Thursday, November 17, 2011

Lisa's Lung Cancer Awareness 5K Race Report

I don't really have a race report for last weekend's 5K. I raced it unexpectedly, and the result was unexpected too. Everything is a bit blurry now, and I don't remember much.

I do remember that the first mile felt much harder than I anticipated. The plan was to run a 6:15 first mile and then hang on for dear life. Before the horn sounded, I assumed that I'd have to hold back to make sure I didn't run too fast, but when the race started and I settled down, I looked down at my Garmin to find that I needed to speed up. Mile 1 wound up being 6:16, but I had to work for it.

From there, I just kept telling myself to run harder. I crossed mile 2 at 12:40. Then my lungs started to feel as though they might burst from my chest, but I knew if I hung on I would break 20. This is where racing gets hard for me. In high school and college, I ran for a team, and the team was what motivated me to hang in there when things got uncomfortable. Now there's just me, and I don't care as much. Well, I care afterward, but during...not so much. Anyway, I did hang in there and it was a good day. I did wheeze for several days though. My asthma has been a little annoying lately. Below you can a scary race picture of me finishing.

There's not much else to report for the week. Today I ran 10 x 400 meters at 1:23, which is a good workout for me. I'm planning on running another 5K on Thanksgiving. I also have two halfs planned. One in February and one in March.

Is anyone else running a turkey trot? What's your favorite turkey trot distance? Right now, mine is the 5K, but lately I've been contemplating a 10K.


4 comments:

Karen said...

Aren't all hard race photos supposed to look awful? If you are still looking good, you didn't go hard enough!! :)

That's how I run 5Ks, not at a 6:15 pace, but I pretty much hit the gas and hope I don't crap my pants.

Congrats again on a great race!

Ana-Maria RunTriLive said...

No turkey trop for me, holding back on real speed. Those 400s are so fast! Awesome! Are you doing Hampton and Quincy? Me too, but not racing Hampton, just running it MP:)
Congrats on an awesome race Katie. And I get the 'why push' and 'not caring enough' when racing. You certainly did here though and it payed off. I think this is the beginning of some awesome racing. I can't wait to see what you can do for Thanksgiving. A sub 19 would NOT surprise me:)

Jenn said...

10X400 at 1:23. That is a super workout to follow a super race! I can totally understand the team concept here.

Can't wait to see what you do over Thanksgiving or with these HM's!!

Raina said...

I really appreciate reading your race strategy!! You were very smart about it. Last one I ran I was not sure how fast to go out at,- just fast, and hang on for dear life. I have no experience in team running and can imagine what a boost it could be at times. You look STRONG to me, Katie- and your 400's are proof!

I am (probably) doing a 4 miler on Thursday, but plan to be in recovery mode...so I might just have fun and do it with my 6 year-old. Maybe :)

Looking forward to your next 5k!