"I got under 30!!!"

Days until Half:  30

Miles Ran:  11.12

Longest Run:  5 Miles

Last week was one of those weeks that started off poorly, but then ended fabulously! 

After the 13 mile run, I had the gnarliest blister on the side of my big toe.  It was so bad, I was unsure how I was going to wear shoes to work!  I did everything I could for the silly thing, but it was just not willing to work with me.  I got up early on Tuesday morning thinking I would at least be able to get a 3 mile run in.  Sadly, the minute I put my shoes on, I knew it wasn't going to happen.  I was so annoyed.  Which only made Tim smile and say, "Did you ever think you would be mad because you WANTED to run, but couldn't?"  He makes a valid point.  I can't lie, I'm pretty impressed with myself that I actually enjoy running more so than hating it.  Don't get me wrong, I still have my moments where I think "Why am I doing this?!?" (I think this a lot when do the 3 miles fast runs!), but for the most part, I do like running.  See, just typing that is tripping me out!

I decided that I was going to at least run 3 miles on Wednesday.  All of us had signed up for the Apple Festival 5k and I just felt like I had to get some running in before it!  By this point, the blister had been drained (gross) and I was no longer feeling a constant pain when walking on it.  Leah needed to get a run in, so we met up at her house in the morning.  Let me tell ya, Leah was fired up and ready to run!  I managed to stay with her for maybe the first mile, but then I was just chasing after her!  Three quarters the way in, my toe was throbbing and I was regretting my decision.  I finished the 3 miles in 31:05, which was the fastest time I've gotten for that distance, so I was pretty pleased despite the toe hurting a bit.  I think the combo of having Tim set a pace for me and "chasing" after Leah helped me push a bit more than I do normally in the mornings.  After all, it is 5am! 

Tim and I were both pretty lazy for the rest of the week.  Tim was suffering from training fatigue and well, my toe was just really messing me up.  I started to get a bit nervous about the 5k.  I don't really know why I do them.  I usually worry about them the night before and honestly, I hate running 3.1 miles as fast as I can!  I'm slow!  I like those nice even paced runs that I can comfortably breathe during.  I continue to do them though because I set a goal of getting my time under 30 minutes by the end of the year.  I mean, people twice my age manage to run 5k well under 30 minutes!  So can I!  Right?

My previous 5k times in 2011:

34:59  SpringOut 5k
34:02  St. Patty's 5k
33:41  Undy 5k
33:20  Nutrition 5k
32:14  Dawg Jog
31:59  Miner's 5k
34:22  Grace Race 5k

As you can see, I shaved a bit off each time.  Well, not at the Grace Race one, but that was so hot that I am just glad I finished without passing out!  Anyway, I have always set the goal in my head to always try to beat my previous best time.  It's easier to just compete with myself than trying to "race" everyone else.  The goal for the Apple Fest 5k was to beat 31:59 even if just by a few seconds, although I was really hoping to see 30:XX instead of a 31:XX. 

On race day, I told myself to just try to stick with Jaime and Leah for the first mile.  I figured if I could do that, it would help my time.  I can't lie, those girls ran so fast that first mile!  I clocked a 9:04 mile running with them-- and that is with Jaime running into a human roadblock just seconds after the race began!  They are rockstars!  I was able to stay with them for the first mile and half, after that I tailed them until the hill on 20th Street.  At that point, I stepped/stumbled on a rock and landed awkwardly on my darn toe.  Ugh.  I don't know if it was because it was hurting or if it was just mentally messing with me, but I had to slow down.  I willed myself not to walk because I knew if I walked, I wouldn't start running again.  I looked up and saw that they weren't too terribly far ahead and decided to just keep them in my sight.  As long as I could see their ponytails, I was fine. 

As we got closer to the finish line, I could hear Tim's mom cheering Leah and Jaime on.  I had jolt of energy.  I knew I was running faster than before because I could hear the cheers for them!  When I was close enough to see the clock, someone was standing in front of it so all I could see was that I was at 29 something.   Twenty-nine what?  29:00?  29:55?  What!?!  Then as I crossed the finish line, I saw it:  29:47!  Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  I was so happy I even managed to shout, "I came in under 30!"  I was so darn proud of myself.  I looked over at Tim who had water and a banana for me.  He was beaming.  He said, "You are awesome!  I knew you could do it!"

So, yeah, I felt pretty great for the rest of the day.  I just feel like for the first time in my life, I am actually seeing hard work pay off.  I know that I would not have gotten this far without some awesome folks to train with.  Leah and Jaime have helped me stay focused and I do think they are big reason I enjoy running a lot more.  And Tim.  Well, Tim puts up with me when I have those bad runs and reminds me that it's all worth it. 

One goal accomplished and one to go!  Bring on those 13.1 miles!  I have no fear of quitting now because I've worked too hard to let fear beat me!