could carry me (apparently with a heart rate somewhere in the high 180s according to my Runkeeper log), Aubrey and Runner trotted along next to me full of grace and hardly looking winded.

I planned to finish under 35 minutes. My official time was 30:30 - 4:30 faster than my goal. It really was less that I crushed my goal and more that I was unfamiliar with how I would perform in a race. I think my goal was a bit conservative. My next goal after today was going to be run a sub-30 5k. Thinking back, that was my goal for the summer but I got waylaid by these shin splints. Oddly, somehow I managed to still *almost* do it anyway.

And speaking of shin splints - my legs have been feeling great here in the last week or so since I saw the doctor. I had the MRI a week ago today and haven't heard anything about results. I called yesterday and they set me up with an appointment to go over the results, but I can't make it work in my schedule until next Tuesday, unfortunately. She said she would call me if the doctor found anything in the MRI that would require more prompt attention. I can't believe that would be the case given how good I've been feeling.

I mentioned Aubrey had suffered a great loss recently. That's her story to tell, just like our recent loss of our Greyhound, Gilbert, was mine. I warned Aubrey last night that I might cry when I saw Runner today, you see, because Runner and Gilbert were practically clones. In looking at Runner, I could easily fool myself that I'm staring straight at my recently departed pal. It's eerie. From the first moment I saw Runner, I knew this day would come. Somehow I managed not to cry (not at the race, anyway).

Also: Joe placed third in his age group with a time somewhere in the 25 minute area - LIKE A BOSS! ❤❤❤ Overall I'd say it was a pretty good day for the Formans.