A PR, the ER and More Racing!

A PR
On Saturday I ran the Van Metre 5 Mile Run for Children's National Medical Center. I really wasn't sure what to expect. I've never raced this distance. The last race I participated in was on New Year's Eve a little over 2 months ago. Since then I've been running consistently 3 times a week and incorporating some cross training by way of biking and workouts with weights.

I woke up around 7 and had a piece of Ezekiel bread with peanut butter. The race didn't start until 8:30 and I had plenty of time to get ready because it was only 10 minutes from our house. Mike decided to take the boys out to breakfast while I went to the race. I arrived with 5 minutes to spare. I parked the car and decided to take my mint chocolate GU before the race. I walked to the start of the race and worked my way into the middle of the pack. It was a beautiful 50 degrees, which I think is perfect running weather. I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

My plan was to start the first mile at a 10min/mile pace and slowly pick it up to a 9:20 pace throughout the remainder of the race. Back in December when I ran my 10k I averaged a 9:42 pace, so I figured I wouldn't have much of a problem averaging a 9:30 pace for 5 miles. I did well on my first mile and by the second mile I was keeping it between 9:15 and 9:20 and I continued to maintain that pace. I knew I wanted to run the last mile much faster so I started to pick it up. At one point I looked down at my watch and realised that I was running an 8:30 pace...I totally surprised myself with that, to the point that I thought maybe something was wrong with my watch! I felt like I was running faster but wasn't totally out of breath and I still felt good.

I ran across the finish line and was happy to have run such a good race. I ended up finishing in 46:17, with an average pace of 9:15. I was pleasantly surprised by this and felt really good about it. I think consistency is the key to seeing myself improve. This is the fastest race I've run.
Here I am after the race.
The ER
Saturday night was like any other night. We put the boys to bed and were hanging out in the living room chatting and watching tv. It was around 11 pm when I heard a noise and asked Mike to turn the tv down. I realised that the noise was Charlie coughing loudly. I ran upstairs and found him sitting up in bed sweating and coughing to the point that he was becoming out of breath. It was that cough that they say sounds like a barking seal!! I knew what it was immediately, it was the dreaded Croup. I felt so bad for him because he was crying and coughing and having trouble breathing. I ended up taking him to the ER. As soon as we walked in they could here Charlie's horrible cough and saw him immediately. They ended up giving him steroids which seemed to really help. We got home around 1:30 in the morning! Here is is in the ER.Racing
About a month ago Charlie ended up qualifying for the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships held at Winter Park Resort, CO. This is the week of the Championships. Mike and Charlie left bright and early this morning and are now in beautiful Colorado looking at snowcovered mountains. They'll be gone until Monday. Charlie will be racing tomorrow. This was his first time on an airplane. I think he's going to have a blast there with his Dad, they've got lots of fun stuff planned including some snowmobiling. I'm expecting lots of pictures and updates from Mike.

Last but not least I signed up for The North Face® Endurance Challenge Half Marathon today!!! I am so excited about this and really looking forward to it. It's going to be on June 5, 2011.