Run for the Cure*
I have been trying to write this post ALL week. I’ve barely left the house this week, but somehow it has felt like the busiest week I’ve had in ages… but if you were to ask me what I did that kept me so busy, I honestly wouldn’t even know what to tell you. After thinking quite hard, the only significant accomplishment I can come up with is that I washed my floors. (Hooray!)
So. Last weekend I ran my second race.
After we finished our first run three weeks ago, I made a goal to try and run one race every month to keep myself motivated. I found a fantastic calendar that lists races and race locations for every weekend and started planning. Our fantastic friends and neighbours jumped on board with us, and we decided to throw a team together for CIBC’s Run for the Cure.
I was given the task of coming up with options for our team name. My first suggestion was “Heart and Sole”, which was met with a mediocre response. As I started searching for another name option, the Hubster got on board. He browsed through a few websites, and ultimately all my suggestions were trumped by the one name he found. The Hubster suffers from lactose intolerance, and our neighbours know this and often find his symptoms quite comical. It was no wonder that they all died laughing when he proposed the name “We’ve Got The Runs”.
*sigh*
And thus, a running team was born.
Race Day dawned sunny, but very chilly. We bundled up the kids (and ourselves) drove to the race site. There were so many people there. Hundreds of runners, walkers and supporters put on their pink and came out to fight against breast cancer. It was chilly, but the air felt almost electric with anticipation. We all bounced around and ran on the spot until it was finally time to go. We positioned ourselves with the “racers” and once the horn blew, our team took off!
My goal for this race was 37 minutes, but I was secretly hoping to be able to run it in 35. I felt SO good when I started, then we rounded the first corner and BOOM–a hill. And not the short steep kind that you can sort of power through and get past, oh no. This was a long, gentle incline that continued for a kilometer or so. I managed to run up it, and the app on my phone chimed in and told me that my pace for the first kilometer was 6:15 min, my fastest ever. That motivated me to keep pushing, and I finally crested the top… only to see another hill.
The entire course was hill, after hill, after hill. It was so hard. After we finished, the Hubster checked an app he uses on his phone, and we found out that the elevation of the route was somewhere around 21m–the equivalent of four stories.
No wonder we were tired.
The Hubster blew us all away and finished in under 22 minutes (I’m still not convinced he’s completely human). We had a friend come and watch the kiddos for us so he could run without the stroller. I’m SO glad–I would have felt awful thinking about him pushing our 80lb stroller up all those hills!
Everyone on our team did well and was pretty happy with their times. I didn’t quite hit my goal–my overall time was 38:22, but I’m just really proud that I conquered all those hills.
AND, I came SO close to my last running goal. MapMyRun clocked what I ran as a little under 5.5km, so the route was actually longer than what I planned for. As I passed the 5km mark, the app chimed in and told me my overall time– 35 minutes and 12 seconds.
I was SO close!!
I’m really hoping I can complete it this week. I went running on Monday, and I can feel it just at my fingertips. I have three runs left in my C25K program, and if I can run 5km in under 35 minutes before I complete it, I get a bonus $100. I’m really going to push this week! :)
So even through I didn’t quite get the time I was hoping for, I’m so glad I participated in the event. It was amazing to be in a crowd like that, and every time I run I can feel myself getting a little bit stronger. We’ve also formed a wonderful, supportive running group that I am loving being a part of.
Hopefully I’ll finish the C25K program this week, and I’ll have an extra $200 in my bank for new “skinny” clothes! Wish me luck :)
