Embracing The Turtle That Is Me

When I first started running back in 2009, I ran a 13-14 minute mile.  Now THAT's a turtle pace.  On my first 5K race, my pace improved a little bit, and I ran an 11:59 min. pace, finishing at 37:15!  As I ran more, my pace improved, a little bit each time:

1st 5K Race - March 2009
Scope It Out 5K

1st 5K race March 2009:  37:15 (11:59 min/mile)
2nd 5K race May 2009: not timed, ran pushing a jogging stroller, kicking myself for not getting it timed
3rd 5K race Nov. 2009:  37:03 (11:55 min./mile)

After a year long hiatus from running races....

4th 5K race Nov. 2010:  31:49 (10:14 min./mile)!!!

It's not super fast, I know, but holy cow, it felt HUGE!  I've wanted to run a sub 11 min./mile pace and I DID IT.

And then...

5th 5K race June 2011:  ran with friend at her pace (her 1st 5K!)
6th 5K race Aug. 2011:  31:25 (10:06 min./mile)
7th 5K race Oct. 2011:  28:27 (9:09 min./mile)

3rd 5K Race - Nov. 2009
Race for Breath 5K

That was my last 5K race as of today, and my PR!

How fast or slow a runner is is all relative.  I know that a 9:09 min./mile pace is still not fast compared to so many of my readers' 5K pace, but my point in posting all my 5K times to date, is to show (and to remind myself) that in time, a turtle like me, CAN break out of the turtle shell and eventually become a little faster.  You just need to be patient.  This is something I am realizing I'm not good at....being patient.  I need to be patient so that I don't get injured again.

4th 5K Race - Nov. 2010
Race for Breath 5K

I needed to look back to my turtle roots because this past Saturday, on my 10-miler, I was sooooo sloooow.  I ran 10 miles at an 11:59 min./mile pace.  Granted, there were a few hills, and I was pushing against a strong headwind for 1 mile at the end AND at Miles 8 and 7, but man, did I feel like a turtle with a capital "T."  It felt so discouraging.....10 miles in almost 2 hours!

Digging up my 5K race times helped remind me that I will get faster some day on my longer runs, and that I have come a long way from my 14 min./mile pace.  It's been a struggle, but I'm happy to have re-discovered my happy long run pace, an 11 min./mile pace for distances over 5 miles.  I am learning to embrace the turtle that is me.  I just need to keep going, to keep running, to stay smart when training to avoid getting injured, and I need to be patient.

Are there any 10 min./mile +PLUS runners out there like me?

6th 5K Race - August 2011
Sunrise Stampede 5K

7th 5K Race - October 2011
Heritage Hunt 5K

3 Things Thursday - First 3 Races of 2012

RACES
One way to get out of the winter doldrums is to sign up for races!  I'm excited about my first 3 in so many different ways.  


Here are my first 3 races of 2012.

Source

1.  Virginia Is For Lovers 14K, Virginia Beach, VA - February 11, 2012.  I'm REALLY REALLY excited about this one because I get to run it with The Hubs.  As in crossing the finish line together as a couple, at MY pace...!!!!  The Hubs and I  have run the same races before, but this will be the first time that we will run side by side and finish together.  He is much faster than me.  His half marathon PR is 1:48:something, while mine is 2:24:something, so he always finishes first. 


So while this race fits in well with my RnR half marathon training, it will be a "fun run" for The Hubs.  Before signing up, I kept asking him, "are you sure, are you sure?"  We looked at maybe having him finish the race at his pace and then back-tracking to meet up with me and then running the rest of my race at my pace.  When we compared our half marathon time splits, we discovered that by the time he finishes 14K, I would only be at.....the 10K mark, if I'm lucky...realistically, probably somewhere between Mile 5 and 6.  (WOW, I'm slow).


But The Hubs said, "Nah, forget it.  I want to run with you."  With you.  With me.  Sniff.  O.M.G. He loves me.  Sniff.

Source

2.  Carefirst Rock 'N' Roll USA Half Marathon, Washington DC - March 17, 2012.  I almost forgot I signed up for this race until I went to my March 2012 calendar page when signing up for another race.  I signed up for this one last spring/summer.  I've always wanted to run a RnR race and with The Hubs claiming the RnR race in Virginia Beach later this year, I grabbed this one.  Mine!  Mine, Mine!


I'm both excited AND nervous about this one. I'm excited because I'll be running with some of my Ragnar Relay DC 2011 team mates.  We were so pooped at the Ragnar finish line that we didn't get to celebrate afterwards.  The celebratory beer made us more sleepy than triumphant.  So this race will make up for that.  Two team mates will be running the full and 3 of us are running the half.  


I'm nervous because it's an inaugural race, and after all the scary stories coming out of the last RnR Las Vegas race, and the "epic-fail" reports on the inaugural Hot Chocolate 15K/5K Race in DC, I am hoping that this inaugural RnR race will meet everyone's realistic expectations.  (Crossing fingers and staying positive).

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3.  Scope it Out 5K, Washington DC - March 25, 2012.  I'm running this race with my girlfriends!  I've been helping them train for this race, their first 5K race, and I'm so excited for them!  Most of my friends are new to running, some are struggling to get passed running non-stop for 6 minutes, and some are trying to get back to running after a very long break.  I'm looking forward to watching each of them cross that finish line and feeling the way I felt when I crossed that same finish line 3 years ago - with smiles, tears, and that wonderful feeling of "OMG, I did it!  I really did it!"


Yes, it's exciting, I get to re-live MY first 5K race, this exact same one!  Three years ago at my first 5K, my friend, Margaret, stayed with me the entire race while I struggled to keep running.  If it wasn't for her, I would not have finished that race running the whole way.  Yes, it was THAT hard for me.  


So this race is going to be all about my friends.  Here's to hoping this won't be their last race!




Your turn.  What are your first 3 races of this new year?  Please share!  Oh and anyone else running my first 3 races?

why i run

The pain I felt from running that race will never compare to the pain you endured

while fighting that dreadful disease. (Race for Breath 5K Virginia Beach 2009)

I started running two years ago (January 2009) for my mom.  I lost my mom to lung cancer 3 months before that.  My mom never smoked a cigarette in her life.  While her passing was somewhat comforting because it  meant she was no longer in a lot of pain, I had a difficult time getting used to life without her.

The day I became a runner was when a very dear friend invited me to exercise with a group of moms who was training to run the Race for Hope 5K in Washington DC, a race which supports brain tumor/brain cancer research and awareness.  They were running as a team to support another friend who lost her father to brain cancer.  The thought of running just 3 miles was overwhelming to me then.  I was not a runner.  I hated running.  I dreaded those runs we had to do for Presidential Fitness Challenge in elementary school.  But the thought of running to support a fight against cancer never left me because I knew I wanted to do the same and run for my mom.  I needed to go through the challenge of learning how to run in order to cope with my loss and eventually to start healing.

Thus began my journey to run and to heal.  Inspired and encouraged by these moms, I took on the Couch-Potato-to-5K training plan challenge with one of my best friends and in two months, ran my first 5K race in DC for colon cancer - Scope It Out 5K - in memory of her mom who passed away from colon cancer.  Two months after that, I joined that same group of moms and ran the Race for Hope 5K in DC, pushing my then 1 1/2 year old son in a jogging stroller.  Finally the day came when my husband and I ran the Race for Breath 5K in Virginia Beach for Lung Cancer.  I was unprepared for the emotion that came over me like a waterfall right at the start line.  I didn't think I could start the race that was so important to me.  But I did. I ran and ran and ran with all my heart for my mom and kept running since.

These days, I still run for my mom and I also run for me.  Depending on the day, I run for many different reasons......

I run to fight cancer and honor lives touched by cancer on race days (Please visit my current cancer fundraiser HERE)
On other days, I run for the pure joy of it, because it makes me feel alive and free.
I run so I can watch the sun set and marvel at the colors it leaves behind.
I run to counteract the cookies I plan on indulging later in the day.
I run to see just how far I can go.
I run to play over and over, the memories with my mom.
I run to erase stress so I can go back to the day's or week's tasks, refreshed.
I run so I can be a better mom, wife, daughter, sister, and friend.
I run to vent frustrations, usually with a friend.
I run to watch butterflies fluttering to clear my running path (hello, mom!)
I run so I can think about what to do in my next art project.
I run to be inspired.
I run to find out where the miles will take me.
I run to hear my mom telling me to be careful.
I run so I can be faster (still working on this one!).
I run to feel that runner's high at the end.
I run because it is part of who I am now and because I can.

What about you?  Why do you run?