Jingle All The Way!

Yesterday I ran the Jingle Bell run in Baldwin Park in support of the Arthritis Foundation. This is a cause close to my heart because I was diagnosed with arthritis in 2002 at the age of 21. Previously an active child and young adult my physical activity came to a drastic halt for 6 years due to the disease. This was frustrating to say the least. Fast forward through my journey of getting to a healthier and more stable place and slowly working my way back to running (which I didn't think would be possible again) I completed my first marathon last Sunday. What a fabulous personal victory this was!

My recovery from that marathon lasted a few days. Fortunately my knees felt better the very next day. My biggest pain was in my hips. I took it very easy and got a massage on Wednesday and by Thursday I started feeling better.

I knew I had a 5K this Saturday and had no idea how my body would feel. Since I felt close to 100% on Thursday I decided I was good to run the 5K. I wasn't sure how the race would be since my last run was the marathon. Would I be fast? Could I go fast?

The morning was cold, in the 50's. I layered up and headed into Orlando. The sun was shining and it did eventually warm up a bit, but I ended up keeping my layers and gloves on for the race. 

While waiting to get started a lady noticed me wearing my shirt from the marathon.  She asked me if I did the half or full. She did the full like me. She said she ran the full last year too and this year she ended up taking 15 minutes off her time! I told her the marathon was my goal and went through my history of how I got there. The series for the half marathon and marathon just started last year and there are two more years to go. I told her I planned on doing the half next year. Once she told me about her 15 minute improvement I'm not gonna lie and say I didn't consider doing another full again lol. 

Anyway,  the race started and I got off to a quick start. When I heard my 1 mile split was a 7:52 I was excited, but also knew that would be a challenge to maintain. I was committed to giving it all I got. By mile 2 the pace was an 8:13. I huffed and puffed and ran the best I could to the finish line. After practicing for distance running, running a 5K is a whole new challenge! My breathing was different, so was my stride and perceived effort was off the charts! I felt like I was in the middle of s bootcamp class. As I sprinted to the finish my body was radiating so much heat and I almost felt like I could puke. 

Luckily it didn't take long to recover. I was able to hydrate and refuel. I crossed the finish line right at the 25 minute mark. Previously my fastest 5K was 24:57. After waiting for most everyone to complete the run / walk I went over to the guy in charge of the timing to ask for my official time since results weren't posted yet and I had to leave. 

Turns out I set a new personal record! My time was 24:56:60! So ya know,  every second really does count😉

I never truly considered myself a runner before. Sure I ran track and cross county in high school. I participated in at least one 5K a year (which I never trained for), and for almost all of the other distances I've ran I completed a training plan, but once the plan and race were finished I would do anymore running.

Through this marathon training and completion I really believe it's time I fully claim that yes, I am a runner🏃🏻‍♀️. It's going to be cold in the morning now that we are coming into the Florida winter, but I've been considering keeping up my running fitness with one or two runs a week. Even for just 30 mins. I know this will help me out as I move into my training for the half next September.

Running is therapeutic. I love the peace I feel when I'm out on the road. That personal time allows me to engage with my thoughts and feelings. I get creative inspiration and I enjoy the forward motion. That's what it's all about...moving FORWARD!

Marathon Finisher!🏃🏻‍♀️💪🏼💨✅

I did it! Goal accomplished! I so proud of myself for checking this off my bucket list. Really happy with how I ran the race and my results. 

Per the official results I completed the marathon in 4:45:42. I was 412 / 926 for all marathon runners, 147 / 408 for female marathon runners and 29 / 73 for Females 35-39. So top half of each category! Super pleased those results for my first marathon!

The weather was great for the run. Low 60's in the morning, cool for sure, but I managed to go without layers. I think it warmed up to the upper 70's by the time I completed the race. Warm, but not hot.

I started the race with the 11:04 or 4:50:00 pacer. This was super helpful and kept me close to my target pace as I went. I stayed with her until probably mile 16 or 17 when I broke away. My fastest mile (besides the .2 miles at the end which was 9:34) was mile 4 with a 10:22 and my slowest mile was mile 25 with an 11:15.

 The race felt smooth and steady,  much more so than my 20 or 22 mile runs. I didn't hit any big walls which was great, especially heading into the last 4.2 miles since I only trained up to 22 miles. I had enough water and fuel with me and along the route to keep me going. Thankful for the pretzels along the course for my salty snacks. Other than that I had fruit squeeze packs and dried mangoes. 

The race started in the dark and with so many people moving through the course those first few miles go by quickly. We enjoyed the beautiful sunrise over the river as we ran, lots of birds cheering us on and we even saw a few dolphins on the south end of the course!

I kept mentally strong and motivated which was also a big factor in my success. I had 3 pieces to my goal. First I wanted to finish the race, secondly I wanted to run the entire race and finally I wanted to finish under an 11 minute mile pace and under 5 hours. All three of these goals were fulfilled!

I had great support from my boyfriend who helped refuel me at the halfway point along with my friends who surprised me by showing up at the finish line. As they cheered me on I made a sprint across the finish line! What a feeling! I did it!

My friend Bridget was running the North half marathon and we met up before the race started and share our excitement and good luck wishes. As we passed along the north course we gave each other a "you go girl" spirited high five! 

The running community is a great place to be for sure. The energy felt during these races is like nothing else. If you have the opportunity to run, jog, walk,  volunteer or be a spectator definitely go for it. I promise you'll gave a good time. In addition, prepare for a healthy dose of inspiration and motivation!

I'm sure there's so much more I can say, but I'm going to leave it here for now. I spent the rest of the day recovering and will continue recovering tomorrow since I have no idea how I'll feel when I wake up tomorrow. 

I do have a 5K scheduled for this Saturday. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully my body will be fully recovered and up for the race, if not I can always walk it out 😊

Zero more runs to goal!

Goal completed!🏁🏅🏃🏻‍♀️