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| This is me after I ran the Chocolate Race 29/04/12. I weighed about 220 here. |
So the official results are in! And I did not even deliver a sub 31 minute 5K this past weekend. My official chip time for the Chocolate Race was 31:08. I'm not complaining. Just goes to show me how much work I have to do. In order for me to qualify for Boston, I'd have to improve my pace by a whole minute and keep it up for 42.2 kilometers. Seems impossible right now, but I will get there or die trying!
Last year when I ran the Chocolate Race, I came in 334 out of 441. This year, I came in 81 out of 469. I came in 17th for my age group and 61st for women overall. My pace last year was 9:06 per kilometer, this year it was 6:14 per kilometer. Although I didn't reach my goal of the under 30 minute 5K, I'm still pleased with my running progress over one year. I'm excited to see where I will be a year from now. When I ran this race last year, I thought it was the hardest thing I ever did. Pushing myself this year was definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. In my daily running, 5K seems like a short distance to me now. On Sunday, it seemed like I would never get to the finish line. I was uncomfortable the entire time. But it was good. I really needed to push myself to see what I could do.
I was having coffee with my former Back of the Rat Pack gal Dawn last night and I mentioned how I felt like I was going to vomit when I got to the finish line. Dawn reminded me of how we would see others doing it at races and wonder how they got to that place. Now I know. My other Rat Pack gal Tanya messaged me and told me I was hardcore because I almost barfed. I'm not too sure about that. Maybe if I actually vomited I'd be considered hardcore. Perhaps one day, God willing!
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| After my run through the city this morning. |
I had a forced rest day yesterday. I got up in the morning to run and just couldn't move myself out of bed. My hamstring was really sore and I knew I'd really be pushing it if I ran. So I grudgingly stayed in bed for an extra half hour. I was up at 5 am this morning to run. I had to be out of my house by 7:45 am, so I ran through the city at 5:30. It was quiet and peaceful and I had a good recovery run. I felt good and was able to do a 6:27 pace, but I felt stiff all day at work today. Mostly because I was sitting a lot and that always makes my hamstring act up. I'm looking forward to my massage this Friday. I have sports massage in the morning and physio in the evening. I have a feeling I'm not going to feel good after physio this week.
Last week at my run clinic, I had a nutritionist come and talk to our group. I really liked her because she's the first nutritionist I've heard talk at the Running Room who did not insist on processed carb loading for runners. In fact she said that all the carbs we need are found in the fruits and vegetables that we eat. And she pointed out that not everyone can process grains well, so they are not always a great option because they could cause stomach upset. I have never carb loaded for a long run. The carbiest food I have had before a long run is squash. And I have always had lots of energy for the duration of my run. This weekend I'm doing a 20K long run. I will likely eat the same thing I ate before my long run this past weekend. Hard boiled eggs, natural peanut butter and coffee. And of course lots and lots of water the day before. So predictable but it settles well in my stomach and gives me enough energy to getter done!
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| This picture of hubby and I cracks me up. Julien took it yesterday and my expression is Julien's face 100%! |
