I've been running 2 or 3 days a week, swimming 2 days a week and I've thrown a little biking, lifting and yoga in for good measure. I learned at the end of my tri training that I actually love running outside. It's a little harder to schedule since I have to find someone to watch my kids. Plus it's getting darker, colder and much more rainy. In fact, those factors caused me to fell on Wednesday when I was out on a run. My knee got scraped up, my wrist still hurts and I have a gnarly bruise on my shoulder.
Last week, I decided that I didn't want the Turkey Trot to be my first 5k race, so I signed up for the Regatta Run 5k, which I ran this morning.
I went in with the single goal of beating my 5k time in my triathlon of 31 minutes. I was a little nervous that my knee would start bothering me from my fall a few days ago, but it was fine. The weather was pretty good, too. About 59 degrees and calm, cloudy at first, but the sun came out after about 15 minutes.
I underestimated the crowd. I meant to start near the top 25% of the pack, but I was actually more like the top 10%. As a result, I got passed by dozens of people in the first quarter mile. I ran it too fast, too. A 7:30 pace, which is way too fast for me, especially since I wanted to do negative splits (ie running the second half or the race faster than the first half.) My RunKeeper app updated me on my mileage, current split and average pace, so I knew I was running too fast and settled down.
The course was lovely, much of it the same as my triathlon's 5k running course. It was fairly flat (for Oregon) and had a lot of variety- wooded paths, parks, under the footbridge, along the river and by the dog park. I was glad that I finish before the trains went by though- the course was right next to the tracks!
After settling down the first half, I picked up the pace around mile 2. I passed a small herd of runners around mile 2.5. I was getting tired, but kicked it the last stretch to sprint to the finish. I was exhausted!
I forgot to check my time as I finished, but I think it was about 26:15, a 8:39 pace.
Splits:
Mile 1: 8:22
Mile 2: 8:48
Mile 3: 8:28
(Last 0.1: 7:27 pace)
In other big news, I went back to work! I am working as an accountant at a local tax and accounting firm 2 days a week. (I'll work full time during tax season.) It's been manageable. The kids are doing well at daycare and I am enjoying my work and the people with whom I work. It's getting hard to fit everything in though. I still make it to the gym or run outside most of the days that I don't work. (Dan's business trip, my fall and scheduled rest in preparation for the Regatta Run have made the first 2 weeks weird.) The kids go to bed earlier now, so there isn't time to go to the gym on the days that I work. I'll probably end up putting my membership on hiatus during tax season.
I realize that I can't do everything that I want, I have to make choices. I only watch tv on the iPad while doing dishes, folding laundry or cooking. I'm still playing the piano enough to keep up with my lessons, though I won't be making the gains that I have seen in my first 9 months of lessons anymore. It's hard to be an adult, right? Someone tell Rosie to slow down and be a baby for a little bit longer.
