1. The Good:
Still reveling in the after glow of my great weekend…
running for the lst time in over 5 months
spending time with my favorite kids
going to NYC to see “Once” on Broadway
2. The Bad:
It has been raining since my race on Saturday. Things aren’t looking good for the rest of the week either.
I have a miserable head cold!!! Yuck!
So my running has been on hold.
Happy Running!
This photo was published on the front page of the sports section of our local paper yesterday.
I am the one in the purple shirt front and center.
No, my doctor did not clear me to run yet. My Pt guy told me I could only walk it.
Oops!
Happy Running? Ever ignore an injury and run in a race?
I got a medal
Obviously not a PR…but this medal is meaningful in a different way.
On Dec 29, 2011, I thought I may not ever run again.
Today, I know I will but I am not sure how fast I will get or how long a distance I will run
But it’s okay. I definitely appreciate being able to run a lot more.
My new favorite quote:
I made a pact with myself to never complain about an event I’ve successfully finished. No matter what my finish time or pace, I will cross the line with a pocket full of gratitude. Records are meant to be broken, but those moments are far and few between. Every adventure offers an opportunity to evolve, explore, and celebrate life. And that is the gift that keeps on giving. — Jenny Hadfield
So now about the race.
Yesterday, I took my daily lunch walk to pick up my bib, tee-shirt (& goodies – loaf of bread, box of cookies, lots of free samples). It’s about a 5k there and back. However, going back is UPHILL.
It was tough; my ankle HURT and I wondered how would I do this race. Why was I doing this race??
I woke up early today to RAIN!! I toyed with not going since I wasn’t racing anyway and walking in the rain would take twice as long.
But I put on pants over my skirt, grabbed a jacket and umbrella and drove to work.
The rain let up a little and the walk to race was a good warm up for my ankle.
this year’s banner along the route
I love the ENERGY of this race!! All women! Elites and first timers!
As I approached the race start, I knew I made the right decision to WALK this race.
I bumped to many people I knew…and finally some of the SRMs for our photo shoot.
some of the group
It was now drizzling but looked like it would rain at any moment. I decided to hide my pants & umbrella but tie my jacket around my waist & wear the cap. (It was very HUMID so I should have left the jacket behind too.)
I squeezed in with the other YELLOWs (though I thought that I should go to the end with the walkers but it was too far to walk!)
view from above
As soon as the gun went off, off I ran.
Yes, I ran!
I ran up the hill. I kept running and running and running.
I cautioned myself to go slow so that I would be able to finish the race.
Everyone was running. I felt that if I stopped to walk, I would be trampled. Yes, runners were passing me but for the most part I was keeping up at my slow pace.
There were timers at every mile and every K. I left my Garmin home (not on purpose – I forgot it.) My pace was consistently between 11-12 min/mile…I was happy and I was not struggling to run at that pace. My ankle did not hurt.
I stopped at both water stops to walk not because I had to but because I was thirsty and felt I should walk some.
As we approached the end…it was downhill. I slowed as to not FALL and then I sprinted (yes sprinted) across the finish line.
I had TEARS in my eyes. The last time I felt like this was after my FIRST HALF.
5th FRW
I’m not sure what the chip time was but the gun time was 35:xx. I far exceeded all my goals!!!!!!
It is my second slowest 5K time (my first 5k was my slowest) but I am SO HAPPY!!!!!!
As soon I finished, it started to rain.
I have to admit, that my ankle really hurt afterwards. I struggled to walk back to my car.
It was worth it.
So it seems that the cure for a stiff weak ankle is a RACE!!
Happy Running! Enjoy your weekend!
May was a pretty good month:
went on my tennis vacation to Florida
turned 59 on 5-9
got to visit with my Russian friend Anna
started boating on Lake George
did a lot of biking
ran my first mile
Here were my May Goals:
So I think I’ve met all my goals in recent months so it’s time to switch things up.
June Goals:
How’s that for optimism?
Happy Running! How did you do in May?
I’ll start with this quote:
“Everything will be all right in the end… if it’s not all right then it’s not the end.”
It’s from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I absolutely loved this movie. (Go see it if you haven’t!!)
Anyway back to my first running experience.
My PT guy said I could run on a track. I decided that this would be boring so on Friday after work, I parked near Washington Park, walked to and from the park and ran on the dirt paths around the lake and the gardens.
Running is not easy right now. Since my ankle is still stiff, I have to focus on running correctly (if that is possible). It’s much harder than on a treadmmill since the treadmill is already moving. Pushing off, that is moving forward is tough. So my pace for run/walk was about 14 min/mi.
2.5 miles
after my lst run in 5 months
I’m not giving up.
On Sunday, in Bolton Landing, I walked a mile to the Sagamore Hotel and ran a mile on the Nature Trail and then walked back to the marina.
in front of the Sagamore Hotel
my view from the Nature Trail
Still running at a slow 13.39 min/mi pace. UGH!! (Maybe I should ditch the Garmin until I am healed!!)
But “it’s not the end.”
And I will be fine… (just don’t know when???)
Happy Running!
Gotta have a plan, right?
January 13, 2013 or 1-13-13 (lucky 13?)
Well I may be overly optimistic since I haven’t started running outside yet. But my 6 month injury anniversary is June 29 and I’ve had enough!!!
The worst case scenario is that I walk the races. Even the Palm Coast allows walkers (if you can finish under 4 hrs).
Happy Running! Do you plan ahead? How far?
Yes, I had a great time eating, drinking, socializing, laughing, shopping, tanning… and just plain relaxing.
But…
Doesn’t this look like a nice place to run??
and
isn’t this even more inviting??
I just wanted to be running!!!! 5 months of NO RUNNING!!
I’ve had enough! Anyway, enough said…
Yesterday I went to PT for the first time in 2 weeks.
They said they saw a big improvement…I ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes as usual but I was able to run for 3 min and 4 minutes at a time without walking!!!!
They said: “You are no longer sounding like a Clydesdale!!”
Of course, I replied, “When can I run outside?”
The answer: “We’ll watch your ankle on the treadmill next Wed and maybe you can run on a track!”
It’s all about the (still stiff) ankle!! Arghhh!
Happy Running!
This is our 8th trip together to Naples, Florida. (For some of us, this is our 16th tennis trip – 1 Palm Springs, 5 Las Vegas, 1 Dominican Rep, 1 Delray Beach)
our group & our coach – May 2011
There are 10 of us and we rent 2 villas (from the same lady) in World Tennis Center.
They will be playing tennis everyday from 8-11 am. I will be bike riding, walking, swimming, photo taking and a combination of these activities while trying not to be depressed.
The highlight of the vacation used to be running every morning and then playing tennis & taking lessons from Billy Bob (love him!)
getting ready to go for a run
playing tennis
I considered not going but staying home & working while my friends are away having fun would be even worse.
If I get though the mornings, we will be busy the rest of the day with a variety of fun activities such as shopping, eating, theater and of course, hanging out at the beach.
So my vacation will not be perfect but I will be away and with my friends and in a sunny warm climate. What could be better?? (You know what I would say…)
I won’t have a computer so no posting on this blog for 8 days but I will bring my iPad and if there is wifi, I will be able to post to FB and read your blogs.
I will post pics here when I return.
Happy Running! I will Miss you all!
Right before my injury, I paid for this race:
The normal registration price is $40 so I wanted to take advantage of the early discount of $25. And since this is one of my favorite races, I decided to splurge and buy the medal.
This would have been my FIFTH Freihofer’s Run for Women – the race that I’ve run the most.
the 2011 running group and then some
So…… I hope to be walking without pain by then… (21 weeks post surgery…maybe even running a few steps?????)
Do I bite my tongue and do it as a WALK or Un-Race?? And get my first Freihofer’s medal for a finish of more than 60 minutes?? (Last year the slowest was 75 min so I hope to beat that.)
Suzy wearing last year’s tech shirt
Sure…why not? I paid for it and I ‘ll get a cool tech tee-shirt and chocolate chip cookies. Next year I will try to beat my 28:14 finish time.
Happy Running! Have you ever walked a whole race?
April has ended…still no tennis or racing but things are improving.
I met ALL my Goals! (See below.)
April Goals:
my new BFF
As you know, May is my favorite month. I have a lot of fun things planned even if they do not include racing. I even have some new goals.
May Goals:
Welcome, May!
Happy Running! Any exciting goals for May?
My First 5K and More... 